This week’s Throwback Thursday takes us back to the year 2000…

That summer we covered a tour called “Tattoo The Earth” with Slipknot, Slayer, Sevendust, Sepultura and many more. The festival toured across North America, and it was at the show in Scranton PA when we stumbled upon this week’s #tbt artist – Mudvayne.

They were fresh on the scene. Mudvayne had done a small tour run with Coal Chamber before hitting the road on this huge festival bill. I remember seeing a stark photo of these guys in the magazines. Their imagery of  bright, colors face paint, it just jumped off the pages and you couldn’t help but have these strong images embedded in your mind.

When we got to the festival, I had several interviews lined up as well as photographing the show/festival environment. It was funny because every time I turned around that day, I kept seeing this band walking around… no matter if I was walking around backstage or out in the crowd and checking out the festival booths. I guess I should of know then that there was a reason this band was in my path.

Ironically by the time they took that stage that night, I remember thinking that they put so much effort into their stage presence, that they had to suck musically. I went down to the photo pit, thinking that I was going to totally hate their music. Instead I was blown away and pleasantly surprised at the punch they packed and just how talented they actually were.
Their first album, “LD 50” had months to go before it’s release. I found myself adding that date to my calendar and counted down the days when I could hit the record store to pick it up. I remember later that year, the band finally came back to our area of NYS, and I was able to catch them again – this time in a smaller club and I actually knew the music. As luck would have it, after a series of odd events that night, I would be introduced to the band. I had a photo of Chad from the Tattoo The Earth tour that I had him sign one for a MPJ giveaway, as well as gave him a copy. He invited me out to another show to photograph them again… and well that fall/winter, I found them coming close enough to go and see them every few weeks. I had found my new favorite band and was very excited to see this band grow.

Below is a photo gallery from those early days. I hope you enjoy as much as I did.

Where is the band today… well let’s fast foward:

Chad Gray is currently singing for HellYeah – with band mates, Vinnie Paul (Pantera), Tom Maxwell (Nothingface), Kyle Sanders (Bloodsimple/Skrew) and Christain Brady. Hellyeah has four studio albums released, the first three albums included Greg Tribbett on guitar.

Greg Tribbett & Matt McDonough have teamed up once again with Billy Keeton (Skrape) and Perry Stern to form a new band called AUDIOTOPSY. Their debut album comes out Oct 2 via Nuclear Blast.

Ryan Martinie toured with Korn as he filled in for Fieldy as he sat out a European run when his wife was having their child. On that tour, Ryan would meet Abel Vallejo (longtime KORN drum tech) that led him to work with a new band Kurai featuring Ryan, Abel and Scott “SVH” Von Heldt. In 2015 – Ryan began teaching lesson at Warwick Bass Camp and has been doing some production work with R&B work.

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PHOTO GALLERY :

MUDVAYNE:: PHOTO GALLERY :: #TBT 2000

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VIDEO :

MUDVAYNE:

HELLYEAH:

AUDIOTOPSY:

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LINKS:

MUDVAYNE :

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HELLYEAH : hellyeahband.com

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AUDIOTOPSY :

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KURAI :

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MUSICIAN PHOTO JOURNAL :

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