Photo By Marylin Bell

Words and Photos by Marylin Bell

It was a night of nu metal with Mudvayne bringing the 25th Anniversary of L.D. 50 tour to the Hollywood Palladium on September 28. They brought along industrial nu metal veterans Static-X.

Photo By Marylin Bell

Opening the show was the younger nu metal band Vended. The band may best be known for having two dads in Slipknot. Singer Griffin Taylor is the son of Corey Taylor, and drummer Simon Crahan’s dad is Shawn “Clown” Crahan. Since the band’s formation in 2018, they’ve been carving out their own path, playing their first live show in 2020 before the pandemic forced them into hiatus. Guitarist Connor Grodzicki left the band for personal reason just before the start of this tour, but that didn’t stop them from giving a great performance proving they fit nicely on the bill with the more senior nu metal legends on the tour. Their debut self-titled album was released last year. 

Photo By Marylin Bell

Static-X was up next, and they’re also celebrating a 25th anniversary on this tour for their platinum debut Wisconsin Death Trip. They tore right into the title track for the second song. The set was mostly from Wisconsin Death Trip, but they did mix in a few other songs including “Terminator Oscillator” from the recent Project Regeneration era. In the place of the late Wayne Static was robot Zer0, X-Bot. There’s still plenty of debate over this, but the robot mask fits seamlessly and lets the fans focus on the songs without getting hung up on seeing the “wrong” face. The Wisconsin Death Trip 25th Anniversary Corrosive Edition is out now with a remastered version of the album and a second disc of demos, alternate versions, and rare tracks. The Evil Disco documentary that was announced last year should be released next year. 

After Static-X, the crowd was ready for Mudvayne. It was mayhem and crowdsurfing from nearly the first note. The band still has the aesthetic style they’re known for including the face paint. It was like being at a Mudvayne show back when L.D. 50 first came out on Epic Records. Singer Chad Gray (Chüd) took a moment early in the set to send out love to guitarist Greg Tribbett in his absence. Tribbett is sitting out this tour after his wife recently passed away. After that, it was back to the maximum intensity show. The set was all L.D. 50 until the encore. The six-song encore featured their biggest commercial hits and fan favorites “Not Falling” and “Happy?” and the live debut of the newly released “Sticks and Stones” which is part of a double A Side 7” vinyl with “Hurt People Hurt People.” Both songs were released in the last month, the first new singles from Mudvayne in 16 years. It’s available for preorder on their website now.