May 14, 1997 - Mudvayne and Kill, I Oughtta

Two months after my last release a new band joins my library when Mudvayne released their debut EP "Kill, I Oughtta" on May 14, 1997. But who is Mudvayne? They are a four-piece nu-metal band from Peoria, Illinois consisting of lead singer Chad Gray, guitarist Greg Tribbett and drummer Matthew McDonough. Their original bassist was Shawn Barclay, but he only plays on 5 of the 8 songs on this EP. The remaining 3 have new bassist Ryan Martinie who remains with the band to this day. This EP has five studio tracks, and also three live songs that don't have studio versions. Mudvayne have some hip-hop elements and some pretty fast vocals at times, firmly making them a nu-metal band, but they take the heavy metal aspect of things to another level too. Let's see what Mudvayne is all about! 

The first three songs all have original bassist Barclay, starting with the short intro "Poop Loser". It starts with a baby crying and a simple drum beat and the whole song is Gray singing "you're a motherfucking piece of shit and you'll never amount to nothing" in increasing volume. By the end he is full-on screaming it and I love his scream, it sounds very emotional and passionate. Still a very strange/interesting intro to Mudvayne. Their first real song is "Seed" and it's got a nice heavy main riff led by some cool guitars by Tribbett. Gray does a great job of mixing singing and screaming and his singing voice is not just solid on it's own, but it makes his sudden switch to screaming sound even heavier. He picks up the pace as the song progresses and he's spitting put lots of fast vocals in the latter half of this pretty sweet song. Tribbett plays some crazy guitars and things sound really heavy, these guys are like Korn, but even heavier! Track 3 is "Cultivate" and it's a slower pace than the last song, but it's still nice and heavy and Barclay plays some cool bass behind the heavy guitars. Gray does a great job once again of constantly switching between singing and screaming to fit the music at that moment. It's really well done and it's a nice slow headbanger for the most part that speeds up for a bit in the middle to really spice things up. It's another pretty sweet tune! Up next is the first song with new bassist Martinie and it's called "Some Assembly Required". It's got a simpler main riff that is still nice and heavy but it's definitely not as cool as the last couple tracks. Gray sings for the most part bit does a couple really nice low screams that sound sweet. When the vocals speed up things start to really take off and they finish this song off with a fantastic new riff that is undeniably heavy and pretty freaking awesome. This is the shit I'm into, they tore down the whole house with that awesome ending! The bassists now alternate for the rest of the album, so it's Barclay again for track 5,  "I.D.I.O.T. (live)". This is a fast-paced and pretty catchy song for how heavy it is and I love the sound of McDonough's snare drum live. Tribbett leads the way with lots of cool and heavy guitars but hearing Chad Gray live is something special. The way he switches from soft, high singing, and then in the same note starts screaming at you, is just awesome and he is great throughout this whole song. It once again reminds me of Korn, but on steroids, which equals some pretty sweet nu-metal! Martinie is back for this next track "Central Disposal (live)" and he makes his presence known right away with some nice low bass. McDonough plays some nice speedy drums and Tribbett plays some nice heavy guitar to form another cool riff. Gray half sings/half yells this song and he sounds pretty good doing that too, especially when he really turns on the long yells. For this to be one of the lesser songs just shows the high bar already set for these guys. Track 7 is "Coal (live)", the final live song and the last one with original bassist Barclay. Tribbett plays a quiet guitar riff in the verse that sounds quite epic actually and they snap nicely into a heavy new riff with everyone rockin' out their hardest. They do a great job at both the quiet and loud parts and the fact that these guys are this tight live already is damn impressive, because they are playing some fast and crazy metal! Bravo guys! The final song on this insane debut EP is "Fear" and Martinie plays some great bass in the verse while Tribbett plays some trippy guitar. The chorus is nice and heavy and it has lots of layered vocals for a different kind of trippy effect. Adding a psychedelic vibe certainly makes things interesting and it's a very unique and cool sound. Tribbett plays his first guitar solo as well, and boy does he impress with a pretty awesome solo! Where has that been the whole time?! It's an awesome addition and this is a strong finish to a strong debut.

That is the end of "Kill, I Oughtta" and I thought it was a fantastic debut EP. Mudvayne play nu-metal, with an emphasis on the metal. The rhythm section is pretty sweet, the guitars are really heavy and awesome and Chad Gray is one hell of a singer. I love how he blends his singing and screaming into whatever emotion he feels like belting out and all this together makes for one hell of a debut EP. I can't wait for a full album from Mudvayne!