Chad Gray (born October 16, 1971) is an American singer, best known as the lead vocalist of heavy metal bands

Mudvayne Mudvayne is an American heavy metal band formed in Peoria, Illinois in 1996. Known for their sonic experimentation, face and body paint, masks and uniforms, the band has sold over six million records worldwide, including nearly three millio ...

and Hellyeah.

Career

Mudvayne

Gray quit his factory job that paid $40,000 a year to move to Peoria, Illinois and formed Mudvayne. The band's first album, '' L.D. 50'', was released in 2000 to unexpected success, selling over half a million copies within a year of its release. Mudvayne went on to become one of the most successful heavy metal acts of the 2000s, and released four more studio albums—'' The End of All Things to Come'' (2002), ''

Lost and Found A lost and found (American English) or lost property (British English), or lost articles (also Canadian English) is an office in a public building or area where people can go to retrieve lost articles that may have been found by others. Frequen ...

'' (2005), '' The New Game'' (2008) and ''

'' (2009)—before going on hiatus in 2010. On April 19, 2021, it was announced that Mudvayne were reuniting for their first shows in over a decade, with the possibility of new material to follow. He wrote Mudvayne's "

Death Blooms "Death Blooms" is a song by American heavy metal band Mudvayne and the second single from their debut album, '' L.D. 50''. Background and meaning The song was written by lead singer Chad Gray about his grandmother and how she was being neglecte ...

" about his grandmother's disease.

Hellyeah

Gray became friends with Nothingface guitarist Tom Maxwell, and they talked about the possibility of forming a supergroup. The following year, Nothingface toured with Mudvayne and talks to form the supergroup continued, although were constantly put on hold due to scheduling conflicts. At this time, Gray and Maxwell had brainstormed five band names. upright=0.8, Gray performing with Hellyeah in 2010 Mudvayne guitarist Greg Tribbett approached Maxwell "out of the blue" and wanted to join the band. Nothingface drummer Tommy Sickles originally helmed the drum kit for the band's demo, however, things did not work out and the search for a new drummer began.Jon Wiederhorn, "Hellyeah: Night Riders", '' Revolver'', March 2007, p. 60-64
link to ''Revolver'' back issues
) The band knew former Pantera and

Damageplan Damageplan was an American heavy metal band from Dallas, Texas, formed in 2003. Following the demise of their previous group Pantera, brothers Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul Abbott wanted to start a new band. The pair recruited former Diesel ...

drummer

Vinnie Paul Vincent Paul Abbott (March 11, 1964 – June 22, 2018) was an American musician best known for being the drummer and co-founder of the heavy metal band Pantera. He also co-founded Damageplan in 2003 with his younger brother, 'Dimebag' Darrell ...

, and tried to persuade him to join the band as their drummer. Originally, Paul was not sure if he would return to music after the death of his brother,

Dimebag Darrell Darrell Lance Abbott (August 20, 1966 – December 8, 2004), best known by his stage name Dimebag Darrell, was an American musician. He was the guitarist of the heavy metal bands Pantera and Damageplan, both of which he co-founded alongside hi ...

and an 18-month hiatus: "It was one of those things that I didn't think I'd be a part of this ever again without him, and after about a year and a half had gone by, these guys called me up, Chad rayand Tom

axwell Axel Christofer Hedfors (; born 18 December 1977), better known by his stage name Axwell, is a Swedish DJ, record producer, remixer and owner of Axtone Records. He is a member of Swedish House Mafia along with Sebastian Ingrosso and Steve Angello ...

they were like, 'We're thinking about putting this band together, would you be into it?' First couple of times, I told them, 'No, I don't think I'm ready to do this yet.' And they just were real persistent, they kept calling me. And one night, I had been drinking some red wine and listening to some KISS on 12"

vinyl record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts nea ...

and I said, 'You know what, lets take a shot at this, lets see what happens.'" The band's persistence paid off and Paul joined the project. Paul commented about joining the project: "Everybody had their head in the right place and that let's-tear-the-world-a-new-ass attitude". Hellyeah released six studio albums before the band went on hiatus in 2021.

Other works

Gray has made several guest appearances with other bands, including on the songs "Monsters" by

V Shape Mind V Shape Mind was an American alternative rock band. They released one major label album in 2003 before disbanding the following year. Background V Shape Mind was formed in 1999 and toured the local Illinois metal scene, during which they self ...

, "Falling Backwards" by

Bloodsimple Bloodsimple was an American heavy metal band from New York City that formed in 2002. They were signed to Warner Bros. Records. The band's name comes from a term coined by detective novelist Dashiell Hammett. The term apparently describes t ...

and "

Miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divi ...

" by

Nonpoint Nonpoint is an American rock band from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The band currently consists of vocalist Elias Soriano, drummer Robb Rivera, lead guitarist Jaysin Zeilstra, rhythm guitarist Rasheed Thomas, and bassist Adam Woloszyn. History ...

. Gray has made an appearance during Mitch Lucker's Memorial Show and sang "Fuck Everything" by

Suicide Silence Suicide Silence is an American deathcore band from Riverside, California. The band was established in 2002, and has released six studio albums, three EPs, and nineteen music videos. They were awarded the ''Revolver'' Golden God award for "Bes ...

Personal life

Gray was previously married to Kelli Olson in 2005. He is currently married to Shannon Gunz as of 2020, a radio host for several Sirius XM channels including

Turbo In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pr ...

, Octane and Ozzy's Boneyard.

Discography

Mudvayne

Studio albums * '' L.D. 50'' (2000) * '' The End of All Things to Come'' (2002) * ''

'' (2005) * '' The New Game'' (2008) * ''

'' (2009) Compilation albums * '' By the People, for the People'' (2007) EPs * ''

Kill, I Oughtta ''Kill, I Oughtta '' is the debut extended play of American heavy metal band Mudvayne. It was self-released by the band in 1997. In 2001, the EP was reissued by Epic Records under the title ''The Beginning of All Things to End''. The reissue fea ...

'' (1997) (re-released in 2001 as ''The Beginning of All Things to End'') * ''Live Bootleg'' (2003)

Hellyeah

* '' Hellyeah'' (2007) * ''

Stampede A stampede () is a situation in which a group of large animals suddenly start running in the same direction, especially because they are excited or frightened. Non-human species associated with stampede behavior include zebras, cattle, elephants ...

'' (2010) * '' Band of Brothers'' (2012) * '' Blood for Blood'' (2014) * '' Unden!able'' (2016) * '' Welcome Home'' (2019)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Chad 1971 births Musicians from Decatur, Illinois People from Klamath Falls, Oregon American heavy metal singers Mudvayne members Hellyeah members Living people Progressive metal musicians Singers from Oregon Nu metal singers Alternative metal musicians 21st-century American singers