By the People, For the People

Album Review

As the title By the People, for the People implies, the track listing of this comp was left up to Mudvayne's people, so to speak. The band's faithful fans voted on their favorite songs, via mudvayne.com, submitted and selected the artwork for the album, and left the group to pick their favorite unreleased versions of the songs — live versions, rarities, demo versions, or other. With a new original song "Dull Boy," an acoustic version of "Forget to Remember," a new cover of the Police's "King of Pain" (that's about as good as you might expect), eight demos, and a few live songs, this is the type of for-fans-only CD that should bring great excitement to Mudvayne collectors and very little to others. If you are, in fact, a fan of the band, there is still one shortcoming to the disc. Every other track on is a ten- to 30-second explanation of the upcoming track, provided by vocalist Chad Gray. This is frustrating as it breaks up the continuity with "behind the music" factoids that never manage to be very insightful. For example, before "Death Blooms (Demo)" is played, you learn that it was originally recorded at Signal Sound Source in Chicago, March through April of 1999, and was one of the first songs to create a buzz about Mudvayne. While a description of how the songs were created could be interesting (albeit, disruptive to someone only wanting to hear music), the facts provided here are short enough to fit neatly in the liner notes. That said, the sound quality is great, and hardcore fans will enjoy the opportunity to hear some alternate songs from their favorite nu-metal band that sometimes dress up like scary aliens.