The 2010 Arsies: January 19, 2010

January 19, 2010

Today, the Arsies pits chronically overlooked Mudvayne against Austrian Death Machine, a parody offshoot with two Schwarzenegger impersonators on its payroll. And really, today's matchup is a great example of a band shooting themselves in the foot. By choosing a release date of December 21st, it was all but guaranteed that the eponymous "Mudvayne" would follow in the footsteps of their other forgotten albums (which I can't name off the top of my head, and let's be honest: I've always been more into Mudvayne than anyone else I know, so if not me, who's gonna stand up for them?). This is too bad, because the album does have some interesting moments mixed in with their curiously bland blend of nu metal.
But c'mon. As a metal band in 2009, you need to really step it up if you're going to defeat "Double Brutal," a double-length album that might have just won this round based solely on song titles ("Let Off Some Steam Bennett", "See You at the Party Richter", "Come on, Do it, Do it, Come on, Come on, Kill me, Do It Now"), were it not also for the inclusion of covers of songs by Metallica, Megadeth, The Misfits... or the cameo appearances from members of Unearth and All Shall Perish. Poor Mudvayne never stood a chance. Congrats, Austrian Death Machine!