The Melvins – The Bride Screamed Murder

The Melvins are just one of many artifacts from the grunge scene who owe their early career spotlight to Nirvana’s legendary success.  With the rise of grunge, Atlantic Records took note of the Montesano, Washington four-piece in the mid-90’s for the group’s trio of major label releases.  But while grunge may have died with Kurt Cobain, the Melvins have continued to do their own thing, compiling a gargantuan twenty-disc catalogue, the latest – The Bride Screamed Murder – serving as a reminder as to the band’s longevity.

As someone who lacks the benefit of hearing the Melvins’ previous nineteen discs, I can’t comment on how their twentieth effort compares, but I can point to The Bride Screamed Murder as providing me with some of the most fun I’ve ever had with grunge.

The band really stands out on the strength of their percussive elements.  Having added a second drummer back in 2006, the band takes full advantage of their percussive flexibility, employing the instrument for more than just rhythm.  Opening track “The Water Glass,” and soon after on “Pig House,” features an entire minute-long drum solo that transforms into an unplugged toe tapping a ccapella.  I’ve never been one to comment heavily on drummers, but Coady Willis and Jared Warren’s double performance collaborates as an authoritative singularity.  They have such a productive shared act that you’d never suspect their drum sets were conjoined.

Other interesting elements occur intermittently to develop the Melvins’ signature zany atmosphere.  The first instance plays out on the tail end of “Evil New War God” as an ominous wavering keyboard creeping ominously like a theremin in a slasher movie.  Other standouts include the group chants of “I’ll Finish You Off,” the odd jazz piano and deflating balloon conclusion to “Hospital Up,” and wind chime interlude dividing “My Generation.”  It goes without saying, the Melvins ensure that first time listeners never really know what to expect.

Of course at the centre of it all, hidden and distorted under layers of fresh novelty, lies a fully functional rock act.  Guitars chug and churn like some sort of sludgy Black Sabbath, tinges of grinding metal teeth consciously gnashing from under all that obscurity.  Truth be told, vocalist Buzz Osborne might actually be the least essential of the ensemble, his voice merely sharing and trading space with the accompanying instruments.  Lyrics seem to offer some room for future growth – they’re very low impact – but if they matched the creativity surrounding them, they could serve as a vessel for equally unique banter.

The Bride Screamed Murder concludes on an odd note with “P. G. X 3”, a somewhat disappointing and minimalist parody(?) on abstract art-rock featuring two full minutes of Buzz saying “four” in various tones.  But when it comes right down to it, I’d much rather hear a band failing on their own merits rather than from imitating what they hear on the radio (*cough* Puddle Of Mudd).  So if The Bride Screamed Murder proves anything, it’s that Melvins is one of a kind (I’d liken them as The Aquabats of the grunge world), and that as long as they continue down their own little twisted path, grunge will always have home post-mortem.