MUDVAYNE
w/ Static-X + Vended
9/16/25 – Eagles Ballroom, Milwaukee, WI
©Justin Nuoffer/NuofferMedia.com
With a bright and sunny day came all sorts of life in the city of Milwaukee. The Brewers, just down the road, were home, and the parking lots had traffic backed up onto the highway. Downtown was bustling with people enjoying the fading summer vibes at patios lining the streets. Outside the historic Rave/Eagles Ballroom, lines formed hours before the scheduled door time, which led to the venue opening early and allowing people to move through security checkpoints at a reasonable pace. Once inside, everyone was ushered up the stairs and into the box office area or out onto the patio.
The patio was lined with beverage stands and food trucks. Since it was a weekday show, many people were coming straight from work, so the food trucks and patio seating filled up quickly. Mudvayne’s tour merchandise also had a separate tent outside to help ease traffic indoors.
When the time came, the massive doors to the venue opened, and the stairs up to the Eagles Ballroom quickly filled. At the top of the first set of stairs, another bar and merch booths for Vended and Static-X awaited. To the left, stairs led up into the Eagles Ballroom. The massive ballroom glowed with gold trim and light pouring in through the windows. Bars filled on both sides of the room, and the security barrier was five deep in no time. Above the main floor, the opera boxes and VIP areas slowly filled in. The ninety-nine-year-old building was alive and youthful once again.
The opening act for the evening was Vended out of Des Moines, Iowa. Vended started to carve their way through the landscape a few years back and began to etch their names into most keep an eye on lists. With a thirty-minute set time, they wasted no time crushing their audience. Opening with “Nihilism” and “Ded To Me,” the undeniable power awoke the crowd.
Check out the Vended concert photo gallery below:
The vocals of Griffin Taylor unleashed vicious screams left and right. Most of the material came from their self-titled full-length that was released last year. Two more tracks from it were “Am I The Only One” and “Pitiful.” On drums, Simon Crahan was a machine as they worked their way through the material. The two band founders knew they crushed it. The reaction they had to the overwhelmingly warm celebration after finishing “Asylum” was quite noticeable. Smiles and “Hell yeahs” were seen and heard from the stage.
As direct tour support, Static-X joined the celebration of nearly twenty-five years of Wisconsin Death Trip. Massive video panels wrapped around the Eagles Ballroom stage. As the introduction began, a large disco ball-headed character roamed the stage. Fake snow filled the stage and crowd as the band took their places. Drummer Ken Jay started a quick drum fill that kicked off “Bleed for Days.” Instantly, the crowd sang along to the opening verse. The atmosphere was incredible.
The band cruised through “Wisconsin Death Trip” and “Fix” before launching into “Terminator Oscillator” from Project: Regeneration Vol. 1. The song amplified all of the insanity taking place out on the floor—crowd surfers one after another. The unearthed track has become a staple of Static-X’s sets and a fan favorite. That outpouring of love for the song is a big reason why the band are more than just a celebration of Wayne Static’s life. They are once again a national act that fans adore.
With bassist Tony Campos and guitarist Koichi Fukuda performing the tracks they helped create, everything felt right with the world. The mysterious frontman Xer0, performing as an homage to the late Static, led the band through song after song with ease. The overall feeling was pure fun. Pumping out tracks like “I Am,” “Black and White,” and “Get to the Gone,” the historic venue was deafening. The mosh pit raged as occasional blasts of snow fell over the general admission area.
Check out the Static-X concert photo gallery below:
Closing out the night, the band delivered three of their biggest tracks: “Cold,” “I’m with Stupid,” and “Push It.” Each was beyond electric. Fans screamed the lyrics and headbanged along. Static-X put on an incredible live performance that demands attention from start to finish. Their legacy has been fully regenerated.
The reason the Eagles Ballroom was packed was to celebrate Mudvayne and their timeless nu-metal album L.D. 50. Their very first major label release back in 2000 was an out-of-nowhere smash within the scene. The visuals and music videos drew attention right away. Twenty-five years later, here we are. The band, having survived a hiatus and time with other projects, never lost their popularity. In fact, judging by the size of the crowds, they’ve gained fans. The youth have shown up in massive numbers.
The intro track to L.D. 50 built up a grandiose anticipation as the waiting game began for that infamous bass ring of “Dig.” Then it hit, and the entire venue exploded. Vocalist Chad Grey ran onto the stage and unleashed the initial scream as the fans along the barricade joined him. This was early foreshadowing for the rest of the night. The pure, fiery intensity from the get-go burned consistently as they churned through “Internal Primates Forever,” “-1,” and “Severed.” Grey made sure to keep himself either on the edge of the stage or quite literally in the crowd. He shook hands, grabbed shoulders, and high-fived every single person he could reach. There was no mistaking what this show was about: fans, friends, and family.
Notably, guitarist Greg Tribbett was absent due to the passing of his wife. Whether knowingly or not, the pain was felt. Cancer has no limits and affects everyone. A lone guitar stood on stage, paying respect to the Tribbetts. The devastatingly brutal single “Death Blooms,” followed by the “Golden Ratio” interlude, allowed the focus to shift to the memorial on the right side of the stage.
This was the lone interlude for the L.D. 50 celebration, but the chaos only built higher. Bodies circling in the pit looked like they were floating rather than being thrown around. Pouring every ounce of sweat into “Cradle” and “Under My Skin,” Ryan Martinie whipped his bass as he stomped back and forth. His facial expressions were as devilish as his stage persona. The devil rattled and took souls with every finger pull of the strings. Rounding out this half of the set were “Prod” and “Nothing to Gein.” Mudvayne didn’t miss a beat; they looked and sounded like a well-oiled machine that had found a time machine to 2025.
After that leap forward in time, they came out with their new track “Hurt People Hurt People,” which in a live setting feels nostalgic and pounds itself into the listener’s eardrums. It fit perfectly with the vibe of the night. Unleashing the biggest hits of their career, Mudvayne wowed the dedicated Milwaukee fan base with a true-to-album performance of “Dull Boy.” The thundering snare and tom smacks rang through the VIP section above. Matt McDonough destroyed his kit, his movements fluid and quick.
Much like his stand-alone performance, “World So Cold” allowed Grey to showcase his vocal range. He isn’t a one-trick pony; the man can truly sing, and he poured his heart into it. You could feel the pain in the lyrics, which led to a sense of hopefulness and strength with “Determined,” an anthem about chasing your goals and never giving up. The historic Eagles Ballroom was alive with arms and bodies flying across the famous hardwood floor as fans hung over the edges of the opera boxes above. It was uncontrollable insanity, rounding out the night with “Not Falling” and “Happy?”
Check out the Mudvayne concert photo gallery below:
Mudvayne took their time walking off stage, making sure to wave and point to every section of the venue. The crowd didn’t file out right away. Fans weren’t ready to leave, lingering before finally making their way out to the patio and parking lot.
Mudvayne are back on top of their game, and there’s no doubt their appreciation for the fans is genuine. They often speak of it, and on stage, they share smiles and pats on the back. What was once lost is found again, as the old adage goes. With two new tracks released, there’s hope for an eventual album, but let’s not get greedy just yet. Let’s enjoy what we have right now, in this moment.
