Spring Break
Nothing new to this 'Game'
1 and a half out of 5 stars
Stephen Ortiz
Issue date: 11/20/08 Section: Focus
It would be an understatement to say that Mudvayne had fallen off the map in recent years after a brief spike of popularity. The Illinois-based metal band's 2005 release "Lost and Found" put them in the hard rock spotlight, with help from the inclusion of "Forget to Remember" on the "Saw II" soundtrack, and sold over 800,000 copies.
But since then, the band has released a dismal B-sides and demos collection (2007's "By The People, For The People") and not much else. So with their newest album, "The New Game," Mudvayne hopes to jump into the spotlight. Sadly, it's a dull game to play.
"Lost and Found" was a great album. It was hard, it had emotion and it had a great single in "Happy?" While it wasn't too flashy, it's certainly a hard act for a band like Mudvayne to follow up without completely reinventing the wheel, and that is why "The New Game" is an awful album.
It opens with "A Cinderella Story," which sounds a lot like previous hit "Fall Into Sleep," and at first listen seems like what could be a promising start. It'll eventually dawn on you though that the song is exactly like "Fall Into Sleep," but nowhere near as good.
The entire first half of the album just goes downhill from the monotonous "Dull Boy" to the been-there-done-that "Hate In Me." The tracks seem to meld into one another but in the bad way, drudging along as guitarist Greg Tribbett mashes on the same power chords over and over.
"The New Game" manages to find some sort of groove on the album's second half in the form of "Never Enough," "A New Game" and (ironically enough) "Same Ol?"
"Never Enough" is a refreshing break from the monotony found throughout, floating on an acoustic riff partnered with a hard hitting chorus, but lead singer Chad Gray remains melodic all the way through.
"New Game," on the other hand, is brutal from start to finish and just works better than the rest of the fast paced tracks on the album. "Same Ol?" collects so many different sounds that it gets to the point that they blend into something awesome.
Mudvayne tried to replicate their past successes with more of the same, and while the album's title alludes to something new and different, "The New Game" is tired and rehashed. It would probably be best to "Forget to remember."
But since then, the band has released a dismal B-sides and demos collection (2007's "By The People, For The People") and not much else. So with their newest album, "The New Game," Mudvayne hopes to jump into the spotlight. Sadly, it's a dull game to play.
"Lost and Found" was a great album. It was hard, it had emotion and it had a great single in "Happy?" While it wasn't too flashy, it's certainly a hard act for a band like Mudvayne to follow up without completely reinventing the wheel, and that is why "The New Game" is an awful album.
It opens with "A Cinderella Story," which sounds a lot like previous hit "Fall Into Sleep," and at first listen seems like what could be a promising start. It'll eventually dawn on you though that the song is exactly like "Fall Into Sleep," but nowhere near as good.
The entire first half of the album just goes downhill from the monotonous "Dull Boy" to the been-there-done-that "Hate In Me." The tracks seem to meld into one another but in the bad way, drudging along as guitarist Greg Tribbett mashes on the same power chords over and over.
"The New Game" manages to find some sort of groove on the album's second half in the form of "Never Enough," "A New Game" and (ironically enough) "Same Ol?"
"Never Enough" is a refreshing break from the monotony found throughout, floating on an acoustic riff partnered with a hard hitting chorus, but lead singer Chad Gray remains melodic all the way through.
"New Game," on the other hand, is brutal from start to finish and just works better than the rest of the fast paced tracks on the album. "Same Ol?" collects so many different sounds that it gets to the point that they blend into something awesome.
Mudvayne tried to replicate their past successes with more of the same, and while the album's title alludes to something new and different, "The New Game" is tired and rehashed. It would probably be best to "Forget to remember."
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Brian
posted 11/20/08 @ 3:34 PM EST
I'm not sure which version of the album you listened to, but you've got the track listing all messed up. The album does not open with "A Cinderalla Story", and "The New Game" is not on the second half of the album. (Continued…)
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