[1] Known for their sonic experimentation, face and body paint, masks and uniforms, the band has sold over five million records worldwide.

The band became popular in the late-1990s Peoria underground music scene,[citation needed] and they found success with the single "Dig" from their debut album L.D.

[3][4] Mudvayne, formed in 1996 in Peoria, Illinois, originally consisted of guitarist Greg Tribbett, drummer Matthew McDonough and bassist Shawn Barclay.

[5] The band's lineup was finalized a matter of months later when Chad Gray, who was earning $40,000 a year in a factory, quit his day job to become its lead singer.

[7][5] During the EP's recording, Barclay was replaced by Ryan Martinie, former bassist for the progressive rock band Broken Altar.

Nothingface guitarist Tom Maxwell became friends with Mudvayne vocalist Chad Gray, and they explored the possibility of a supergroup.

The following year, Nothingface again toured with Mudvayne; although plans for a supergroup continued, they were put on hold due to scheduling conflicts.

[17] In 2002, Mudvayne released The End of All Things to Come, which the band considers its "black album" due to its largely-black artwork.

[23] In 2003, Mudvayne participated in the Summer Sanitarium Tour, headlined by Metallica,[24] and in September, Chad Gray appeared on V Shape Mind's debut studio album Cul-De-Sac.

[24][27] In February, Gray and Martinie expressed an interest in appearing on Within The Mind – In Homage to the Musical Legacy of Chuck Schuldiner, a tribute to the founder of the metal band Death,[28] but the album was never produced.

[24] In August, former Mudvayne bassist Shawn Barclay released his band Sprung's debut album, mastered by King's X guitarist Ty Tabor.

[30] In September, the band met with director Darren Lynn Bousman, whose film Saw II was in production and would include "Forget to Remember" from Lost and Found.

[19] In 2006, Gray, Tribbett and Tom Maxwell were joined by former Pantera and Damageplan drummer Vinnie Paul for the supergroup Hellyeah.

[31] Two years later, LaScalia filed a lawsuit against radio station owner Clear Channel Broadcasting, concert promoter Live Nation, the University of Denver and members of Mudvayne and Korn.

[41] In 2012, Ryan Martinie toured with Korn as a temporary replacement for bassist Reginald Arvizu, who remained at home during his wife's pregnancy.

[42] The following year, Martinie played bass on Kurai's debut EP, Breaking the Broken,[43] In 2014, Tribbett left Hellyeah.

[44] On April 19, 2021, Mudvayne announced that they had reunited and would play their first shows in 12 years in the fall, which included festival appearances at Inkcarceration Music & Tattoo in Mansfield, Aftershock in Sacramento and Welcome to Rockville in Florida; concert promoter and festival organizer Danny Wimmer stated that these would be the band's only live appearances for 2021.

The band were previously scheduled to also appear at Louder Than Life in Louisville, before the performance was canceled on September 21 due to Gray and some staff members contracting COVID-19.

[48] The tour's stop in Tampa made headlines when during one show, Gray fell off the stage while performing the song "Not Falling".

[16][59] Mudvayne's influences include Tool, Pantera, King Crimson, Genesis, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Carcass, Deicide, Emperor, Miles Davis, Black Sabbath, Rush,[60][61] Metallica, Slayer, Korn, and Deftones.

[57][66][71][86] Eli Enis of Revolver magazine wrote that the band "wriggled between nu-metal, alt-metal, prog and hard rock in a way that remains completely unrivaled to this day.