After announcing their reunion back in April, Mudvayne have performed their first live show in 12 years.
Appearing on day two of the Inkcarceration festival in Ohio on Saturday (September 11), the eccentric Illinois metallers – who went on hiatus in 2010 – tore through a 14-track set of classics, including Death Blooms, World So Cold and Determined, before concluding with fan favorites Happy? and Dig.
The band – who are slotted to play three more festivals in 2021: Louder Than Life (September 23 – 26), Aftershock (October 7 – 10) and Welcome to Rockville (November 11 – 14) – retains the same lineup as just before their hiatus, with vocalist Chad Gray, guitarist Greg Tribbett, bassist Ryan Martinie and drummer Matthew McDonough.
The band's reunion is the result of “years of trying” from Danny Wimmer, founder of Danny Wimmer Presents, the company in partnership with Inkcarceration Festival, Louder Than Life, Aftershock and Welcome to Rockville.
As he explains, Mudvayne have “consistently been one of the most requested bands – even though they weren't an active band”.
“We’ve been working for years to make this happen, so when I got the all [okay] that they’d finally take a meeting, [DWP Executive VP and Talent Buyer] Gary Spivack and I jumped at the chance to fly to Vegas,” he explains.
“We sat down with Mudvayne, their lawyer Eric German, Manager Diony Sepulveda and agent Ryan Harlacher – the band hadn’t even been in the same room for 10 years – and pleaded our case for why the time was right for this to happen.
“We were hoping to announce this in 2020, we’re fortunate enough to be able to do it in 2021, and DWP is super pumped to have Mudvayne exclusively at all four of our festivals this year.”
Mudvayne went on hiatus in 2010, so that Chad Gray and Greg Tribbett could focus on their side group, the now-disbanded Hellyeah.
Gray fired Tribbett from Hellyeah in 2014, citing a “toxic situation that almost broke up the band”, making a future Mudvayne reunion unlikely. Shortly after however, Gray refused to declare the band dead, saying: “We all still talk and I'm not ready to put a headstone on anything yet”.
For more information on, and for tickets to Louder Than Life, Aftershock or Welcome to Rockville, head to Danny Wimmer Presents.
