Throughout the history of our livelihood, nothing has ever been certain but death and taxes. We have always lived to die and paid to do so. Scale that lifetime down to the last twenty years and another certainty can be added to the list: A new Melvins album comes out this year. Like a sea of unyielding, undead, murderous zombies, Buzz Osborne, Dale Crover, and their myriad of bass players have simply been unstoppable. Their slow-tempo, sludgy, noisy, droned-out Black Sabbath and Black Flag riffs have been shattering ear drums with decades of endless touring and recordings. The Melvins have composed a mountain of material, featuring nineteen full-length albums since 1987 – that’s just about one every year.
“Rock musicians are the laziest people in the world,” said Osborne, guitarist and founding member of the Melvins – using a hint of irony that clashes against an endless catalogue of music. “It’s a great way to make a living. It’s really fun. But it’s also really hard. Mostly you shouldn’t listen to rock people; they’re lying to you. Remember you are talking to people who are whore-mongering drug addicts. Not me, but rock musicians in general,” he said.
The band’s seminal influence is unquestioned and unmatched, inspiring bands that have gone on to become influential in their own right – most notably Tool, drone legends Earth, and Japanese metal extraordinaire Boris, which derived its name from a Melvins song. To truly put this band’s relevance in perspective it must be stated, as it is in most Melvins articles, that Kurt Cobain was so in awe of them back in their home town of Aberdeen, Wash., that when he tried out to play bass, he got so nervous that he forgot every single song. Who knows – had the Melvins not been around, Nirvana and that whole “grunge” thing probably wouldn’t have, either.
Now that it’s 2008, the times and trends of the music world have changed – Grunge is dead, music is on the Internet, and there are a few more grays in Osborne’s epic hurricane head of hair – but the Melvins have not skipped a beat in melting faces like flesh to the flame. Whether it has been composing dark ambiance with Lustmord, all-out skull-fuckery with Jello Biafra (aka “The Jelvins”) or being total dicks to journalists, the Melvins have been like a big brother to this generation – a constant companion. Earlier this month saw the release of “Nude With Boots,” their sixth full-length on Ipecac Records and the second with the current lineup that features bassist Jarred Warren and drummer Coady Willis. The Melvins are no stranger to Eugene, and they will be returning for the first time in two years to jam their ten-ton sound inside exquisitely cozy John Henry’s.
“Nude With Boots” is the follow-up to 2006’s “(A) Senile Animal.” It’s bonafide to pack the same wallop as before, only this time it’s bound to be twice as bizarre.
“It’s weirder, certainly. That’s always a plus. It’s definitely weirder than last time. I like it better than the last one, and I like the last one a lot,” Osborne said. As many artists do these days, the Melvins have put up a free stream of the entire album on their MySpace page – and although it is appreciative of the tools of the Internet as well as the concept of free music, the art of leaking and music piracy is another issue.
“I guess the thing that irritates me the most is that the people who post them on the Internet originally were journalists, who got our shit for free. And they didn’t do it because they think we’re cool, but because they did it out of spite. Our record was supposed to come out July 8 and they saw to it that it came out two and a half months before that. What’s the good part? Philosophically, I don’t really understand the mentality of doing that,” Osborne said.
The band’s latest lineup, dating back to 2006, features dueling drummers – a first in the history of the Melvins. While the bombastic and intricately syncopated drumming is apparent on record, it absolutely blows the doors off of the live shows.
Osborne said, “It’s like playing with a freight train on stage – two monster powerhouse drummers behind you. You can’t go wrong.”
Dale Crover, Melvins staple and legend with the sticks, and newcomer Willis, play with opposite hands to form a mirror image of bombing bass and snapping snares that rival Buzz’s guitar in dominating decibels. Eugene is a favorite stop for the band, so expect them to be at full volume.
Osborne said, “We’re looking forward to Eugene because we’re playing in Bend, then Eugene, then Portland. So playing Eugene makes it a nice easy drive.”
The night starts early with doors at 6:30 p.m. and show at 7 p.m. in order to make way for 80’s night – but you don’t really care about that, do you?