MUDVAYNE PARTY LIKE IT’S 1969

I haven’t known anyone who’s owned a blacklight since I was thirteen, because that’s about the age when you realize “Hey, this is cool for all of ten seconds and then you’re just bored in a different-colored room.” Yes, even if you’re on drugs.

But our friends at Metal Insider tell us that Mudvayne’s new, self-titled album “is being printed on blacklight-reactive ink” and that the cover art “will be pretty much invisible to the naked eye unless your uncle still has that blacklight.” (And if he does, call the cops. ‘Cause he’s a pedophile.) Deluxe editions of the album will apparently come with a blacklight, just to save you that extra trip to the mall I guess.

Of course it’s always tempting in 2009 to cry “Gimmick designed to sell physical CDs!”, but I’m actually willing to give Mudvayne the benefit of the doubt and say that they’re trying to do something legitimately cool. I think that this is a band that has always aspired to Tool-levels of “Make ya think”-ness, and their heart is probably in the right place. Whether they’ve succeeded or not will most likely depend on how much you like Mudvayne.

Mudvayne’s Mudvayne will be out December 22 on Epic.

-AR