Chad Gray has spent three decades screaming, snarling and generally causing absolute carnage at the front of Mudvayne and HELLYEAH — but could the metal veteran’s latest adventure be about to become something much bigger?
Because Gray has now opened the door to the possibility of releasing brand-new music under his own name.
And suddenly, that 30 Years Of Madness project isn’t looking quite so much like a nostalgia trip.
It could be the beginning of Chapter Three. 👀🔥
The Mudvayne and HELLYEAH frontman has been out celebrating three decades in heavy music with his 30 Years Of Madness solo shows, bringing together songs from both sides of his career alongside a hand-picked group of musicians.
But when asked whether that project could eventually produce original music, Gray didn’t exactly slam the door shut.
Far from it.
🎤 “I’m Certainly Not Opposed To It”
During an interview with Jesea Lee, Gray was asked about the possibility of releasing new music under the Chad Gray banner.
His answer?
“I’m certainly not opposed to it.”
Well then.
That’s enough to make a few metal ears prick up, mun. 🤘
Gray explained that one of the biggest considerations isn’t necessarily whether he wants to make music — it’s navigating the completely different landscape artists face when trying to release and promote new material in 2026.
According to Gray, it’s about having the right tools and, importantly, having the right people around you who can make sure fans actually know the music exists.
And that’s an interesting distinction.
He didn’t say:
“No, I’m not interested.”
He didn’t say:
“These shows are purely retrospective.”
He essentially said:
“I’m open to it — but it needs to be done properly.”
That’s a very different kettle of riffs. 😈
🔥 What Exactly Is 30 Years Of Madness?
The 30 Years Of Madness shows represent something we’ve never really had from Chad Gray before.
They’re his first proper solo live performances.
Rather than simply being another Mudvayne tour or an attempt to restart HELLYEAH, Gray has created something that allows him to celebrate his entire career.
The first show took place at the Fremont Country Club in Las Vegas on 24 April 2026, with Gray backed by musicians including:
- 🎸 Christian Brady – HELLYEAH guitarist
- 🎸 Marcus Rafferty – Mudvayne touring guitarist
- 🥁 Devin Attard – drums
- 🎸 Joe Bonasorte – guitar
- 🎸 Nick Villarreal – bass
That’s not exactly Chad wandering into a pub with an acoustic guitar and knocking out a few tunes after three pints.
This is a proper bloody band.
And that’s why the possibility of original material becomes particularly interesting.
The infrastructure is already there.
The chemistry is being built onstage.
The audience is there.
The songs from Gray’s past are there.
The only thing missing is a collection of songs that belongs specifically to this version of Chad Gray.
🤘 Mudvayne Are Taking 2026 Off
The timing also makes perfect sense.
Mudvayne have effectively stepped away from touring during 2026 after several extremely busy years following their reunion.
The band returned to the stage in 2021, ending a lengthy absence and kicking off another chapter in their story.
Since then, they’ve toured heavily and finally delivered something fans had waited years for:
new Mudvayne music.
In 2025, the band released:
🎵 Hurt People Hurt People
and
🎵 Sticks And Stones
They represented Mudvayne’s first new material since 2009.
That’s sixteen years between drinks.
Someone check the fridge, butt. 🍺
But after years of activity, Gray explained that the band felt it was sensible to put things “on ice” for a while rather than continually returning with another headline tour.
For Chad Gray personally, however, sitting at home apparently wasn’t particularly appealing.
The man wants to work.
The man wants to perform.
And so 30 Years Of Madness was born.
😈 Bringing HELLYEAH Back Into The Set
There’s another emotional element to these shows too.
HELLYEAH.
The band has effectively been inactive since 2020, following the death of legendary drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott in 2018 and the subsequent cancellation of touring plans during the pandemic.
For Gray, revisiting that material has understandably carried considerable emotional weight.
HELLYEAH wasn’t simply some side project created to fill time between Mudvayne albums.
It became a huge part of his musical life.
Gray spent years writing, recording and touring with the band alongside Vinnie Paul.
The pair created six studio albums together with HELLYEAH, and the band’s music represents an enormous chunk of Gray’s career.
The 30 Years Of Madness shows have finally given him an opportunity to bring those songs back onto the stage.
And that makes this project different.
It’s not Mudvayne.
It’s not HELLYEAH.
It’s Chad Gray celebrating everything he’s done.
Which means there’s absolutely room for something new.
🎵 Gray Has Already Released Solo Music Before
Interestingly, completely solo Chad Gray material isn’t entirely unprecedented.
Back in 2021, Gray released his own version of Always On My Mind, the classic song famously associated with Willie Nelson and Elvis Presley.
The recording was originally created for Gray’s wedding to SiriusXM personality Shannon Gunz.
Obviously, that’s a million miles away from launching a full-blown heavy metal solo band.
But technically?
We’ve already had music released under the Chad Gray name.
The question now is whether we’re eventually going to hear something completely original.
And THAT is where things start getting properly tasty. 🔥
🎸 What Would A Chad Gray Solo Album Even Sound Like?
Now we’re entering pure speculation territory.
And it’s brilliant territory.
Because what exactly does Chad Gray sound like when he doesn’t have to fit inside either Mudvayne or HELLYEAH?
