Mudvayne at Pine Knob, 5 Things to Know

Aug 14, 2023

Mudvayne never formally broke up, but its hiatus was perhaps longer than fans, or band members themselves, might have expected.

The progressive-minded metal quartet went dormant during 2010 so frontman Chad Gray and guitarist Greg Tribbett could focus their energies on Hellyeah, an all-star band they formed with Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott. The latter’s death in 2018 brought that band to a halt, and Mudvayne reactivated during 2021, at first for a selection of festivals and then, last year, to tour with Rob Zombie.

This summer the group is headlining the Psychotherapy Sessions 2023 tour, joined by GWAR, Coal Chamber, Nonpoint and Butcher Babies. Gray, 51, confirms during a phone call from eastern Pennsylvania that Mudvayne is indeed a going concern again, and that we should keep our ears perked for more news, and maybe even new music on the horizon…

• Gray says that Mudvayne was more situated than most bands to make a credible comeback when it did. “I think we kind of went away before the fans wanted us to go away. We were still pretty much on top of everything we were doing, so it wasn’t, like, we were through. We didn’t wear out our welcome.”

• He adds that there was some discussion about continuing on with Hellyeah (Tribbett had left during 2014) after Abbott’s death, “but we weren’t’ ready for it. We went out and did those celebration of life tours for (Abbott), which was awesome, but we were all still a…train wreck emotionally from losing him. We wanted to go out and support his final work (2019’s ‘Welcome Home’ album) and just do right by home, but by the time we got done with the second one we were at each other’s throats — but not in a catty way. We were just mad our boy got taken from us. So I was ready (to return to Mudvayne).”

• Gray found his band members — Tribbett, drummer Matthew McDonough and bassist Ryan Martinie — equally enthusiastic to work together again. “Everyone was excited about it. We got a phone call together and I think by the end of that first call we were down to go and we got together and rehearsed and it was tough, but we got through it. It’s cool, and now here we are. We’re all really happy with this.”

• Gray adds that his “main motivation for putting (Mudvayne) back together and coming back was our fans.” But the band has discovered that during its hiatus its fan base actually grew and brought in new fans despite its absence. “There’s so many younger kids that are coming up and coming into our world, the metal world, and they’re learning about Mudvayne. So you have this, like, the ground’s kind of rumbling and it goes out and touches more and more people, but we weren’t out there to scratch that itch. You still have your actual fan base but you’re accumulating new people. So when we came back it was very exciting for us. It was about our fans and giving those new fans the experience.”

• Gray, who’s been sober for nearly two years, says that new music from Mudvayne is a distinct possibility. “We’ve already been working on some stuff. We’ve got 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 Psychotherapy Sessions 2023 tour with Mudvayne, GWAR, Coal Chamber, Nonpoint and Butcher Babies plays at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 6 at the Pine Knob Music Theatre, 33 Bob Seger Drive, Independence Township. (313)471-7000 or 313Presents.com.

MTV favorites from the ’80s play Pine Knob, Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre

Things to Do in metro Detroit this weekend

Motown icon Smokey Robinson comes home for special Fox Theatre concert

Howard Jones at Pine Knob, 5 Things to Know

Sign up for email newsletters