L.D. 50 25th Anniversary Tour: Mudvayne/ Static X (Portland, OR Edition)
- Phantom Light Media
- Oct 22, 2025
- 3 min read
The heavy metal lords, Mudvayne, Static X and Vended pulled up to the Moda Center, Theater of the Clouds on the last day of September in Portland on the L.D. 50 25th anniversary tour. It was so awesome and cathartic, that it took me several days to recover from what I experienced. It was the perfect kick off for all things Halloween. You didn’t need to be a member of the dark arts to attend, just an appreciator of creativity and talent. The level of instrumental mastery and auditorial theatrics was insane and should be preserved, especially in a time of AI. This was a concert for all ages and abilities and a must see for any aspiring musician.
Yes, there are dark themes around mental instability, blood painted faces, devil insignia, screaming, howling, incomprehensible lyrics, damning of God and cursing. But when you see it as a performance of personal struggle of overcoming the environment of what it really means to be a human on earth, then you see the light and beauty. These bands are merely asking you to face your own shadow and call out your own truth.
With all the bad press that the Trump administration is trying to put on Portland, the truth is evermore important. And the truth is, Portland looks damn sexy in black and with a pair of devil horns.
The show kicked off promptly at 7 with Vended. Hailing from Des Moines, Iowa, this band blew the lid off with headbanging and screaming rage. They encapsulated the classic heavy metal sound of old MTV Headbangers Ball and lovers of Bevis and Butthead. The mosh pit was open and the crowd surfing began.
With the crowd all warmed up, they were ready to get serious with the OG’s of the genre.
Static X hit the stage, opening with a giant puppet in the form of a crystal jack-o’-lantern. There was also spray foam and beams of smoke to kick off the party of over 25 years of the Wisconsin Death Trip. This band may have seemed to have its wings clipped at the untimely passing of its frontman, Wayne Static in 2014, but with his pivotal vocals and their insane staccato guitar skills, their sound is timeless and unmatched. The construction of their songs fully engrosses your ears so much it has you envisioning a movie about altered dimensions that might exist here on earth. Their set mostly included throwback songs with a few new ones from their Project Regeneration albums. I applaud them for continuing Wayne’s legacy and sharing their unique, industrial kick-ass style with fans and future rockers.
Mudvayne is a band that I thought I understood, as I had a few of their tracks. But listening and experiencing Mudvayne are two different things. Each musician had their own costume and stage persona that made it a dark theatrical show. It was like the Rob Zombie movie that I had been waiting for. Vocalist Chad Gray’s stage character is like a mixture of the joker as a pig farmer with bubbling growls of angst over one’s identity and conflicting emotions. The lyrics faded in several tracks and his voice became a new instrument, having you questioning your ears. At times he did sound like a pug eating clam chowder, leaving me wondering if this was normal or not. But I do own a pug, so I ask that question daily. The drummer, Matt McDonough, is a machine of a percussionist. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing and was thinking that there’s no way it’s coming from just one guy. He has to be an octopus to be able to make a sound like that with such speed and accuracy. But it’s true, just one human is commanding the drums with such ambidexterity and badassness. You could hardly see his face or any of his limbs, he was so fiercely at work pleasuring our ears.
It was a wonderful show leading us through all of our emotions and also evoking dormant feelings that needed to be let out with a good scream. The instrumental mastery of guitar and drums is in a class of its own and definitely needs to be witnessed by the youth. With music programs being canceled across our nation, it is evermore important to inspire young musicians to pick up an instrument.
I’d suggest packing the kids and making it a family night of howling, headbanging and air guitar fun!
The tour continues with Texas and east coast dates throughout the rest of October.
Photos & Review By: Ashley Jaynes
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