Nothing to Gein by Mudvayne

Album: L.D. 50 (2000)

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This song is about the serial killer Ed Gein. In the early 1940s, his mother, father, and brother all died, leaving Gein isolated on their farm in Wisconsin. Ed began digging up corpses of women who had recently died, and eventually moved on to murder, killing at least two women between 1954-1957.

Mudvayne lead singer Chad Gray and drummer Matthew McDonough were inspired to write the song while flipping through a book of true-crime stories.
Gein was used as inspiration for serial killer characters in several movies, including Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Silence Of The Lambs, and Psycho. He is also the subject of the Blind Melon song "Skinned" and the Slayer song "Dead Skin Mask."
Chad Gray (also known as Kud), said this song is about "not a serial killer, but a necrophiliac, cannibal, whatever you want to call him - and he had certain things that could be associated with the moon and he did things under the moon light that I think were important to him."
The album title, L.D. 50, stands for "Lethal Dose 50," a scientific term for the point at which 50 out of 100 test subjects will die in an experiment.
Gray told Michelle McMullan of Maximum Ink that he was surprised to find a level of humanity in Ed Gein. "It seemed so impossible [for Gein] to bridge the gap into mainstream society," he said. "I found that exciting that I could find humanity in him."
Mudvayne recorded the L.D. 50 album under immense time pressure, with some sound engineers going days without sleep. Gray wrote "Nothing To Gein" on the last night in the studio, with the band rushing through it moments before sending the tapes to New York for mixing.
Mudvayne is frequently labeled a "math rock" band. That proclivity is on full display in "Nothing To Gein," as the band wrote the song to a riff that alternated bars of four and five, which add up to nine, a lunar number. They did this consciously, finding it fitting for a song about a guy who did horrific things by moonlight.

Comments: 8

Jesus Christ from Your HeartLol at the dude that said "it's possible it's a play on the word "gain"... I really super hope the world is not this stupid. Seriously? Of course it is. Well, actually it's the other way around. Gein was a play on gain. Nothing to gain... that is a common saying meaning exactly what it says. He changed it to Gein to highlight the subject matter in the lyrics. It's really not super clever... not that it is bad at all. It's perfectly normal word play for song titles. Superbly ridiculous anyone is unsure about that. Is it possible to overestimate the general population, thinking this s--t is obvious? It was hard to even explain because its just that obvious.
Robert from Chicago, Il"Dancing masturbating I live by myself!" Ed's mother was his whole world. When she died he was lost, "Life of a simple man. Taught that everyone else is dirty. Life is meaningless. I'm so soiled!" Much like the story of Norman Bates in "psycho". The home he occupied was much like the home in "texas chainsaw" and his activities were like that of the buffalo bill character in "silence of the lambs" because he was making a real human skin woman suit. His momma jacked him good! watch the live daytime concert video from ozzfest 2001 on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2ZL2NPzWzQ
Joel from Columbia, ScThis is not their only song concerning a killer.
Remeber that song that played in saw 2?
Max from New York, NyI think Gein is very possibly also a pun for gain. As in nothing to gain. As in ultimately coming to the moral conclusion, life and submissiveness, offer nothing to gain.
Crystal from Newark, Ny"I think Ed Gein reminds us that we live in a very mysterious, ever-changing, moving, potential universe. Nothing to Gein is about Ed Gein. Not a serial killer, but a necrophiliac, cannibal, whatever you want to call him, and he had certain things that could be associated with the moon and he did things under the moon light that I think were important to him." straight from the mouth of Matt McDonaugh mudvaynes drummer.
Brian from Paoli, InA really great, song. Very cleverly written. My favorite Mudvayne song by far.

Slayer has a song called "Dead Skin Mask" which is also about Ed Gein.
Shane Truax from Savannah, GaI would like to thank Jamie for straighting up the matter of Ed Geins murders. While he only committed two murders, it was the reason for his nocturnal raids on the local graveyard which horrorified Eisenhower-era America. Police found chairs upholstered with human skin, Mammary vests and foud Gein enjoyed dressing himself in human skin garments pretending he was his own mother!
This is from the A-Z Encyclopedia of Serial Killers by Harold Schechter and David Everitt.
Jamie from Richmond, TxI'd like to make a correction for Stefano regarding Ed Gein. He never killed his mother. She died of after the second stroke in her life. He was only convicted of killing one woman, but did confess to killing one other woman. All of this information can be found in the book "Deviant" and on several websites.

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