Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing and Boring, December 5, 2008
Big time disappointing album. Only 2 songs are worth listening to, the recycled Dull Boy and We The People. The uniqueness of Mudvayne is gone, the heaviness is gone, the noticeable bass lines are gone, the intense screaming that seemed to have substance behind them are gone. What you have left is boring, radio friendly, cookie cutter rock music.
Is it me or do you notice that when bands stop using swear words without inhibition (such as w/ this album) there music becomes a little more bland, (i.e Slipknot, Deftones and now Mudvayne). I guess that's a sign of them trying to become more radio friendly and wanting more record sales.
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7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Mudvayne? More Like Mr. Clean-vayne., March 9, 2009
Unfortunately, Mudvayne has now fallen into a category of successful alternative metal bands that have changed their sound, or toned it down, to sell more records. I can only believe that after the major success of "Happy?", they wanted to make an album of radio-friendly tunes to hopefully carry on that success.
This trend is disappointing, as we have all seen Korn, Linkin Park, Finger Eleven, and many more bands take this route. Now don't get me wrong: I still own all the recent albums from these bands, and listen to them from time to time. They aren't bad albums, per se, but they lack the energy and excitement that their earlier albums provided. What we are left with is a collection of songs that are listenable, even catchy at times. The problem is that they don't stand out from the hundreds of other bands that permeate the airwaves. The edge they had is gone.
When Mudvayne released LD:50 in 2000, that album became the soundtrack to my college days. It was intense, unpredictable, heavy, and unlike anything I had or have ever heard. In my opinion, it is one of the best albums of the last ten years. While it may be the least accessible to the average listener, because of the insane song structures, screaming, and overall heaviness, it is their masterpiece. Every song on the album felt like an integral piece, meant to be listened to as a whole.
Mudvayne has altered their sound since their debut, becoming less intense and more radio-friendly. Also, their albums became less like albums, and more like collections of random songs. The End of All THings to COme bridged the gap from metal to hard rock, and Lost and Found was much more hard rock than metal.
The New Game is not a bad album. There are some really good songs on here, such as "Do What You Do", "Dull Boy", and "Fish Out of Water". If you are a diehard fan of LD 50, I would suggest you listen before you buy, or at least try to take it for what it is.
It sounds like there is hope for the future, as there are rumors that we will have a HEAVY Mudvayne album within the next year.
THe New Game gets 3.5 Stars from me, as it can't compare to earlier Mudvayne. They are still better than 75% of the garbage out there, though.
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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Same band members, same band name, completely different band., December 18, 2008
Let me just start this by saying that this album is the final nail in the coffin for my hopes that Mudvayne would get back to the LD 50 Mudvayne I know and absolutely love. I loved Pantera and I love Mudvayne, but Hell Yeah was just... I couldn't stand that album. In comparison to that, this album is 5 stars but if you're going to like this album as a Mudvayne fan, you have to almost view the band as if this album is the completion of redefining themselves. I mean, when was the last time you heard Gregg bust out a guitar solo? You will on this album, and a couple of them at that.
I gave this album 3 stars because while I liked listening to the album, not a whole lot of it makes me want to keep this CD spinning over and over... and that really saddens me, because I used to be all about this band. They've gone from having a sound that's completely their own to a sound that's extremely radio-friendly and non-enjoyable to spin any more than once or twice through as a listener. Chad has stated that they consider this as growth in themselves as musicians. Because they consider this album the fruition of growth, I decided I would rate this album based on the Mudvayne that's obviously here to stay; a new Mudvayne that's far, far away from the complexity, honesty, and purpose of LD 50.
I'll still check out future Mudvayne material in hopes of hearing some semblance of LD 50; an album I STILL listen to straight through and repeat it with the desire to hear more and more. Sorry, Mudvayne. If any of you happen to read this, I'm thrilled that you're all satisfied with yourselves and feel that you're growing as musicians. I completely appreciate that perspective but each album has brought about a certain distancing from someone like me who basically considers LD 50 to be as musically important with its statement as some of the most influential albums of all time!
"The New Game" is appropriate when considering this is obviously the finality of Mudvayne's musical growth and direction. It's not bad by any means; there's a lot of good music on here, but it's just not interesting to a listener like me who looks for the complexity and musical statement once made by the same 4 individuals on LD 50.
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