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Melvins
Melvins
The Melvins circa 2016.
Background information
Also known as The Melvins, (The) Melvins, Los Melvins, Melvins 1983, Melvins Lite, Diet Melvins, Snivlem, Plainfield
Origin Montesano, Washington, USA
Genres Sludge Metal, Grunge, Drone Metal, Stoner Rock, Noise Rock, Alternative Rock, Alternative Metal, Experimental, Hardcore Punk
Years active 1983 - Present
Labels Alchemy Records, Amphetamine Reptile Records, Man's Ruin Records, C/Z, Boner Records, Atlantic, Ipecac, Your Choice, Alternative Tentacles Records, Slap A Ham, Sub Pop, Third Man, Joyful Noise
Associated acts Altamont, Porn (The Men Of), GodheadSilo, Big Business, Karp, The Whip, Thrones, Earth, High on Fire, Shrinebuilder, OFF!, Le Butcherettes, Crystal Fairy, Tool, Fantômas, Fecal Matter, Lustmord, Enemymine, Dead Low Tide, Jello Biafra, The Cows, Clown Alley, Mudhoney, Nirvana, Butthole Surfers, Redd Kross, Hepa/Titus, Honky
Website Official Page

Melvins are a band that originated from Montesano, Washington in 1983. Usually performing as a trio, they have also in recent years performed with a double-drum lineup. Along with being heralded as one of the progenitors of grunge (Alongside Green River, Soundgarden, Nirvana and Mudhoney to name a few.), The Melvins are heralded as a progenitor to the sludge genre as a whole. Many bands have cited The Melvins as an influence to their own music such as Nirvana, Tool, Stone Temple Pilots, Soundgarden, Cathedral, Earth, Mastodon, Eyehategod, Down, Neurosis, Boris, ISIS and Sunn O))) to name a few. Notably the band's lyrics are fairly random and almost never posted in the album's liner notes, leaving the song context fairly open to interpretation. In a career spanning forty years, The Melvins have released over thirty albums amid dozens of EPs and Singles, all the while touring relentlessly.

The band's name comes from a supervisor at a Thriftway in Montesano, Washington, where Osborne also worked as a clerk. "Melvin" was hated by the other employees, and the band's members felt it to be an appropriately ridiculous name.[1]

History[]

Early Years (1983 - 1987)[]

The Melvins formed in 1983 by Buzz Osborne, Matt Lukin and Mike Dillard. Initially they played hardcore punk, eventually recording a series of songs for a possible album release. However, those recordings would never officially be released (Until 2005 as the Mangled Demos From 1983 compilation.). Dillard would perform his final live performance with the band on 11 August 1984 at The Gray Door and then leave the band amicably in 1984. Upon seeing a heavy metal cover band share the bill with The Melvins was this drummer named Dale Crover, who would join the band as Dillard's replacement.

In 1985, C/Z Records was created to document the Washington music scene upon which the label would release Deep Six, featuring the Melvins alongside Malfunkshun, Green River, Soundgarden, U-Men and Skin Yard. In 1986 the band released their official debut relase on C/Z in the form of Six Songs. The album was recorded live to a two track at the now closed Ironwood Studio in Seattle on 8 February 1986. Eventually Six Songs would be expanded on into what is described as a "Bogus LP" by Osborne as 10 Songs in 1991. The Melvins would tour in 1986 with RKL in what Buzz said "Wasn't a very good idea.".[2]

In October 1986 The Melvins recorded Gluey Porch Treatments at Studio D in Sausalito, California. The album was released in 1987 on Alchemy Records and is considered a landmark in the Sludge sub-genre. Not long after the release of Gluey Porch Treatments, Osborne and Crover would relocate to San Fransisco, California and recruit Lori Black (Clown Alley; Daughter of film icon Shirley Temple.) while Lukin stayed in Washington to join Mudhoney.

Boner Records (1988 - 1992)[]

Sometime after the band's relocation they would record and ultimately release Ozma in 1989. The album would notably be produced by future bassist Mark Deutrom and also be notable for being the first of many releases on Boner Records. Tom Flynn would fill in on bass for the band's first tour in 1990 when Lori was out with health issues. In 1990, the band recorded Bullhead, which marked a slower, more drone music style for the band. The Melvins would do three tours of the United States that year (At some point Boner Records owner Tom Flynn would play a handful of shows with them filling in for Lori.). In 1991, the band toured Europe for the first time. Their January 23, 1991 show in Alzey, Germany was released by Your Choice Records as Your Choice Live Series Vol.12. When they returned to the U.S., they recorded the Eggnog EP, which was released the same year on Boner Records. Lorax would depart from the band shortly after.

Not long after Lorax's departure, Joe Preston would quit Earth to join The Melvins, being an avid fan of the band with his first performance with the band being on May 9, 1991 in Portland, Oregon.

