Mudvayne’s Chad Grey Targets ‘Atrocious’ Lip Syncers, ‘Actual Bands Make Actual Music’

During a recent appearance on the Syncin’ Stanley YouTube channel, Mudvayne’s lead vocalist Chad Gray took a stand against lip-syncing acts, labeling them far from being a ‘real’ band.

He initially questioned why those artists are on stage if they can’t sing or play their songs live, as their performances lack special quality. Gray then said:

“Again, I’ve seen bands where their tape stops and it’s absolutely f*cking atrocious. It doesn’t sound even remotely close to anything. And I have some friends that do actually do it, but they do it, again, with musical parts or whatever. It’s not this blatant, you know, backing vocals or lead vocals. It’s very frustrating.”

The singer continued, naming some of the bands he thinks are making real music:

“There’s so many great real bands out there, man. Every band that I am a fan of didn’t do this sh*t. You think about the Metallicas, the Slayers, the Panteras – the old-school Panteras with Vinnie and Dime. [Look at] f*cking Lamb of God. They’re real bands doing real sh*t.”

Using backing vocals and lip-syncing has been a hot debate with bands like Mötley Crüe and KISS at the center. Wolfgang Van Halen was critical of the practice in a June interview with Ola Englund, as he thought the bands should be able to play their music live without relying heavily on pre-recorded elements. Scott Ian, on the other hand, said he ‘didn’t care’ about it, further explaining:

“Obviously, I’m aware that this is something that’s going on these days now that technology has made it possible to do these kinds of things. And my opinion is I really don’t care. I don’t care what artists do or what bands do to make their shows happen.”

You can watch Gray’s interview below.