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L.D. 50 (album)

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Untitled

L.D. 50 is the debut studio album by American nu metal band Mudvayne. Released in 2000, it is the band's first release on Epic Records, following the independently-released extended play, Kill, I Oughtta. L.D. 50 was coproduced by GGGarth and Mudvayne, and executive produced by Steve Richards and Slipknot member Shawn "Clown" Crahan.

The band's elaborate visual appearance resulted in increased recognition of the band, and L.D. 50 peaked at #85 on the Billboard 200. The album was appraised by critics for its technical and heavy style of music.

Background

Mudvayne formed in 1996 in Peoria, Illinois. The band became known for its strong visual appearance, which included horror film-styled makeup.[1] After independently releasing their debut extended play, Kill, I Oughtta, the band signed to No-Name/Epic Records.[1] L.D. 50 was produced by Garth "GGGarth" Richardson[2] and executive produced by Steve Richards and Slipknot member Shawn "Clown" Crahan.[1][3] Epic Records initially chose to promote the band without focusing on its appearance, and early promotional materials featured a logo instead of photographs of the band. However, the band's appearance and music videos increased recognition of the album.[1]

Music and lyrics

L.D. 50 features a technical style of music which they have referred to as "math metal".[4][5] Mudvayne was influenced by performers such as Emperor, King Crimson and Porcupine Tree.[5] Mudvayne's musical style incorporates elements of death metal,[6] jazz fusion,[7] hardcore punk,[6] speed metal[6] and progressive rock.[6]

The musical style of L.D. 50 has been described as alternative metal,[8] heavy metal[7][8][9] and nu metal.[10]

The album's first track, "Monolith", refers to Stanley Kubrick's film 2001: A Space Odyssey.[2] This track also samples a 1988 talk given by Terence McKenna, entitled "Hallucinogens and Culture. The album's title derives from the medical term used by chemists to refer to the dose required to kill half the members of a tested population.[2]

During the songwriting process, the band members paired riffs with lyrics based on what Matthew McDonough referred to as "number symbolism".[6] According to McDonough, while he and Chad Gray wrote the lyrics to "Nothing to Gein", Greg Tribbett performed a riff which alternated in bars of four and five. Because the number nine is a lunar number, McDonough felt that the riff would fit the song's lyrics, which referred to serial killer and grave robber Ed Gein, whose actions McDonough associated with nighttime activity.[6]

A sound collage entitled "L.D. 50" appears on the album as a series of interludes. The complete piece appeared as a bonus track on The Beginning of All Things to End, Epic Records' reissue of the band's 1997 self-released EP Kill, I Oughtta.[3][11]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[8]
Blabbermouth.net[12]
College Music Journal(favorable)[13]
The Daily Cardinal(favorable)[9]
Martin Charles Strong[14]
Melody Maker[10]
Rolling Stone[7]
Q[15]

L.D. 50 peaked at #1 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart and #85 on the Billboard 200.[16] The singles "Dig" and "Death Blooms" peaked at #33 and #32 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.[16]

Allmusic reviewer William Ruhlmann, Rolling Stone reviewer Ben Ratliff and Q magazine each gave the album three out of five stars.[7][8][15]

Ratliff noted the band's technical background, comparing the songwriting style to that of Nirvana, and stating that the album's interludes are better than those of Slipknot.[7] Ruhlmann found the band hard to take seriously.[8] Q referred to the album as "a clever amalgam of Korn, Tool and Mr. Bungle".[15]

Melody Maker gave the album three and a half out of five stars, calling it "A slithering cesspit of fetid malignance".[10] College Music Journal called the album "Futuristic aggro-metal".[13]

Blabbermouth.net reviewer Borivoj Krgin gave the album eight out of ten stars, praising its technicality and heavyness.[12] The Daily Cardinal reviewer Nate Finn wrote that L.D. 50 "[represents] nihilism in the form of music".[9] In The Essential Rock Discography, Martin Charles Strong gave the album six out of ten stars.[14]

Singles

  1. "Dig"
  2. "Death Blooms"
  3. "Nothing To Gein"

Track listing

All tracks are written by Chad Gray, Ryan Martinie, Greg Tribbett and Matthew McDonough

