"A peace together, a piece apart. A piece of wisdom from our hearts."
L to R Buzz, Dale, Mark D
Buzz, Dale, Kevin
The 90's appear to have been a time of turmoil for The Melvins; Joe Preston replaced Lori Black on bass, just as quickly he was out again, with Lori then returning. She was then ousted for the second and final time, (rumors of her death persist) leaving the position vacant for the recording of their Atlantic Records debut, "Houdini." Mark Deutrom, cowboy hat and all, quickly filled the void. I can imagine that Dale abandoned the thought of a cohesive rhythm section and just became content anchoring the band all by himself. He may even have had to glance over his left shoulder at gig or two, to remind himself who was occupying that side of the stage at the moment.
The band made three records for Atlantic Records. Their major label experience is generally recounted as unpleasant, as Atlantic put them through the wringer for not being commercial enough or moving enough units. The band endured long tours supporting bands like "Primus," "White Zombie," "Nine Inch Nails," etc ("Tool," was one of the few big bands that The Melvins felt treated them well and the bands would remain friends and regular collaborators for years to come. During this time, the band also gained a reputation for antagonizing crowds, who routinely booed and threw garbage at them during their opening slots. They regularly played "Lysol," in it's entirety, switched to playing very quietly (see the song "Montreal," for an example of this) or blasting them with noise.
After their split with Atlantic the band began experimenting with even more strange styles, releasing albums of quiet and ambient material, electronic weirdness, noise etc, truly cementing their reputation as "Captain Beefheart playing heavy metal." They bid farewell to Mark D and hooked up with former "Cows," bassist Kevin Rutmanis. At the end of the decade and a few releases on various independent labels they found a new home with Mike Patton's Ipecac Records - a place where they finally could make their records as weird as they wanted.
Capitalizing on the band as part of the Seattle scene, even though the band had relocated to SF and finally LA as far back as "Ozma," Atlantic records signed the band to a three album deal.
Whatever dollar amount from their advance went toward the production of this record, it was worth every last cent. This record sounds huge! Dale's drums sound like they were tracked inside the hull of the Titanic. Buzz's guitars sound crunchy and razor sharp (much like Cap N' Crunch cereal). Billy Anderson and Ggggarth Richardson built their reputations around this record.
"Hooch," just blasts out of the speakers; one of my very favorite songs by anybody. In fact if you put the first 5 songs ("Hooch," "Night Goat," "Lizzy," their awesome cover of Kiss' "Goin' Blind," and "Honeybucket," ) in that exact order as the opening of a greatest hits package (if someone were foolish enough to attempt such an endeavor) you'd hear little argument from me. The ultra-heavy "Hag Me," is a return to their sludge roots and "Joan of Arc," is another standout.
Kurt Cobain was credited with producing several of the songs but his contributions were downplayed to mostly sleeping in the studio by most account,s as well as contributing some guitar noodling to the instrumental"Sky Pup," and extra percussion on "Spread Eagle Beagle."
Also virtually absent was Lori Black, who is credited on the album sleeve but whose bass parts were played pretty much entirely by Dale or Buzz.
"Houdini," perhaps due to more money available for studio time, also marks the first inclusion of their experimental songs, not meant to be recreated live (although they did go through the painstaking process of doing exactly this, eventually touring the whole album, as documented on "A Live History of Greed and Lust.") They would continue to incorporate such bits of abstract weirdness into future releases, helping them to always defy neat categorization, a practice that may even have alienated certain members of their fan base but also added variety to the records.
Prick (1994)
Strong feelings abound about this record. Not only is it a sore spot with many fans, it occupies a special territory where, along with Lou Reed's "Metal Machine Music," (and their own "Colossus of Destiny,") it is hotly debated whether it's an actual album release or just some type of joke.
"Lissen hear, Mr. Buzzo, this don't sound like no kinda record I ever heard before. We payed to hear you all play your guitars and such, proper! You done cheated all these good people, Mr. Buzzo and that ain't right."
The weird part is that the same criticism was made by the band themselves about Joe Preston's solo EP. "The Eagle Has Landed" and "Bricklebrit," especially, could easily sound at home on this record. Different.
Stoner Witch (1994)
The weird part is that the same criticism was made by the band themselves about Joe Preston's solo EP. "The Eagle Has Landed" and "Bricklebrit," especially, could easily sound at home on this record. Different.
Stoner Witch (1994)
Sounding like they deliberately set out to deliver at least as much of a kick in the face as "Houdini," Buzz's roaring vocals have never sounded more intense as on songs like"Queen," and "Sweet Willy Rollbar." If The Melvins were the type of band that had "hits," "Revolve" would be one of their biggest. Contrasting quiet pieces like the almost jazzy sounding "Goose Freight Train," and the seemingly spaghetti-western influenced interludes of "Roadbull," keep things interesting as well the ominous intro of "Magic Pig Detective," before it joins the others as some of the best gut punching rock tunes the band ever did. "At The Stake," takes on a familiar sludgy pace but with more melodic vocals and understated, almost clean, guitar playing. Then they drift in to the opiate invoking, "Shevil," before the ambient waves of the atmospheric,"Lividity," draw it to the close. Along with "Houdini," this is considered one of their most accessible releases (not usually at good sign) but, in this case, not commercial sounding or lacking in heaviness.
