Fans have been rabidly awaiting the return of Mudvayne, who are back for their first headlining tour in over a decade. Earlier this year, the hard rock band announced a tour of just over 30 days, in which they would terrorize towns across the U.S. The tour, dubbed the Psychotherapy Sessions Tour, would bring a stacked and demented lineup sure to appease the masses. Thursday night, they made their way to Irvine and the FivePoint Amphitheatre.
Kicking off the evening was Los Angeles’s own Butcher Babies. Fronted by dual vocalists, Heidi Shepherd and Carla Harvey, both have some impressive vocals ranges.
They two can alternate from angelic vocals reminiscent of Amy Lee of Evanescence, and mere seconds later transform into a growling roar from the pits of hell, such as with their opening number, “Red Thunder.” I kept watching guitarist Henry Flury absolutely shred on a thick-necked, eight-stringed guitar, like his solo on “Red Thunder.” They had some fun doing their metal interpretation of Saweetie’s “Best Friend.” Drummer Chase Brickenden’s rapid-fire drumming and double bass kick pedal shined on “Beaver Cage” as Brickenden and Harvey’s vocals came to a crescendo buildup, exploding into the last chorus.
Butcher Babies slowed it down for the ballad, “Last December” before closing their set with “Magnolia Blvd.”
Incorporating hard rock and nu metal in the vein of Sevendust or P.O.D., Nonpoint have been playing together since 1997 and brought that experience for their slot of the day. This was far from their first rodeo and a crowd of this size was nothing new for the Fort Lauderdale five-piece.
Visually I really liked their color-coordinated outfits, with the four front members all wearing red from head to toe, while drummer Robb Rivera was dressed in all black (to match their black banner with red font), while his drums faced sideways. They opened with “Victim,” but only played the first few minutes before transitioning into “Dodge Your Destiny.”
As the band kicked into “Chaos and Earthquakes,” lead singer Elias Soriano began rapping the intro to Drake’s “Back to Back” before going into the song’s actual lyrics. Nonpoint closed out with “Ruthless” and “Bullet With a Name.”
A huge roar went up preparing for the next band as a prerecorded message provided an ominous tale of Gwar’s history. During the band’s first song, “Hail, Genocide!” a character known as SawBorg Destructo began spraying blood from a giant saw blade attached to his arm.
For the band’s third song, someone came out in a shirtless exaggerated muscle costume and a Vladimir Putin mask as Gwar went into the aptly titled, “Mother Fucking Liar.” Lead singer, Blöthar the Berserker used his axe to sever both of “Putin’s” hands as his bloody stumps began spewing blood over the raucous crowd.
Gwar’s music and performance is somehow simultaneously heavy, yet hysterical, violent, yet utterly ridiculous, musically impressive and insane. There’s so much to take in and enjoy and everyone present was having a great time. Before “Completely Fucked,” they brought up two volunteers to be sacrificed by having their throats slit, most impressive of which was former MTV VJ and current KLOS talent, Matt Pinfield.
The band ended their set with a terrific cover of AC/DC’s “If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It)” as Blöthar the Berserker began spewing blood from two of the four phalluses on his loincloth.
Arguably the loudest reception of the night was reserved for Coal Chamber, who in their defense did have home court advantage being from Los Angeles.
First the Native American chant, “Crow Hop” began playing, led into the peaceful “Mr. Sandman,” only to be followed by the ominous “Halloween” theme song. The band led their set with “Loco” and the crowd went appropriately loco as the song suggests.
Part of Coal Chamber’s signature sound is the heavy, distorted bass made famous originally by Rayna Foss, and now being played by Nadja Peulen. Lead singer Dez Fafara, sporting face paint and his hair in two braids, was the showman of the group, leading them into battle and usually perched on the risers, front and center, simultaneously leading the crowd with every word. “I.O.U. Nothing” was backed by Mike Cox’s heavy drumming, hitting his set so hard you could practically feel every beat.
The crowd went insane for their cover of Flood’s “Rowboat,” a fan favorite. Finally, Coal Chamber finished with “Something Told Me” and “Sway.”
Right before Mudvayne’s set, a giant black banner with their logo was raised at the lip of the stage obscuring everything behind it. The lights went out, the banner dropped, and a huge ovation went up as the band appeared onstage, instruments in hand. Wasting no time, Mudvayne went into “Not Falling” and “Under My Skin.” Getting to witness Ryan Martinie’s playing in person is an experience.
With his trademark red horns and clad in just a pair of tiny shorts, his unique and groundbreaking bass-playing on songs like “Dull” and “Internal Primates Forever” have paved the way for other hard rock bassists, opening the possibilities of what is achievable.
Lead singer Chad Gray asked fans to hold up their phones in the air and “light the fucking sky up” as the band launched into “World So Cold.” While the tour name Psychotherapy Sessions is aimed at the collection of wicked and wild bands on the lineup, it is also – I believe – a call out to mental illness awareness. Gray took several minutes and multiple opportunities in between songs to discuss his own struggles with mental health over the years, and expressed that the fans helped him get out of so many dark times in which he thought there was truly no way out. He also expressed that if anyone else was struggling, he wanted each and every one of them to know “the world is a better place with you in it.”
Guitarist Greg Tribbett was dressed in all black concealing his body, with a red face-painted mask and goggles, and what I assume was a hat made to look like he had giant spikes, resembling an evil Sideshow Bob figure. His guitar riffs on “Nothing to Gein” and “Death Blooms” were accompanied perfectly by the precise and speedy drumming of Matthew McDonough.
McDonough’s heavy and intense lightning-pace drumming on “A New Game” was enough to melt your mind, leading into Tribbett wicked solo. The crowd exploded into cheers and singing as Mudvayne played their biggest hit, “Dig,” and finally closed with “Happy?”
It was an incredible night with all things loud and insane… Don’t miss out next time this craziness comes through your area.
