Mudvayne’s Chad Gray recently shared his thoughts on new-generation rock bands and expressed concerns about the lack of originality among many of them. Talking about the influence of nu-metal on modern bands, he told The Underground Australia:
“Dude, maybe I shouldn’t say this, but I don’t give a f**k. Because I’m me, and I’ve got stuff to say, and I’m going to say it. Music now to me — God bless them, new bands — but they sound the same. All new music reminds me of the same f**king thing.”
The singer went on:
“[Nothing separates] one band from another. It’s like, one band kinda does something, a hundred bands follow that band, then another band does something, then a hundred bands follow that band and sound just like that f**king band.”
He Doesn’t Like New Bands’ Effect On Each Other
Gray compared the current music scene with the variety of bands that were part of Ozzfest 2001, including Mudvayne, Slipknot, and Disturbed. He highlighted how each band back then had a distinct sound and encouraged current musicians to take inspiration from old bands instead of each other:
“I think that that’s what was happening then. I think that everything that was happening in the late ’90s, 2000 was coming from a very pure place with all the musicians that were creating it at that time. I think it all came from old influence that, over time, had been cultivated and nurtured turned into something completely different. And it takes time in order to do that.”
On his own influences, the vocalist added:
“I can’t be influenced by somebody that just came out with an album that’s brand-new last year. I don’t have time to process that to be something different than probably what it was a year ago. But over 20 years, I can 100 percent absolutely process that and turn it into something that just now belongs to me, that’s Chad Gray’s, what he offers the music world, which I think is very important.”
His Band Is Focused On ‘Good Enough’ Music
Mudvayne has been out of the spotlight in terms of new material. They started their first headlining tour in over 14 years, ‘The Psychotherapy Sessions,’ in July 2023 but have not released new songs since 2009. Still, they have plans for fresh music, as Gray told The Oakland Press last August:
“[We have] four [songs] in the pipe. I’ve written each one of them probably three different times ’cause it’s like nothing’s good enough. We’re gonna keep pushing. We’re all getting along really good. We’re all talking. Hopefully, we all want the same thing from our music, so we’ll see. It’s definitely the thing that makes the most sense to do now.”
The band, which reunited in 2021 after a long hiatus, will perform their next concert in Australia on February 14.