Stag (1996)
This last Atlantic album is both blessed and cursed with having "a lot of variety." Heavy on experimentation in the studio, they start by
incorporating more unusual instruments into heavier tunes, something they hadn't really done previously. There's the trombone on "Bar-X-the Rocking M," and slide licks on "The Bloat."
The opener, "The Bit," features Dale Crover's sitar playing and is an absolute ass-kicker. Also Buzz's clean vocals on "Black Bock," are a bit startling.
The problem I have when listening to this record is that the experimental noise and ambient bits are either too many, too long or sequenced in a way that makes for a tedious listen.
"Goggles," is the most sonically violent recording the band has made since "Eggnog," but it's got an eerie, creepy vibe as well. I remember reading an interview with Buzz where he mentions trying to find the shittiest mics available for that song, so it sounded "just brutal." mission accomplished.
Dale's "Cottonmouth," sounds like he has actually shoved a bunch of cotton in his mouth to sing it.
Certainly some of the more bizarre music to make it on a major label.
The melty, ambient, "Sterilized," and "Lacrimosa," change the pace again before "Bertha's and "Captain Pungent," "heavy-it-up," again. The Chipmunk vocals ending "Skin Horse," are another example of many weird ideas crammed into one album
This record has a lot of good stuff on it, especially early on, but feels kind of unsettling, and/or unsatisfying as it seems to get pulled in all sorts of directions toward the end. I often overlook a lot of these tunes, when are a lot of them deserve a few listens (most, actually, just not all at once.) Depending on your mood, (weird, mellow, aggressive) this is an album where you definitely will need to press the skip button. The Melvins at their most self-indulgent and maniacal
The quiet, spooky or experimental noise tracks that permeated "Stag," now appear in much greater numbers, actually comprising most of the record. It actually sounds a bit more cohesive, less scattershot, but just as adventurous. Good luck trying to pigeonhole the band now ...Where their heroes Black Flag and Flipper pushed the envelope by, slowing down to a trudge when everyone else was playing fast, The Melvins started slow and brutally heavy, then changed things up by becoming, quiet, ominous, ambient and noisy. "They Must All Be Slaughtered," opens the record with something like Halloween sounds and chanting, like the soundtrack to a movie you might not want to see. Dale's drum sound has been changed dramatically to a thin, hollow, almost brittle sound, turnings things on their head even more. "Momibus Hibachi," and "Lovely Butterfly," are the two songs that made it most often into the live set, the former a more "traditional," Melvins song (meaning played with just guitar, bass and drums and things like that) the latter, an industrial sounding combination of junkyard percussion (Dale's stacks of cracked cymbals) and what sounds like a dentist drill also reminding me of nearly accapella shouting of "The Bloat," on the previous album.
"Laughing With Lucifer At Satan's Sideshow" is a major highlight for me; creepy circus soundtrack interspersed with sound-bytes quoting Atlantic Records execs ("we don't do special packaging for bands that haven't gone gold.") It's an amazing and hilarious "fuck you."
The sprawling "Air Breather In The Arms of Morpheus" sounds like it could have inspired Pink Mountaintops' "Axis of Evol," where, as a reaction to past heaviness, that band started playing slow, low-fi, soma-holidays of songs, that sound like floating toward the abyss. Songs like "Grin," and "Harry Lauders Walking Stick" remind me a bit of Ween in their "push The Little Daisies," mode. "Freaktose," ends the album, a heavy instro with frantic soloing, then 26 minutes of silence. If you're a fan of their weirder, more "out-there," stuff, this is one to get.
The Maggot (1999)
I'm not sure if the relationship between Mike Patton and the Melvins is what you'd call a match made in heaven; maybe some weird part of purgatory, but they are kindred spirits if ever there were. The band's first release on Patton's "Ipecac," label was "The Trilogy," ("The Maggot," "The Bootlicker," and "The Crybaby," also the first to feature bassist Kevin Rutmanis.They continue their mission to confuse and annoy the CD buyer by splitting each song down the middle, into 2 separate tracks (like 8-tracks. Remember those?)
These songs go for the jugular, grab it, rip it out, take a few bites out of it and throw it on the floor. Chainsaw guitars that could have come from Metallica. If you like cool, crunchy guitar riffs (I do) you might like this a lot.
The song titles seem meant to confuse as well "amazon" and "AMAZON," are two different songs, each with part 1 and part 2. "We all Love JUDY," also should not be confused with the track simply called "Judy," both, of course in 2 parts. I tried to download this off of Napster when it first came out and gave up in frustration.
