MUDVAYNE's CHAD GRAY Says MÖTLEY CRÜE Should 'Just Bow Out' At This Point: 'It's Hard For Me To Watch'

In a new interview with The Jesea Lee Show, MUDVAYNE singer Chad Gray was asked about the first record he ever got into when he was discovering music. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "My first, my cutting-teeth metal record — it's so weird even say the band name now considering what's going on with that band — MÖTLEY CRÜE 'Too Fast For Love'. 'Too Fast For Love' and 'Shout At The Devil', man. Just fucking absolute game changers.

"My mom had me when she was 17 years old," he explained. "So, I would cruise the strip with my mom and her friends, and fucking Peter Frampton and THE EAGLES and [LED] ZEPPELIN, that was what was on the radio. So that's what I grew up with. So I grew up in a very musical household, because my mom was still young and it was basically the classic rock era in real time. So I grew up on a lot of really great music, man. But I'm telling you fucking what — nothing touched me like, man, the first [time I heard MÖTLEY CRÜE's 'Live Wire']. That opening riff to fucking 'Live Wire' was, like, 'What?' Like I said, I had a familiarity with music — I knew music and I knew good music — but that shit was just, like — it bit me; it fucking bit me.'

Gray said that he went on to discover METALLICA and SLAYER, after which he got into heavier music and "didn't care" about CRÜE anymore. "The CRÜE was still CRÜE," he clarified. "But 'Theatre Of Pain' and shit, [it was], like, full-tilt hair metal, versus 'Shout At The Devil'. Yeah, they were wearing fucking leather and, yeah, their hair was teased up, but they looked fucking tough and they had fucking handcuffs like belts. It was just a lot of really cool heavy metal imagery, and then 'Theatre Of Pain' comes in, and it's, like, pink zebra-skin fucking tights and full-tilt hair metal. So there are moments on [that record] — 'Home Sweet Home' is obviously timeless; it's fucking an amazing song and shit. And I loved what [bassist] Nikki [Sixx] did, 'cause NikkiwasMÖTLEY CRÜE. Nikki wrote the lyrics, Nikki laid down pretty much, I think, the song beds, the rhythm arrangements and shit like that. I think he arranged a lot of stuff. I think he was pretty much the man behind it. And then you've got fucking [guitarist] Mick Mars who is just fucking phenomenal — just such a great, great, great player. I can't say enough about Mick."

Speaking about CRÜE's decision to reunite and carry on with John 5 following Mars's retirement from touring, Chad said: "At this point, I would just bow out. It's not the same, dude. I'm not the guy that fucking like just wants to sit and talk shit, but I have, unfortunately… It hits me in such a pure place, and to see it just kind of turn into fucking whatever because it was such a big part of my life, and so it's hard for me to watch."

Asked by host Jesea Lee if he thinks CRÜE "should just call it completely at this point", Chad said: "Unless you wanna try harder. You know what I mean? And it's not all of 'em. [Drummer] Tommy [Lee] can still fucking play. Tommy's a fucking beast; I mean, he always will be. But that's usually the way with drummers; they usually can stand the test of time. I get it with singers and shit like that. You lose some of your register and frequency, your pitch will drop. That's just fucking nature. 'Cause it has with me — my resonant pitch has definitely dropped. I can still get up there, but it's weird. My register break is a little bit lower and different. So, it does happen, but it's just, like, come on, man."

When Mars announced his retirement from touring with MÖTLEY CRÜE in October 2022 as a result of worsening health issues, he maintained that he would remain a member of the band, with John 5 taking his place on the road. However, he has since filed a lawsuit against MÖTLEY CRÜE in Los Angeles County's Superior Court, claiming that, after his announcement, the rest of CRÜE tried to remove him as a significant stakeholder in the group's corporation and business holdings via a shareholders' meeting.

Mars — whose real name is Robert Alan Deal — served as MÖTLEY CRÜE's lead guitarist since the band's inception in 1981.

Although CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx is responsible for penning the lion's share of the band's material, Mars did have a hand in co-writing some of the group's most famous tracks, including "Same Ol' Situation (S.O.S.)", "Girls, Girls, Girls" and "Dr. Feelgood".

The only credit Mars has on the first two MÖTLEY CRÜE albums is the instrumental "God Bless The Children Of The Beast" on 1983's "Shout At The Devil".