Home How Was The Show? The Melvins: Keeping Music Weird

The Melvins: Keeping Music Weird

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King Buzzo of The Melvins performing live at Red Flag in St. Louis.
THe Melvins live at Red Flag in downtown St. Louis.

For 42 years, Montesano, Washington’s sludge/metal/alternative OGS, The Melvins, have unwaveringly honed their singular, inimitable blend of doom, punk, and experimental noise, always staying true to their artistic vision. Their journey has taken them across the globe; they have logged hundreds of thousands of miles by plane, bus, van, or car, sharing the stage with iconic bands like NIN, Tool, Ministry, and Redd Kross. They’ve released nearly 30 studio albums, including their most excellent recent album Thunderball (Ipepac Recordings). They have engaged in numerous side projects and collaborations with artists like Napalm Death, Mike Patton, and Jello Biafra.

Last night, they brought their steadfast commitment to their unique sound back to our fair town on the May leg of their Savage Imperial Death March Part II Tour.

The Melvins (founding member, the bushy-haired guitar sorcerer and throat, Buzz Osborne, drummer Dale Crover (founding member), lanky, long-haired bassist Steve McDonald, and second touring and studio drummer, Coady Willis) played a packed Sunday night show at Red Flag downtown. Their co-headlining set and show was the delirious cacophony of dinosaurs trodding loud enough to shake your dental fillings loose. The Melvins don’t just play music; they create a penetrating sonic brew which pulverizes, punishes, and drains the battery. And remarkably, they entertain metal heads, punks, alternative music fans, and everyone in between, thus uniting diverse music lovers under their unique sound. They don’t do ballads. They don’t do pop songs. They don’t do short songs. They don’t do what’s expected; they do it their way. The Melvin’s way.

After an unsettling, indescribable set from an instrumental doom jazz trio/quartet Titan To Tachyons, and the rapid changeover to the Melvins’ backline of two massive drum kits and towering amps, the lads took the stage with no real fanfare or banter as they tore into opener “Working The Ditch” from the album Tarantula Heart.

Osborne and McDonald wore their uniforms featuring the third eye designs emblazoned on their backs and fronts. McDonald loves to kick, jump, and pose, and the audience lapped it up. Osborne ripped off solos and paced to his amps or the lip of the stage to pull off a warped solo, Melvins style. They also lit into other blistering selections from their extensive catalog, including the burner “Blood Witch” and closer, “Your Blessened.”

Drummers Dale Crover and Coady Willis (first tour featuring both) traded fills and beat the hell out of the skins as the band left the stage in a beautiful collision of sound and feedback. We counted 10 numbers, and given that the average Melvins song is as long as three songs from your average band, fans got their money’s worth and then some.

We spotted the mainly male audience of young punks and “mature” rockers sporting black concert T-shirts from Gojira, Testament, Obituary, Napalm Death, Carcass, Lamb of God, Meshuggah, and Gwar. The Melvins have broad appeal, and that’s just one of the reasons they keep going, and going. Let’s toast to another decade or more of the Melvins and their strange brew.