Review Summary: Regardless of them being tagged as Nu Metal, they practically break the lines and provide insanity throughout. Any fan of Mudvayne should have this record.
This album is nothing more than an epic piece of work delivered from Mudvayne to start off their career. Technical drumming, thunderous guitar riffs, and aggressive bass lines. Let's not also forget Chad's emotionally draining vocals he packs. This album will engross you as time goes by. Trust me, when I first got this album in 09', I thought It was considerably bare for me thinking the album was all filler. Since 60% of it is. I then found out the true meaning behind the album(Experimentation with drugs) and I was deeply attached to the breakdowns, and emotionally draining songs it contains. (Ex, Severed, (K)now (f)orever. The sound of this album is extremely different from their other releases. This album is Groove Metal, Nu, and believe it or not, some Prog Metal. Now I know Nu Metal is the most hated genre of metal out there, but this album is NOTHING like boring, recycled riffs, and stupid lyrics many Nu metal bands offer. Many riffs are very chaotic and NOT repetitive. The lyrics have a deeper meaning than just a singer whining about how his life is ***. Chad actually is inflamed when he screams some of his more personal lyrics. Ex.
Quote from Severed
"I'm trapped again in endless rain
I divorce the thoughts of you I love with me,
I divorce your innocence and my guilt,
I divorce the lying sellout confidence,
I'm divorcing every mother ***in' thing
I divorce the love bled meaningless,
I divorce the makeshift harmony,
I divorce the taunting acts of violence,
I divorce the pastime of jealousy,
I divorce control,
I divorce the faith,
I divorce the virtue,
I divorce the rain,
I divorce the excuse,
I divorce the greed,
I divorce the need,
I divorce iniquity in this mother ***in' bull*** life,
Just want it all to go away,
Just want to run away to die, take it, myself, my life
Text book ***ing mental, off me and pitch me in a hole."
Quote from Death Blooms
"I'm sick and tired of embracing reflections of past time receive me
or cast me away
...god please take me away
resistance futile suicidal ideas I will crucify my own being satisfy
selfish needs *** the deities justify my own right to what's waiting
for me."
Quote from (K)now (f)orever
"I'm not begging for you ***ing change, I'm just begging for your ***ing change, I'm in touch with myself, all alone with myself."
These parts have got to be the most intense screaming moments Chad has on this release.
I prefer doing a track by track review.
Dig- Short and sweet. A fun, quick and energetic song. The guitar riff is fairly simple, but the drumming really is strange. The bass, guitar and drums all flow together nicely. A cool song to get the album started. I see nothing wrong with this tune. 5/5
Internal Primates Forever- Very complex for around 4 minutes long. The opening JUMP part will get ANYONE up and headbanging before the blink of an eye. They're not many riff changes, but the chorus alters throughout the song, with the same format of the opening riff, but with different frets. Once again, I see nothing wrong. 5/5
-1- The very quiet guitar intro to this song is dreary. A lot of people say the chorus is crap. I agree. It blends distortion with screams and It just doesn't sound great. The intro is the only thing I enjoy about this song sadly. It's the worst on the album in my opinion. 2/5
Death Blooms- This song is about Chad's grandmother who was neglected towards her death. This has a personal preference towards me, and It blew me away. The start of the song is straightforward heavy riffing, followed by harmonics. The verses are really vibrant as well. The bass shines in the verse. Chad uses his more mellow, clean vocals during the verses. The bridge is nerve-racking. Chad busts a nut with his screamed vocals, and then delivers one hell of a scream. The chorus then begins again with the follow up of the filler "Golden Ratio." 5/5
Cradle- Many people would say this is the best Mudvayne song they've ever written. I however disagree. It packs a violent riff at the beginning, with a rather complex chorus, which has many melody changes. Other than that I don't really favor this song to much from the others. For me, nothing really shines on this album. 3.5/5
Nothing To Gein- Nothing to Gein is filled with a highly distorted chorus, and a mixture of very quick, and different riffs. Very good song 4.5/5
Everything and Nothing- This song is filler. Nothing stands out on this song. An okay chorus and a mediocre verse. Everything and Nothing is about Abortion. I don't really enjoy it. I just skip it whenever I listen to it on my Ipod.
Severed- This song starts off with whiny, and somehow emotional guitar use. The chorus is top of the notch. The bass lines are really catchy, and fast. The mental breakdown is mediocre in my opinion. The screaming is A+ but I mean seriously the lyrics? In my opinion they're VERY emotional draining, but come on chad, your're a better lyricist than saying "I just wanna die wahh and take my own life." For me it's rather generic. He could have done MUCH better with it. Soon then after the breakdown leads into the tapping bass solo Ryan executes. Which is mysterious and excellent. 4/5
Prod- This is a more quiet song on the album. Prod begins with a soft spoken guitar riff, along with vocals. The chorus is a little strange hearing first. It has the Start to Stop method. Soon then after the 2nd chorus it leads into a long, and complex bridge. Pretty good song, but NOT the best on the album. 4/5
Pharmaecopia- Pretty cool song. It describes Chad's problems with psychedelic drugs. The verse is fairly simple. Chad rambles on about all the drugs he has had. The chorus is packed with intensity. 5/5
Under My Skin- Many people have said this song is the worst, I disagree completely. I favored Chad's rapping at the bridge. Of course he's no 2pac or Dre, but the lyrics and drums flowed together nicely. The chorus is kick ass as well. 5/5
(K)now (f)orever- This song has got to be the best Mudvayne has ever wrote. The complexity of the song is just imaginable. So many riffs, and parts. It REALLY takes you on a journey. The chorus is the best on the album. This song is about religion. The breakdown of the bridge was very unique when I first heard it. The final bit of the chorus part really blew me away. Chad screaming "KNOOWW FORREEREVERR." That part really gave me goosebumps. It then fades on to the last filler, Lethal Dosage to end the epic album. 6/5
This is my first review. Please do me the favor of leaving constructive criticism. I don't feel like getting into a stupid heated argument over the web.