Overlords of all things heavy and riffy return with their proper follow-up to 2008’s excellent Nude With Boots. In case you haven’t been paying attention, this is the third record that wizard-haired front man Buzz Osbourne and god of thunder Dale Crover have churned out with the heavy-hitting rhythm section of Big Business. The two-drummers-on-one-massive-drumset formula has been perfected here, with Crover and Willis no longer merely trading fills but somehow sounding like one superhuman drummer: syncopated, complex and unstoppable. But something just isn’t sitting right with me on this record. The Melvins have been around forever and have rarely missed the mark – unless they’ve missed it on purpose. (Prick anyone?) While The Bride Screamed Murder has it’s share of bangers, Buzz and the boys let their bizarre sense of humour loose a bit too often here. The military march, call-and-response of “The Water Glass” is interesting, once, while the 8-minute version of “My Generation” is just awful. But, if you’re a Melvins fan, you know that every once and a while they mix in some self-indulgent silliness amidst some of the greatest riff-rock ever written. It’s a price that must be paid. (Ipecac Recordings) Curran Faris
Winnipeg music & culture since 1989