Melvins

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Greg PratoThe Melvins were the first post-punk band to revel in the slow, sludgy sounds of Black Sabbath. Their music is oppressively slow and heavy, only without any of the silly mystical lyrics or the indulgent guitar solos — its just one massive, oozing pile of dark slime. The Melvins first record was released in 1987; theyve released several albums since then, but it wasnt until 1993 that they went to a major label, thanks to their protégé, Kurt Cobain. While the Melvins can be dull and repetitious, their place in rock history is interesting, even if it is just a minor footnote. The band formed in Aberdeen, WA, the same town that produced Nirvanas Cobain and Krist Novoselic. For Nirvana and many other Seattle-area bands, the Melvins sludge was inspirational; the younger bands took the Sabbath-styled heaviness of the Melvins, while adding an equally important pop song structure, which the group tended to lack. While all of their disciples became famous after Nirvana broke big in 1991 (including Mudhoney, who featured former Melvin bassist Matt Lukin), the Melvins only expanded their cult slightly. They did earn a major-label contract with Atlantic, but after releasing three records for the label, they were dropped in late 1996 and the group returned to indie status, landing with Amphetamine Reptile for 1998s Alive at the F*cker Club. The late 90s/early 21st century saw a flurry of releases by the band: The Maggot, The Bootlicker, The Crybaby, Electroretard, The Colossus of Destiny, Hostile Ambient Takeover, Pigs of the Roman Empire, Houdini Live 2005: A Live History of Gluttony and Lust and Senile Animal, all of which (except for the fourth one) were issued on Mike Pattons Ipecac label. In addition to their Melvin activities, singer/guitarist Buzz Osborne joined Patton (and former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo and Mr. Bungle bassist Trevor Dunn) for the experimental outfit Fantômas, resulting in a pair of releases (1999s self-titled debut and 2001s The Directors Cut), while the Melvins latest bassist, Kevin Rutmanis, joined Patton in another side project, Tomahawk.