“We’ve never operated with any level of intention,” insists McDonough. “I don’t think we’re smart enough to do that. I’m sure Pink Floyd or Prince know what they’re delivering to their audience. With us, we’re just four dudes that make music together. And I think we would undermine one of the best things about Mudvayne if we tried to be that intentional. The music would come off as facetious and I think our fans would know.” Even if The New Game wasn’t born out of Mudvayne’s desire for airplay, the songs came together while the band members were going through a serious pop music phase. Isolated during a snowy winter on a ranch in tiny Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, they sought solace in the warm sounds of tuneful singer-songwriters, and, during breaks from recording, they drove to the store to fill up with CDs by Kenny Rogers, John Denver, Tom Jones, Ella Fitzgerald, Tina Turner, and Cher. “We listened to shit like that 24/7 for a few months,” McDonough admits. “We were deep into it. We’d be stretching it to say that had a direct influence on the record, but as an overall principle we’re very open to pop music.” Yeah, we know, we know, Cher sucks, but at least Mudvayne aren’t plugging contemporary pop music like Justin Timberlake. “Absolutely! Why would you suggest we don’t like Justin Timberlake?” asks McDonough with a trace of annoyance. “It’s frustrating for me, personally, that people have these expectations that don’t have anything to do with me as an artist. We listen to everything, and we always have.” The way that Mudvayne sees it, their music hasn’t really gotten more commercial, it has just become easier to listen to. They credit this to the chemistry they’ve developed as players. The songs on The New Game are still filled with atypical time signatures and abrupt rhythmic shifts, but, like Tool or System of a Down, the group has learned to bridge the sonic crags with vocal harmonies and guitar hooks. “We’re not just bookending parts anymore,” Gray explains. “The transitions are getting slicker from one part to another. It’s not easier for us to write them, we just know each other better so it feels like it’s gotten easier.” “Some people might still notice that I’m playing off-time with Matt, but we’ve been playing together so long that we don’t even notice now,” concurs Martinie. “It’s just what we do.” One thing that hasn’t changed about Mudvayne is the ferocity of Gray’s lyrics. The New Game abounds with themes of betrayal, despair, and rage that contrast with the upbeat feel of some of the music. In addition to the songs about dysfunctional relationships (“Fish

050 REVOLVER [JANUARY 2009]

CLUED IN Mudvayne launched an online murder mystery contest on November 17 in which fans use clues found in the packaging of the group’s new album. They want you to find the killer inside their dark new virtual universe. As the story goes, you, the player, found Mick, a fictional best friend from the town of Danslow, dead in his living room. You’re hella pissed and have sworn to figure out who from a list of possible suspects did the deed. Mudvayne will release one clue every Monday at Mudvayne.com and you will have until the following Monday to submit your guess of which of the suspects is proven not guilty by that week’s clue. The winner of the 12-week sleuth-out gets a Mudvayne VIP laminate for life, which is all the more reason you shouldn’t get together with your friends, buy one copy, scan all the packaging, and put that shit up for free, you anarchist.

Out of Water,” “Have It Your Way”), there are tracks about the genesis of internal rage (“The Hate in Me”) and frustration (“Dull Boy”). On past Mudvayne releases, such sentiments have come from the baggage Gray still carries from his abusive, dysfunctional upbringing.

Now, however, he’s stopped navelgazing and has
looked outside of himself. And what he sees is almost
as upsetting. “Everything is a double-standard,” he
gripes. “George Bush wears a suit—he’s a killer. Jeffrey
Dahmer goes to prison. It’s like, killing’s OK in some
instances and it’s not OK in others. I think there’s a level
of killer in all of us, and everything else is just a fucking
costume. So a lot of the conflict I’m feeling comes from
trying to understand people and the more I try, the
harder it becomes.”
Gray softly swivels
“WHY an empty beer bottle,
then places it aside. He
WOULD sighs, and regathers his
thoughts. “We’re so out
YOU of control right now,
it’s insane. We kill…
SUGGEST everybody. And I don’t
know what we kill for. It
WE DON’T always seems to revolve
around money and getting
LIKE ahead. How fuckin’ far
ahead do you have to be
JUSTIN before you stop fucking
people? How full do you
TIMBER- have to be before you
stop taking bites? The
LAKE?” way shit’s going now,
with the collapse of all
MATTHEW the financial institutions
and everything, people
MCDONOUGH are gonna start taking all
their money and stuffing
it in their mattresses. But
then everybody knows
everybody’s got everything
they got in their house.
Better fuckin’ have a gun
then. And a lot of fuckin’
bullets.”