Puddle Of Mudd

One of the earliest bands inked to Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst's Flawless Records imprint was the alternative metal and post-grunge quartet Puddle of Mudd. Although their material carries the expected intensity of peers such as Korn and Rage Against the Machine, frontman Wesley Scantlin's vocals occasionally evoke the late Kurt Cobain of Nirvana while also incorporating clear traditional hard rock influences. The quartet first reached mainstream audiences via their 2001 debut Come Clean, which eventually surpassed five million copies sold, and sustained their commercial momentum through Billboard-charting releases including Life on Display (2003), Volume 4: Songs in the Key of Love & Hate (2009), Welcome to Galvania (2019), and Ubiquitous (2023).

Drawing their moniker from the mud-covered Missouri river levee beside their practice area, Puddle of Mudd coalesced in 1992 around Wes Scantlin on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Jimmy Allen on lead guitar, Sean Sammon on bass, and Kenny Burkitt on drums. Their initial EP, Stuck, appeared in 1994 through V&R Records. Lead guitarist Allen departed prior to the 1997 demo Abrasive, whose songs would later surface on the band's major-label debut, yet mounting dissatisfaction prompted further exits until Scantlin remained the sole original member by 1999. Fortunately, Fred Durst obtained the demo and summoned Scantlin to California to assemble a fresh lineup. In 2001, with Durst serving as executive producer and A&R executive, Scantlin, Paul Phillips on guitar, Douglas Ardito on bass, and John Freese on drums recorded the album Come Clean. The set, which attained triple-platinum status, gained broad exposure through the singles "Control," "Blurry," "Drift & Die," and "She Hates Me" while reaching number nine on the Billboard 200. The band supported the release with a European trek alongside Godsmack before joining the Family Values 2001 tour across the U.S. with Stone Temple Pilots, Linkin Park, and Staind, during which Greg Upchurch replaced drummer John Freese.

Puddle of Mudd's second album did not match the sales of its predecessor yet still earned gold certification and yielded the hit singles "Away from Me," "Heel Over Head," and "Spin You Around," while also coinciding with Upchurch's exit to join 3 Doors Down. For their third studio album, 2007's Famous, the group collaborated with producer Brian Howes; it debuted at number 27 on the Billboard 200 and moved 31,000 copies in its opening week. In 2009 they issued the Howes-produced Volume 4: Songs in the Key of Love & Hate, followed in 2011 by the covers collection Re:(disc)overed, which included Puddle of Mudd interpretations of the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter," Billy Squier's "Everybody Wants You," and Led Zeppelin's "D'yer Mak'er." Continuing to tour under Scantlin's leadership with a changing roster, the band entered the studio in 2018 with producer Cameron Webb, whose prior credits include Alkaline Trio, Disturbed, and Motörhead, to track their next original album. Released in September 2019 on Pavement Entertainment, Welcome to Galvania marked their first collection of new material since 2009 and featured the Billboard Mainstream Rock-charting single "Uh Oh." Early 2023 brought a preview of their fifth studio album via the grunge-leaning single "My Baby," which appeared on Ubiquitous upon its September release.