Background and release
After the release of Kiss the Machine in May 2025, [6] Puddle of Mudd embarked on a summer headlining tour that included numerous music festival appearances. The tour featured a revamped lineup with bassist Michael Anthony Grajewski returning after an 11-year absence, [7] and new members Miles Schon on lead guitar and Jon Smith on drums. [8] [9]
In August 2025, the band signed a new management contract with NI Music Group. Shortly afterward, Wes Scantlin entered Warner Chappell Studios in Los Angeles with NI Music Group CEO Eric T. Johnson, who co-wrote and produced the track alongside audio engineer Ethan Ray Shevin. [10] Scantlin later confirmed that "Monsters" was written, recorded, and produced entirely during those sessions. [11]
In September 2025, Scantlin and Johnson appeared on Access Hollywood in an interview with host Mario Lopez, where they hinted that new music would arrive "sooner rather than later" despite Kiss the Machine being released only four months earlier. [12] [13]
"Monsters" was released as a surprise single on October 17, 2025. Scantlin promoted the song across the band’s social media pages alongside “Firefly.” [14] It was distributed to radio stations for airplay on October 24, 2025. [15] [16]
Music video
The official music video premiered on YouTube on October 24, 2025.
Directed by Xinyi Li of Eon Visuals, [20] the video is presented in stylized animation with dark, supernatural imagery. It depicts Wes Scantlin entering a circus tent after being lured inside by a sinister clown. Inside, he chases the figure through twisting corridors before confronting it at the tent’s exit. As the clown approaches, Scantlin realizes it is a monstrous doppelgänger of himself. The two stand silently face to face as the video fades to black. [21]
Credits
- Eon Visuals – production company
- Xinyi Li – director, animation, 3D design, editing, post-production, scriptwriter
- Ming Yan – animation, 3D design, post-production, scriptwriter
- Haochen Jimmy Xu – 3D design, previs
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