Puddle of Mudd

At some point in the late 1990s, American rockers finally said goodbye to grunge, started skate boarding, fell in love with funky bass lines, realised the sales potential of a catchy hook and discovered hip hop. Signed to Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst's label Flawless Records, Puddle of Mudd came as part of this wave of nu metal acts and, alongside the likes of Blink 182, Primus and Linkin Park, gave the US alternative scene a new identity. Led by Wes Scantlin and originally formed in Kansas City in 1992, the band slogged away for years and released little-known debut album Abrasive (1997) on an independent label before Durst heard their demos and Scantlin headed to California without his original bandmates. Reborn with major label backing and Doug Artito on bass, Paul Phillips on guitar and Greg Upchurch on drums, their single "Blurry" reached Number 5 in the US and "She Hates Me" also became a major hit, while the album Come Clean (2001) made the Top 10 and sold over 5 million copies. Follow-up Life on Display (2003) reached the Top 20 and they won four Billboard Music Awards in 2002. Later albums Famous (2007) and Volume 4: Songs in the Key of Love & Hate (2009), however, failed to have the same impact and the band's output waned. After a tour to promote the release of the compilation Icon, issued in 2010, the band returned to the studio for the covers' album Re:(disc)overed (2011), comprising songs from The Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Neil Young, Elton John, and others. Several personnel changes followed, before successive tours and an album of original songs, the first in ten years, Welcome to Galvania (2019). After the Covid-19 pandemic, Puddle of Mud came back with Ubiquitous (2023). Following the departures of guitarist Matt Fuller, drummer Dave Moreno and bassist Michael John Adams, former bassist Michael Anthony Grajewski returned with new members Josh Gilbert (guitar) and Marc Slutsky (drums), for the recording of the ninth full-length Kiss the Machine (2025).