Unsung Giants of Modern Music (VI): The Melvins

Picture those unfortunate days of rock music circa 1987. With the smell of hairspray and vinyl pants in the air, you turn on the radio to hear the singer from yet another band that sounds like Led Zeppelin squeal in his most irritating falsetto without rhyme or reason, just squealing. When Motley Crue is the best thing in popular rock, you know days are dark. Around now, pockets of bands in cities like Austin, Chicago, and Seattle began to creep into college radio, many referred to by the dubious genre of “post-punk” through labels such as Sub Pop, Touch and Go, and 4AD, which started to break the mold of what most knew as rock. The bands were varied, and not all good, but they were often very different than what could be heard through mainstream media. The Pixies, Soundgarden, and The Jesus Lizard were just a few of the bands that emerged and some, such as Nirvana, became worldwide superstars. In the subsequent twenty years, most of these bands destroyed themselves by either submitting to the drug pitfalls of the road or allowing themselves to be absorbed and altered by the lure of the mainstream’s bankroll. One act, however, that did not fall for these traps, for better or for worse, and one that would become one of the most influential bands in years was The Melvins.

The Melvins originally formed in 1983 in (the great) Montesano, WA as a high school band that featured Buzz Osborne (the only still present member) on guitar, Mike Dillard on Drums, and Matt Lukin (who would leave to form the also great Mudhoney with members of the soon-to-be-defunct Green River) on bass. Dillard was soon replaced by Dale Crover (who was about sixteen at the time) and they moved to (the even greater) Aberdeen, WA. What basically began as a sheer ripoff of Black Sabbath (innovative, in its own right, given the overabundance of Zeppelin ripoffs at the time), moved into something much greater once they moved from Washington to San Francisco. Lukin left before the move and they recruited (daughter of Shirley Temple) Lori Black, dubbed Lorax who played on their next few albums. Over the years, the band has gone through a litany of bass players, but the core of Osborne and Crover has remained intact, and they have grown together as musicians and innovators.

Metal, over the years, has often been more concerned with speed than anything else, but The Melvins changed this. They slowed their tempos and tuned down their instruments, which gave a dark, sludgy feel to their music that was hugely influential to up and coming acts that would become huge, much larger than they could ever become. Most notably, a former roadie of theirs named Kurt Cobain took the sound, added his own brand of songwriting talent and a distinct pop sensibility to form Nirvana, one of the biggest bands of the last two decades. But it wasn’t just Nirvana; the entire world of mid-90s “grunge” begins and ends with The Melvins. To hear “Love Thing” off their 1989 album Ozma is to hear the melody and tone of Pearl Jam’s “Alive” three years later. After all these acts got major label contracts, finally The Melvins were granted a similar deal and, in 1994, were signed to Atlantic Records. They stayed here for three years, releasing “Houdini,” “Stoner Witch,” and “Stag.” Unfortunately, Atlantic was looking to cash in on the craze of the time, but The Melvins had no interest in this and released three of the most difficult rock albums to be released on a major label. Innovation rarely occurs in situations such as this but, completely eschewing all pop music structure and the idea of being superstars, they made no changes to their style, only broadening their sound further. After the contract was up, they were immediately dropped and returned to indie status where they, once again, continued to broaden, using samples and electronic manipulation to further intensify the sludge.

Above and beyond all else, what is truly “unsung” about The Melvins is Dale Crover. King Buzzo is charming, skilled, and highly interesting, but Crover is possibly the single best drummer in rock music today. Heavily influenced by Sabbath’s Bill Ward, Crover plays slow with minimal, but perfectly executed fills that accent Osborne’s guitar and vocals. Most importantly, he plays without ego, never pulling a John Bonham “Moby Dick” bullshit solo, and never leaning against power over precision. The current lineup of the group is Osborne, Crover, and noise act Big Business, which consists solely of a bass and drums. In spite of his greatness, Crover does not take it as a slight to bring a second drummer in; he embraces it as an avenue to experimentation, something the band has always reveled in. Sitting side by side and sharing a tom, they play in sync and independently to hugely successful rhythmic ends.

Where is Nirvana today? Where is Mudhoney? Where is Pearl Jam? Where is Soundgarden? All are either defunct or relegated to irrelevance. The Melvins, on the other hand, twenty-four years after their inception are playing their most advanced, strangest music yet. Buzzo’s afro may be graying, Crover may no longer be sixteen, and they may have gone through more bassists than live in some small towns where they’re from, but there they stand, going strong for two decades making music that make the most diehard metalhead cringe and shaming all their imitators. Where are they today? Likely resting after a tour last month that spanned Italy, Croatia, and Israel for undoubtedly small, fanatically devoted crowds who laugh at the thought of going to witness the horror of a Soundgarden reunion show.