The Melvins then released three "solo" EPs following the concept and imitating the cover artwork inspired by the four Kiss members' solo albums released in 1978. King Buzzo, Dale Crover, and Joe Preston (Joe's in particular being heavily drone-based, likely a precursor to Thrones.) were all released in 1992 on Boner Records. Notably the band would also record a single entitled Night Goat and release it in 1992, beginning a long-standing relationship with Tom Hazelmyer's Amphetamine Reptile Records.

Later in 1992, they released the full-length album Lysol, focusing heavily on a drone-based sound with half the album being covers. Eventually the album had to be renamed Melvins because Lysol was a trademarked name. Preston would be fired from the band due to disputes over credit (Which led to an inside joke on the Lysol cover) and issues with "lazy" work ethic.[3] Lorax would briefly rejoin the band.

Atlantic Records Years/Mark D Years (1993 - 1997)[]

Sometime in 1993 Lorax would be kicked out of the band a second time due to drug issues at the time. Dave Sahijdak and Billy Anderson would fill in for the band on bass for a handful of live dates before Mark Deutrom would join the band in the fall of 1993 just in time for their tour with Primus.

When Nirvana's Nevermind became a massive success, the Melvins were one of many groups to benefit from Nirvana's support. They were signed by Atlantic Records, and their first major label release, 1993's Houdini, entered the Billboard Heatseekers chart at 29.

Gene Simmons of Kiss played bass with the Melvins in 1993 in a concert with Primus, on the song "Goin' Blind", a Kiss song that the Melvins had covered on Houdini.

The band toured heavily in support of the album in 1994 with Rush, Nirvana (On what turned out to be their final tour.), The Obsessed, L7 and Wool to name a few.

Due to its experimental nature, the Melvins took their next album, Prick, to Amphetamine Reptile Records. Record label conflicts prevented the band from releasing any records under the name "Melvins", so the album was released with the band name written in mirror as "Snivlem" though the album is acknowledged as one of their full-lengths. Later that year, The Melvins released their second album for Atlantic in 1994, Stoner Witch.

The Melvins toured frequently in 1995, opening for acts such as Nine Inch Nails, GodheadSilo and White Zombie. Buzz has repeatedly stated that the tour with White Zombie was the worst tour he's ever done. [4]

They returned to Atlantic one last time for 1996's Stag, which entered the Heatseekers chart at number 33. The band was eventually dropped by Atlantic Records that same year. Around the same time Amphetamine Reptile Records put out a single every month featuring oddities and covers by the band, culminating in the compilation Singles 1-12.

The band signed with Amphetamine Reptile Records and released their next full-length album, Honky, in 1997. Costing $3000 and recorded in six days, it turned out to be revered as one of their most experimental efforts. They recorded an August 1997 concert in Richmond, Melbourne, Australia as Alive at the F*ckerclub in 1998. The same year, the Melvins opened for Tool. Sometime in 1997, Mark Deutrom would be fired from the band and replaced by Kevin Rutmanis, formerly of The Cows.

Kevin Rutmanis Era (1998 - 2005)[]

In 1998, Kevin Rutmanis would join the band after Deutrom was fired. The Melvins would record a multitude of albums in the next couple of years in the beginnings of a long-standing partnership with Mike Patton's label Ipecac, notably the trilogy (1999's The Maggot and The Bootlicker along with 2000's The Crybaby which featured multiple guests such as J.G. Thirlwell, Hank Williams III, Kevin Sharp, David Yow, Bliss Blood and Tool to name a few.). Colossus of Destiny, a live show from 1998 was intended to be the third part of the trilogy, ended up being put aside in favor of the guests album though it was released in 2001. Around the same time as the trilogy recordings the band would work with Mike Kunka for an album but this album would not be finished or released until 2016 when Kunka approached the band to finish the album. Electroretard would come out around the same time in 2001 on the now-defunct Man's Ruin Records, featuring re-recordings, covers and two of the songs from the Interstellar Overdrive EP.

In April 2002, The Melvins would release Hostile Ambient Takeover and tour heavily in support of it throughout 2002 and 2003. Rather than a proper vinyl release the seven songs making up the album were released as a series of seven 7" vinyls.

In 2004, Osborne and Crover toured to celebrate their 20th anniversary as a band, and also released an art book Neither Here Nor There. The book is a collection of art by creators of their cover art as well as friends of the band, and also contained retrospectives on the past twenty years of the Melvins. The book included a CD with selected tracks from their albums. The same year The Melvins would also release an album with Lustmord entitled Pigs of The Roman Empire and an album with Jello Biafra entitled Never Breathe What You Can't See, both of which were recorded at the same period of time according to Osborne:

"On both the "Never Breathe What You Can't See" and the "Pigs of the Roman Empire" records, we did both those records at the same time because Biafra can't get out of bed. He can't get to the studio before about six in the after. So what we would do is we would get there about 11 and we would work on Lustmord's stuff 'til about six in the afternoon and then Biafra would show up and we'd work on his stuff until about 11 at night. That's what we would do. We'd shift gears and that's how we recorded both those albums at once.”
 