Mudvayne have always possessed that twisted, technical, groove-heavy madness — unconventional rhythms, huge bass lines, disturbing atmosphere and Gray switching between vulnerability and outright vocal violence.
HELLYEAH had something different.
Bigger grooves.
Southern-metal swagger.
Huge choruses.
Straightforward brutality.
But a Chad Gray solo project wouldn’t necessarily need to follow either blueprint.
He could take bits of everything.
Imagine the rhythmic weirdness of Mudvayne colliding with the monstrous grooves of HELLYEAH, then throw another 30 years of musical experience into the blender.
That’s a potentially fascinating record.
And because this project carries his name, Gray could theoretically take it wherever the hell he wanted.
Heavy.
Melodic.
Industrial.
Groove metal.
Alternative.
Acoustic.
Experimental.
Or some horrible mutant combination of all six.
We’ll have one of those, please. 🤘
📻 Chad Gray On The Modern Music Industry
Gray’s hesitation appears to have less to do with creativity and more to do with how new music actually reaches people today.
He pointed towards Mudvayne’s experience with Hurt People Hurt People and Sticks And Stones.
Gray had apparently expected Sticks And Stones to perform particularly strongly, believing it had the potential to become a Top 10 track.
Instead, despite a positive response around the song, it didn’t reach the heights he’d anticipated.
For Gray, that highlighted how dramatically the industry has changed.
Radio.
Streaming.
Playlists.
Social media.
Algorithms.
Promotion.
TikTok.
YouTube.
Online communities.
Everything now fights for approximately six seconds of everyone’s attention before somebody starts watching a video of a cat falling off a sofa.
Welcome to modern music promotion. 😂
For an artist who’s spent decades operating in a more traditional record-label and radio environment, the modern system can understandably look completely different.
But there’s one massive advantage Gray already has.
A loyal fanbase.
🔥 The Fans Clearly Want More
The initial 30 Years Of Madness dates generated enough enthusiasm for the project to expand into further US dates across summer and autumn 2026.
The shows combine material from Mudvayne and HELLYEAH, giving fans something they simply can’t get from either band’s normal live shows.
And Gray has spoken passionately about wanting to take the project further.
That matters.
Because sometimes side projects start as a few gigs.
Then someone writes a riff backstage.
Someone else starts playing along.
A chorus appears.
A demo gets recorded.
And six months later everyone is standing there going:
“Erm… lads… have we accidentally made an album?”
We’ve seen stranger things happen in rock and metal.
Much stranger.
🤔 Could 30 Years Of Madness Become A Permanent Band?
That’s perhaps the biggest question.
Right now, 30 Years Of Madness is fundamentally a Chad Gray live celebration.
There’s been no official announcement of an original Chad Gray album, EP or single.
That’s important.
We’re not firing up the Riff Report Rumour Cannon and declaring an album is coming next Friday. 😂💥
But Gray being openly receptive to the idea changes the conversation.
If these shows continue succeeding…
If the musicians continue enjoying playing together…
If Gray starts writing…
Why wouldn’t something happen?
Sometimes the best bands aren’t formed around conference tables and five-year business plans.
They happen because musicians get into a room, plug in and realise:
“Bloody hell, this works.”
And judging by the momentum surrounding 30 Years Of Madness, there’s certainly fertile ground for something more.
🖤 Three Decades Of Chad Gray
Whatever happens next, the project serves as a reminder of just how much music Chad Gray has been involved with.
Mudvayne.
HELLYEAH.
Decades of touring.
Millions of records.
Festival stages.
Tiny clubs.
Arena tours.
Chaos.
Break-ups.
Reunions.
Loss.
Comebacks.
And now, for the first time, Gray is standing centre stage with his own name above the door.
That feels significant.
Maybe 30 Years Of Madness remains exactly what it is — one enormous celebration of his career.
Maybe Mudvayne return refreshed and Gray jumps straight back into that world.
Or maybe somewhere backstage right now there’s already a riff being kicked around that eventually becomes the first original Chad Gray song.
We don’t know yet.
But the door is open.
And that’s enough to get us excited.
🤘🔥 The Riff Report Verdict
A Chad Gray solo record?
Yeah, we’d absolutely give that a spin.
There’s something genuinely exciting about hearing an artist three decades into their career suddenly getting the freedom to create without necessarily having to satisfy the expectations attached to an established band.
Mudvayne comes with expectations.
HELLYEAH comes with expectations.
Chad Gray?
That’s currently a blank canvas.
And considering the bloke has spent 30 years supplying some of heavy music’s most distinctive vocals, we’d quite like to hear what happens when someone hands him that canvas, a bucket of paint and absolutely no instructions.
It’ll probably end up covered in blood, sweat and downtuned guitar strings.
Proper job. 🤘😂
For now, there is no confirmed Chad Gray solo album or original single.
But Gray isn’t ruling it out.
And sometimes in rock ‘n’ roll, that’s exactly where the fun begins.
🎤 What do you reckon, Riff Report crew?
Would you want a full Chad Gray solo album?
Should 30 Years Of Madness become a permanent band?
And would you want the music leaning towards Mudvayne’s twisted nu-metal madness, HELLYEAH’s groove-heavy punch, or something completely different?
Crank up the debate, butt. 🤘🔥
Proudly Welsh. Proudly Loud. 🐉🤘
The Riff Report
