Caught THE MELVINS in concert near the end of ’06 and, as you can picture, the double drummer thing was quite overwhelming live. It kind of like watching two Jon Bonhams eradicate on command. It’s good to see that this translates to their recorded material. The merging of the band and BIG BUSINESS was a smart move. For this corporate giant in the music business the move appears to have more to do with art than commerce. In this world of downsizing, this expansion from three to four-on-the-floor thrives in its ability to devastate the competition. Not only do we get two drummers but Buzz’s burden of being the group’s only mouthpiece has been lifted. Two more members providing vocals have given him the chance to just be a guitar player every so often.

And what a guitar player he has become lately! The riffs, chords and tone are better than ever. There is definitely much more boogie. The bass is big and fuzzy. No bassist has brought more to the table than Jared Warren. More attention is also being paid to better songwriting. Every tune here is actually listenable and an overall improvement on what the band has done in the past. A different type of tunesmithing goes down. The structures are everywhere. The kicking off of “The Kicking Machine” rocks like LED ZEPPELIN I with the “Good Times, Bad Times” drum beat. The epic length “Dog Island” (7:30) includes some trippy delayed vocals, super fuzzed out bass, a short guitar lead, a tiny drum solo and some of the sludgiest riffs ever. “Dies Iraea” is an instrumental gothic spaghetti western dittie. “Suicide In Progress” has the vocals coming in half way through after some serious boogie bass and guitar.

By the time we get to “The Smiling Cobra” what appears to be a really fast song actually turns out to be a notch above the mid-pace tempos of most heavy music. The title track contains the classic rock motif with the feel-good guitar and walking bass parts. The pummeling toms and tight riffs of the chorus take it to the next level. “The Stupid Creep” follows with said pummeling drums and more layered vocals. “The Savage Hippy” contrasts with it’s trippy layered guitars, buried vocals and sound effects. The closing “It Tastes Better Than The Truth” has got the noise and death marches to go along with it - a hairy extension of “Machine Gun” by Hendrix's BAND OF GYPSYS perhaps? It took THE MELVINS nearly a quarter of a decade to come up with what could be the crowning achievement of their career. Have they reached the apex of their tenure? Was it worth the wait? Does a dog pee on your lawn? Nigga please.

- Herring

OFFICIAL SITE: www.melvins.com

RELATED ITEMS: Picks of the litter - 1989, JELLO BIAFRA WITH THE MELVINS "Never Breathe...", 2004