Mudvayne

Mudvayne are the metal equivalent of Nickelback: a relatively solid band that aren't too heavy to be ignored by radio playlists, but are heavy enough to be considered by middle-class mainstream conformists as "edgy." The other similarity is that just like their BC friends, Mudvayne, who are one of the last survivors of the nu-metal era, have a difficult time getting street cred ― just because you can move millions of units doesn't mean you have game. Despite boasting that their self-titled album is heavier and edgier than 2008's The New Game, and that the Illinois band have gone back to their roots, outside of an attempt to beef up their guitars, most notably on "Heard it all Before," it is essentially more of the "I hate myself" and "you bitch, you broke my heart" lyrics, and bleak, yet tepid, semi-industrialized melodic metal that sounds so pre-packaged it rings false.