Matthew McDonough (born March 12, 1969) is an American drummer best known as a member of the heavy metal band

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 ...

. He is the band's original drummer and has appeared and performed on every release by Mudvayne. He was also the original drummer of Audiotopsy since 2015 until his departure in 2021. He holds a respected place in the world of drumming for his signature drumming style.

Early life

McDonough was born in

Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, located in the far northern part of the state. Situated on the banks of the Rock River, Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County (a small portion of the city is located in Ogle County). ...

, he attended

Rockford East High School Rockford East High School (sometimes referred to as East) is a comprehensive four year high school of Rockford Public School District 205 in Rockford, Illinois. Opened in 1940 to replace Rockford High School, East opened simultaneous to Rockf ...

and was a member of the

Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps (commonly referred to as "Phantom") is a World Class competitive junior drum and bugle corps based in Rockford, Illinois, USA. The corps is a long-standing member of Drum Corps International (DCI), having be ...

. He was previously in a band called ''On the Shoulders of Giants''; as well as a band called Daed Kcis. He also lived in Washington, IL and went to

Washington Community High School Washington Community High School (WCHS) is a public high school located in Washington, Illinois. The district, Washington Community High School District 308, was first chartered in 1920, but the current high school on Bondurant Street was opene ...

Career

Mudvayne

Within

, McDonough was said to be the most influential person in setting the direction for the concept themes on the band's first two albums. He is also known for composing, recording, mixing, and mastering the electronic interludes on both '' L.D. 50'' (2000) and ''

The End of All Things to Come ''The End of All Things to Come'' is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Mudvayne. Released on November 19, 2002, the album expanded upon the sound of the band's first album, '' L.D. 50'', with a more versatile range of sounds, d ...

'' (2002). Mudvayne, who were enjoying immense popularity, released three more albums—''

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 ''The New Game'' is the fourth studio album by American heavy metal band Mudvayne. It was released on November 18, 2008, by Epic Records, and its first single, " Do What You Do", began receiving airplay on September 23, 2008. The album debuted a ...

'' (2008) and ''

'' (2009)—before going on an indefinite hiatus in 2010. They announced their reunion in April 2021.

Audiotopsy

In 2015, McDonough formed the band Audiotopsy with former

Skrape Skrape was an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Orlando, Florida in 1997. History Formed in 1997 under the name "Jojo", they later renamed to "Skrape" two years later. Prior to their formation in 1997, members had been invol ...

lead vocalist Billy Keeton, former Mudvayne lead guitarist

Greg Tribbett Gregory Arnold Tribbett Jr. (born November 7, 1968) is an American guitarist who is one of the founding members, lead guitarist and backing vocalist of the metal band Mudvayne. He is also the former lead guitarist and backing vocalist of the met ...

, and bassist Perry Stern. They released their debut studio album ''Natural Causes'' on October 2, 2015. In 2021, he and guitarist

left Audiotopsy due to the reformation of

Other projects

For his solo work, in 2008 McDonough released his first album under the alias "MjDawn" with his cousin David W. McDonough, called ''

Frequency Response In signal processing and electronics, the frequency response of a system is the quantitative measure of the magnitude and phase of the output as a function of input frequency. The frequency response is widely used in the design and analysis of sy ...

''.
/ref> On the album, he experiments with acoustic drumming and

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...

. McDonough, as MjDawn, also has several side projects both with ambient/electronica artist Vir Unis under the band name MiKroNaught and with guitarist RFSans under the band name ultrAtheist. On the production side of the music industry, he is co-owner of the label AtmoWorks together with Vir Unis.

Equipment

McDonough uses

Pearl drums , simply known as Pearl, is a multinational corporation based in Japan with a wide range of products, predominantly percussion instruments. History Pearl was founded by Katsumi Yanagisawa -who began manufacturing music stands in Sumida, Tokyo- o ...

Alchemy cymbals Istanbul Agop Cymbals is a cymbal producer based in Turkey. Its products are well respected for their unique sound, which is formed by the method and the alloy used, the formula of which is known only to the owners of the firm, Armenians Arman an ...

, Easton Ahead Signature drum sticks, Easton Ahead drum gloves and Evans drum heads. His Pearl Masterworks kit with custom tobacco fade finish and custom satin chrome hardware includes: * 20x16 bass drum * 13x8 custom snare drum * 8x7 tom (suspended directly on top of his 10x8 tom) * 10x8 tom * 12x9 tom * 14x10 tom * 16x16 suspended floor tom * 18x16 suspended floor tom (to his left)

Discography

Mudvayne

Studio albums * '' L.D. 50'' (2000) * ''

'' (2002) * ''

'' (2005) * ''

'' (2008) * ''

'' (2009) Compilation Albums * ''

By the People, for the People ''By the People, for the People'' is a compilation album by American heavy metal band Mudvayne. It was released on November 27, 2007 by Epic Records. The album features a track listing chosen entirely by the band's fans, with the band determini ...

'' (2007) * ''Playlist: The Very Best of Mudvayne'' (2011) 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) * '' The Beginning of All Things to End'' (2001) * ''Live Bootleg'' (2003)

Audiotopsy

;Studio albums * ''Natural Causes'' (2015) * ''The Real Now'' (2018)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McDonough, Matthew 1969 births Living people Mudvayne members Musicians from Peoria, Illinois American heavy metal drummers Progressive metal musicians Nu metal drummers 20th-century American drummers American male drummers