Again the Melvins thumb their nose at anyone daring to play this album on random or shuffle . The message, loud and clear is, "you're either listening to this bitch in it's entirety or not at all."
"Manky," churns and chugs to life after a few minutes of digital silence. All blazing in their directness and intensity.
"amazon," (lower case) is short fast and loud. It's capitalized counterpart is noisy, heavy and reminiscent of "Zodiac," along with the "The Horn Bearer," it gives me the excuse to use a fancy word like "cacophony," to describe it.
The finale "See how Pretty, See How Smart," answers the hundreds of doom metal bands they inspired with a punishing 10 minute epic to regain their crown. The show stopper though is their cover of Fleetwood Mac's "The Green Manalishi (With The Two-Prong Crown,)" officially the best song ever written. Beautiful.
The Bootlicker (1999)
From a scream and a squelch of feedback, to a whisper, the album closing sleigh bells of "The Maggot," continue into the first cut of this second installment. This album is the quiet ying to "The Maggot's" aggressive yang. The songs are delivered in a laid back, sometimes dreamy or floaty style, with Buzz utilizing his "Black Bock," voice to it's maximum potential. The music of "Toy," grooves slinkily into "Let It All Be," the chorus' mellow vocal delivery and cowbell remind me of Fu Manchu in a weird way. That song in particular has taken on new life with the Big Business-2 drummer, version of the band, becoming a totally devastating live crowd-pleaser.
Interestingly, there is no similarity between these tunes and the unsettling, electronic nightmarescapes of "Honky." All songs seem to be played with just guitar bass and vocals. The only exceptions are album closer "Prig," which gives us some rumbling bursts of noise before, pretty much morphing into a different song - the only Melvins tune up to the this point, that I can recall featuring acoustic guitar, and the minute long "We We," (named probably because the pitch shifting makes a "wee wee," sound) acts as a bridge between "Black Santa," and "Up The Dumper," (the song titles are fantastic on this by the way).
"Jew Boy Flower Head," has a sort of lounge jazz feel, the walking bass-lines showcasing Rutmanis in a way previous bass-players rarely enjoyed. Only "Mary Lady Bobby Kins," sounds remotely like pop.
It may take a few listens for some to appreciate this record but really, compared to "the Maggot," I can't really say I have a preference for one or the other. My opinion is that the two records compliment each other perfectly.
So if "The Maggot," is the heavy record, "The Bootlicker," is the quiet record, "The Crybaby," is the "cover tunes," and "guest appearances," record.
Their "Smells Like Teen Spirit" cover is only interesting if you know that they got Leif Garrett to sing on it and, I suppose also if you know who Leif Garrett actually is. He does an admirable job, actually, even though he messes with the phasing during the verse, like he's trying to put his own spin on it or hasn't heard the song. Minor complaint aside, Leif cranks it out. Nice job.
The Jesus Lizard cover with David Yow singing is a bit limp sounding. "Ramblin' Man," is pretty much just a Hank III tune, even though the dude from Helmet is in there somewhere
"G.I. Joe," features Mike Patton and begins with some weird bleeps and bloops that make me wonder if they're done with instruments or if Patton is making the sounds with his mouth like the dude from "Police Academy." Full lounge lizard mode for Mike earns full marks.
A few of these songs ("Mine Is No Disgrace, "Skeleton Key " ) sound exactly like the year 1993 or 1992, I think. Not what the Melvins were doing in '92 and '93, what everyone else was doing. Quiet-loud-quiet - whatever.
"Divorced," featuring Tool sounds pretty bad-ass before becoming almost intolerable during the drum solo halfway through, partly because of the steady, maddening hum over top and partly because it's a drum solo, then returns to various goofiness before holding us hostage again with weird noise in an apocalyptic meltdown
"Dry Drunk," is pretty amusing and the better David Yow track. (Sobriety can indeed be "boring as fuck.") Hank III is back for another round with "Okie From Muskokie."
Of the albums that comprise the trilogy, "The Crybaby," is the most diverse and experimental but the least essential. These collaborations are an interesting idea and, I'm sure a ton of fun to record, but in terms of popping the thing on the stereo and listening to it all the way through, it comes off sounding more like a so-so mix-tape.
Aside from the great cover of The Wipers "Youth of America," this collection of "remixes," "covers and "new-and improveds " is more of a novelty, especially since the Man's Ruin Records version was likely very fancy with enough elaborate artwork/limited vinyl or packaging to cause the label to eventually go tits-up. You get a "Cows," cover, a "Pink Floyd," cover and a lot of grating noise ("Shitstorm," would have not have been out of place on "Prick.) The remixes or whatever they are, range from "weird and okay," to annoying. Not an essential record. (Best title and album cover though, I must say.)
