Melvins
I consider The Melvins to be the juggernauts of the music industry: nothing can stand in their way. From their beginnings in the mid eighties until today, they are probably the only band ever to have done exactly what they want throughout their career and constantly gotten away with it. Although they are most famous for their stoner/metal/grunge albums, it's not rare to be sometimes confronted with noise albums, cover albums and others that are well... simply indescribable. Many early fans have been tried and tested throughout the years by these odd albums, some have accused the group of arrogance and/or trying to piss off their fans and maybe some of that is true, but when you look back, The Melvins wouldn't have been The Melvins without these.
Regardless of these bizarre career choices, this band has went on to become one of the most veneered and influential rock musicians of the past twenty-five years. It would take me a whole page to enumerate all the bands that have spawned from the trail of goo this band has left behind; a few noteworthy artists would be: Nirvana, Boris (they even took they're name from one of their songs!), Steel Pole Bathtub, Sleep (and therefore High On Fire), Kyuss, Queens Of The Stone Age, and the list goes on... The Melvins themselves have obviously been influenced by Black Sabbath. They are one of the very first bands (along with Earth and the more obscure Winter) to give the slow, stoner metal riff back it's laurels during a time when speed and technical prowess were the style. They are also quite renowned for their Kiss fetish, they would sometimes cover the band on their own albums or on compilations. Where the band got their experimental influences however I don't know; but this odd mix of influences and a surreal sense of humor (just check out some of the track titles) make them unique. I believe they are the only band in history that could feel at home in either a greasy redneck trucker bar or some snotty downtown art gallery.
I remember first hearing about The Melvins in an article on grunge music back in the early nineties. Already then, they were considered "the godfathers of grunge" (possibly originating from the fact that Kurt Cobain was a proud fan). Of course I doubt they enjoyed being categorized as such and my little theory is that those weird and self-destructive albums were created as a means to disassociate themselves from the scene. Although I knew who they were, and curious, I wouldn't hear their music until that fateful day when me and my friends were off to see a Primus show in downtown Montreal. I was quite happy to finally get to hear them, but I was not expecting them to be like this. After a few short and heavy tracks, Buzz Osbourne drifts off into an EXTREMELY LONG one note guitar solo. Surely this lasted over ten minutes. Fans of Primus were getting impatient and began chanting for Primus, heckling the band and booing them. I regret to say I was among those chanting for Primus (for shame!). The recording of this live performance wound up on the infamous Prick album which I had found on tape in a used record store. I noticed the name of the track and was pretty sure this had to something to do with the Primus incident so I was pleasantly surprised to hear I was right. Prick wound up being my very first Melvins album and I can assure you it's not the right way to go about discovering this band. It would take another few years before my interest in the band would surface again. I finally purchased all the early albums and fell in love (finally). I had well over twenty albums when I sold them all to move back to Canada from Sweden after my first separation in 2000. I've regretted this ever since. I promised myself to get them back one day, so my Melvins collection got to grow again after finding a few lot sales on eBay and the occasional used record in shops in Montreal.


Ozma/Gluey Porch TreatmentLabel: Boner Records Release: 1989 Format: CD Cat. no: BR16-2 |
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BullheadLabel: Boner Records Release: 1991 Format: CD Cat. no: BR25-2 |
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EggnogLabel: Boner Records Release: 1991 Format: CD Cat. no: BR28-2 |
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Your Choice Live SeriesLabel: Your Choice Records Release: 1991 Format: CD Cat. no: YCLS012 |
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King BuzzoLabel: Boner Records/Tupelo Recording Company Release: 1992 Format: CD Cat. no: BR32-2/TUP39-2/301.0039.2 41 |
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Dale CroverLabel: Boner Records/Tupelo Recording Company Release: 1992 Format: CD Cat. no: BR33-2/TUP40-2/301.0040.2 41 |
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LysolLabel: Boner Records/Tupelo Recording Company Release: 1992 Format: CD Cat. no: BR35-2/TUP42-2/301.0042.2 41 |
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HoudiniLabel: Atlantic Records Release: 1993 Format: CD Cat. no: 7 82532-2 |
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Stoner WitchLabel: Atlantic Records Release: 1994 Format: CD Cat. no: CD 82704 |
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PrickLabel: Amphetamine Reptile Records Release: 1994 Format: CD Cat. no: AMREP 031 |
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StagLabel: Atlantic Records/Mammoth Records Release: 1996 Format: CD Cat. no: 82878-2 |
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Singles 1-12Label: Amphetamine Reptile Records Release: 1997 Format: 2CD Cat. no: AMREP 063 |
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HonkyLabel: Amphetamine Reptile Records Release: 1997 Format: CD Cat. no: AM REP 064-2 |
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Alive At The F*cker ClubLabel: Amphetamine Reptile Records Release: 1998 Format: CD Cat. no: AM REP 072 |
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The CrybabyLabel: Ipecac Recordings Release: 2000 Format: CD Cat. no: IPC-6 |
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Colossus Of DestinyLabel: Ipecac Recordings Release: 2001 Format: CD Cat. no: IPC-14 |
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Hostile Ambient TakeoverLabel: Ipecac Recordings Release: 2002 Format: CD Cat. no: IPC-20 |
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26 SongsLabel: Ipecac Recordings Release: 2003 Format: CD Cat. no: IPC-38 |
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A Live History Of Gluttony And Lust (Houdini Live)Label: Ipecac Recordings Release: 2006 Format: CD Cat. no: CD IPC-76 |
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(A) Senile AnimalLabel: Ipecac Recordings Release: 2006 Format: CD Cat. no: IPC-82 |
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Nude With BootsLabel: Ipecac Recordings Release: 2008 Format: CD Cat. no: IPC-105 |
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