No.TitleLength
1."Monolith"1:52
2."Dig"2:43
3."Internal Primates Forever"4:25
4."-1"3:58
5."Death Blooms"4:52
6."Golden Ratio"0:54
7."Cradle"5:14
8."Nothing to Gein"5:29
9."Mutatis Mutandis"1:43
10."Everything and Nothing"3:14
11."Severed"6:33
12."Recombinant Resurgence"2:00
13."Prod"6:03
14."Pharmaecopia"5:34
15."Under My Skin"3:47
16."(k)Now F(orever)"7:06
17."Lethal Dosage"2:59
Total length:68:32

Personnel

  • Chad Gray — Vocals
  • Greg Tribbett — Guitar
  • Ryan Martinie — Bass
  • Matthew McDonough — Drums
  • GGGarth — Production, Engineering, Electro-organic audio manipulation
  • Andy Wallace — Mixing
  • Steve Richards — Executive producer
  • Shawn Crahan — Executive producer
  • Andre Wahl — Engineering, Electro-organic audio manipulation
  • Chris Vaughan-Jones — Engineering
  • Ben Kaplan — Engineering
  • Dean Maher — Engineering
  • Scott Ternan — Assistant engineer
  • Alex Aligizakis — Assistant engineer
  • Paul Forgues — Assistant engineer
  • Zak Blackstone — Assistant engineer
  • Steve Sisco — Assistant mix engineer
  • Howie Weinberg — Mastering
  • Richard Leighton — Guitar technician
  • Chris Crippin — Drum technician
  • Chris Potter — Technical support
  • Ron Vermuelen — Technical support

Chart positions

Album

Year Chart Position
2001 Top Heatseekers 1[16]
Billboard 200 85[16]

Singles

Year Single Chart Position
2001 "Dig" Mainstream Rock Tracks 33[16]
"Death Blooms" 32[16]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Hay, Carla (April 28, 2001). "No Name's Mudvayne 'Digs' into the Billboard 200". 113 (17): 17, 81. ISSN 0006-2510. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. ^ a b c McIver, Joel (2002). "Mudvayne". Nu-metal: The Next Generation of Rock & Punk. Omnibus Press. p. 86. ISBN 0711992096.
  3. ^ a b Sharpe-Young, Garry (2005). "Mudvayne". New Wave of American Heavy Metal. Zonda Books Limited. p. 213. ISBN 0958268401.
  4. ^ Wilson, Scott (August 30, 2001). "Mud Brothers". The Pitch. Retrieved 5 January 2009. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ a b Sheaffer, Caleb (April 9, 2003). "Mudvayne brings 'tongue-in-cheek' sensibility to BJC show". The Daily Collegian. Retrieved 5 January 2009. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ a b c d e f Bienstock, Richard (2002). "Mask Hysteria". In Kitts, Jeff; Tolinski, Brad (ed.). Guitar World Presents Nu-Metal. Hal Leonard Corporation. pp. 79–82. ISBN 0634032879.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)
  7. ^ a b c d e Ratliff, Ben (September 28, 2000). "Review of L.D. 50". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 24 February 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  8. ^ a b c d e Ruhlmann, William. "Review of L.D. 50". Allmusic. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
  9. ^ a b c Finn, Nate (November 15, 2000). "Nice nihilism on Mudvayne's 'L.D. 50'". The Daily Cardinal. Madison, Wisconsin. Retrieved 4 February 2010.
  10. ^ a b c "Review of L.D. 50". Melody Maker. October 17, 2000.
  11. ^ Torreano, Bradley. "Review of The Beginning of All Things to End". Allmusic. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
  12. ^ a b Krgin, Borivoj (December 25, 2001). "Review of L.D. 50". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
  13. ^ a b "Review of L.D. 50". September 11, 2000. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  14. ^ a b Strong, Martin Charles (2006). "Mudvayne". The Essential Rock Discography (8th ed.). Open City Books. p. 745. ISBN 1841958603.
  15. ^ a b c "Review of L.D. 50". Q. December 1, 2000.
  16. ^ a b c d e f "Charts and awards for L.D. 50". Allmusic. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
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