Rock band Melvins can be attributed to the old-timers. It was born in 1983 and still exists today. The only member who stood at the origins and did not change the team Buzz Osborne. Dale Crover can also be called a long-liver, although he replaced Mike Dillard. But since that time, the vocalist-guitarist and drummer have not changed, but among the bass players there is a constant turnover.
At first, the guys from Montesana, Washington, played hard punk. But over time, in the course of musical experiments, the tempo became heavier, moving into the category of sludge metal.
Melvins' early musical successes
For a time, Buzz worked at the firm with supervisor Merlin. Colleagues did not like the young man and constantly made fun of him. When it came time to choose the name of the grunge band, the merry fellow Osborne remembered this clumsy and decided to perpetuate his name in musical creativity.
The first line-up of the Melvins included three young men - Buzz Osborne, Matt Lukin, Mike Dillard.
They all went to the same school. At first, covers were played, as well as fast hard rock. After replacing the drummer with Dale Crover, they began to rehearse in the back room of his parents' house, which was located in the town of Aberdeen. The sound style has changed - it has become heavier and slower. At that time no one played like that. Over time, such a performance began to be called grunge.
3 years after the founding of the group, the guys were lucky enough to get into a compilation with six other rock bands, released by the newly created company C / Z Records. On this disc you could hear 4 songs performed by the Melvins.
In May, the same label pleased the musicians with their debut mini-album "Six Songs". Subsequently, it was expanded to "8 Songs", "10 Songs" and even to "26 Songs" (2003). And already in December, the musicians prepared the first full-fledged work "Gluey Porch Treatments", which was also expanded and re-released in 1999.
A Melvins fan was a young Kurt Cobain. He did not miss a single concert, he gave equipment. Since he was friends with Dale, he offered him a place as a bass player, but the kid was so worried that he completely forgot all the parts.
Cobain, having become a rock star, did not forget old friends and recorded several singles with them. In addition, he helped the musicians to perform as the opening act for Nirvana.
Split in the Melvins team
In 1989, the guys planned a split. Osborne and Crover move to live in San Francisco, but Lukin refuses. Remaining in place, he creates another Mudhoney team. And the Melvins have a new girlfriend, Lori Black. The record "Ozma" in 1990 is already recorded with her.
The third disc "Bullhead" is even slower than the previous two. During the European tour, the guys are recording a live album "Your Choice Live Series Vol.12". And upon returning to America, the fans are also pleased with the Eggnog EP.
Unfortunately, the flamboyant Lorax is leaving, so Joe Preston can already be seen on the live video of "Salad of a Thousand Delights" in 1992. Following the example of the Kiss group, each of the musicians also publishes a solo mini-album at this time.
By the end of the year, the guys again surprised the audience by recording a studio album "Lysol" of just one song, which sounds 31 minutes. True, its name had to be changed to "Melvins", since "Lysol" turned out to be a registered trademark.
Label change
The group's most commercial album was Houdini, released in 1992. By the way, it was recorded together with the temporarily returned Laurie Black. But then another returnee, Mark Dutre, came to replace her. Gene Simmons from Kiss played some of the Melvins shows for two years.
The Stoner Witch disc did not impress the producers, so Atlantic Records categorically refused to release the rockers' next creation. So the album "Prick" was released under the auspices of Amphetamine Reptile Records. They also worked with this label on "Stag". And although the album rose to 33rd position in the chat, the label terminated the contract with the musicians.
But a holy place is never empty. And already in 1997, the indefatigable guys brought to the surface another masterpiece “Honky”. This time under the label Amphetamine Reptile Records.
The next three albums were released with Ipecac Recordings with a changed line-up. This time the bassist was Kevin Rutmanis. Label owner Mike Patton offered to re-release the old Melvins albums, and the guys could not refuse such an offer.
It seemed that the guys could not live a day without experiments. The album "Colossus of Destiny", released in 2001, consisted of only two songs. One of them sounded 59 minutes 23 seconds, and the second only 5 seconds.
In 2003, Atlantic Records spontaneously released a compilation of the Melvins' past work. The musicians said that this was done illegally.
The celebration of the 20th anniversary of the group was marked by a grandiose tour and the release of a book with the history of the Melvins and an album of old popular singles.
XXI century
In the early 2000s, the group is actively working on new albums and touring in parallel. True, the tour of Europe in 2004 had to be abandoned, as Rutmanis disappeared in an unknown direction. As it turned out, the musician had problems with drugs. He later showed up but didn't play long, leaving the Melvins for the second time.
In 2006, two newcomers came to the band at once - bass guitarist Jared Warren and drummer Cody Willis. The second drummer was taken due to the fact that he is left-handed. Drum kits were combined, having received a "mirror image".
The group currently has three permanent members. In 2017, they delighted fans with their fresh album A Walk with Love & Death.
