In a brand new interview with the "Everblack" podcast, Chad Gray was asked if there are any plans to commemorate the upcoming 20th anniversary of MUDVAYNE's debut album, "L.D. 50", in 2020. The singer responded (hear audio below): "I have no idea. I know it's a big deal for a lot of people, man. The band is probably bigger now than it's ever been — honestly. So I know that it's a big moment. "Me and the guys [in MUDVAYNE] still talk," he continued. "Everybody is cool. But every single one of 'em understand that I'm doing what I'm doing and I'm doing it for a fucking reason. " Gray, who has been fronting HELLYEAH for more than a decade, went on to say that he is focused on promoting the band's upcoming sixth album, "Welcome Home", which marks the final recording of longtime PANTERA drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott. "I'm on a mission right now to carry the torch for not only my brother, my drummer, one of my best friends, childhood hero but a mentor of mine," he explained. "I'm here to carry his torch — for him, for his brother, for Jeff Hanneman, for Paul Gray, for Layne Staley, for fucking Chester Bennington, for fucking Chris Cornell — for all of 'em. Lemmy, Ronnie James [Dio]… I mean, you name it. I think that they were all so gracious and selfless that they left us all behind their music to be able to get through the rest of our lives with. Their music helped us get as far as we are now, and they left it for us. And I think we need to embrace that. And I'm going to carry this torch with my band and my metal family that is worldwide. And we're gonna do it together, man. And it's gonna be a lot of fun." It's been a decade since MUDVAYNE released its self-titled fifth album and little has been heard about the group during that time. Last year, guitarist Greg Tribbett said that fans who are calling for a MUDVAYNE reunion "just need a little more patience." He explained: "We're all flattered that everybody still wants MUDVAYNE to tour and do a new record and come out and do all that stuff. The thing is is that everybody is in three different bands and kind of doing their own projects, and there's no time for that right now." Tribbett's current focus is AUDIOTOPSY, which released its second full-length album, "The Real Now", last November via Megaforce Records. He is joined in that band by MUDVAYNE drummer Matt McDonough, SKRAPE vocalist Billy Keeton and bassist Perry Stern. MUDVAYNE did not tour behind its fifth album, which was barely promoted and sold weakly upon release. Gray previously expressed skepticism about the possibility of a MUDVAYNE reunion, noting in a 2015 interview that "the only way I personally would want to do MUDVAYNE is if everybody licked their wounds and got over it." Tribbett was also part of HELLYEAH with Gray but was fired from that band in 2013. Asked in Revolver magazine if Greg's exit from HELLYEAH hit him especially hard, seeing as the two of them started off playing together in MUDVAYNE, Chad said: "Yeah, man. He has always been my right-hand man. He's been the back I look at when I'm writing songs and the sounding board for my ideas. When everything went sideways, it was like losing a great friend. I was filled with fear and I had mixed emotions. At first, I was like, Goddamn, I don't know if I'm ever gonna be able to do this without him."
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