— Buzz Osborne, Ultimate-Guitar [5]


In 2004 a tour of the US in the summer was partially canceled and a tour of the US in the fall was entirely canceled due to undisclosed issues with Rutmanis (Some have speculated it was due to serious drug issues.). For the shows in the US and Europe supporting Cameron Jamie films, David Scott Stone would fill in as bassist. Trevor Dunn would fill in for a couple of live performances as the band performed "Houdini" in it's entirety. Rutmanis would briefly return in 2005 but ultimately be out of the band in June of that year.

Eventually, Buzz and Dale would reconcile with Kevin and become friends again, performing alongside Kevin's current band Hepa-Titus at select shows. In 2013, Kevin Rutmanis (along with Jello Biafra) would appear as a guest for a cover of Roxy Music's "In Every Dream Home a Heartache" on the 2013 album Everybody Loves Sausages.

In a 2016 interview with Rolling Stone, Buzz Osborne would speak about Rutmanis' departure and how it sparked a major change in the band, eventually leading to the rotating lineup of bassists today.

"You know, honestly, when we stopped working with [former bassist] Kevin Rutmanis in 2005, me and Dale, basically, we were very discouraged fellows at that point. And we just said, "We're not ever going to get in that position again." Where we're relying on any one thing. The Melvins are just whatever me and Dale do. It actually opened up the doors for us to do things we never would have done — like the Freak Puke record with Trevor Dunn, the 51-day tour, working with the Butthole Surfers guys — and there's no weirdness.

We just told them straight up, at front: "Look, I like Big Business. I don't want Big Business to stop. You guys have to keep this band going." It's heart-wrenching, you know? To do all this work with someone, and then have all your stuff pinned on it, and then it doesn't work out. Fortunately with Kevin, everything's fine. That's all been resolved, and we're all really good friends now. ”

 
— Buzz Osborne, Rolling Stone [6]

Late 2000s and the "Double-Drum" lineup (2006 - 2010)[]

In early 2006, Crover confirmed rumors of the members of the band Big Business joining the Melvins. The initial plan was to get bassist Jared Warren but opted to recruit drummer Coady Willis as well. Commenting on adding another drummer, Crover said this about Big Business drummer Coady Willis: "He's left-handed, so we want to do this 'mirror image' type of thing. We've kind of fused our two drum sets together, and we're going to try and do some crazy thing with it. We're sharing these big toms in between us."

The first show with the "Double-Drum" lineup was on September 6, 2006 at The Library in Sacramento, California. The band toured the U.S. in the fall of 2006 in support of their recent album, (A) Senile Animal. The Melvins also toured briefly the United Kingdom in mid-December 2006. New songs such as "Billy Fish" and "Suicide in Progress" would show up by the 2007 touring cycle.

On June 16 and 17, 2008, a lineup of Osborne, original drummer Mike Dillard, and Dale Crover (playing bass) played two shows at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco in honor of Jello Biafra's 50th birthday. Billed as Melvins 1983, both sets were composed of songs from The Mangled Demos, a collection of early material released on the Alternative Tentacles record label in 2005. This was notably Dillard's first performances with the band since 1983.

In July 2008, their new album entitled Nude with Boots was released. In December 2008, along with Mike Patton, the Melvins co-curated an edition of the All Tomorrow's Parties Nightmare Before Christmas festival. They chose half of the lineup and also performed themselves.

The long rumoured (since 2003) remix CD Chicken Switch was released on September 29, 2009 via Ipecac Recordings. Unlike usual remix CDs where the remixer is given a single track to work with, for Chicken Switch each remixer was given a full album to work with and pull from to create their track.

The Melvins joined with New Orleans' super group Down and Weedeater for a North American tour in the summer and fall of 2009. The Melvins released their follow up to Nude with Boots entitled The Bride Screamed Murder, on June 1, 2010. It ended up being their first album to chart on the Billboard 200.

The 2010s and Rotating Lineups (2010 - 2019)[]

The Melvins started 2011 with a series of unique shows entitled Spaceland Residency. Four of the shows were every Friday at Spaceland in California. January 7 featured the current line-up playing Colossus of Destiny, Lysol, and Eggnog. Jan 14 featured a Melvins 1983 set followed by the band playing Houdini. Jan 21 featured a two-piece Melvins set followed by the current lineup playing Bullhead. Jan 28 featured the band playing a normal set followed by Stoner Witch. This would eventually lead to the Endless Residency tour in 2011 where the band performed the four albums and eventually do the same tour in Europe in 2013.

In early 2011 they had the unfortunate distinction of being on tour first in Christchurch, New Zealand at the time of the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake then in Tokyo, Japan at the time of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.[7]

The Melvins would release a live album via Ipecac entitled Sugar Daddy Live on May 31, 2011. It would eventually spawn a split series with eleven other bands in the form of thirteen releases via Ammphetamine Reptile Records over the span of three years.

The Melvins also have a lineup called Melvins Lite (Buzz, Dale, and Trevor Dunn) that toured through parts of 2011, performing songs with double bass including a handful of songs not typical in a Melvins setlist. This line-up released an album entitled Freak Puke on June 15, 2012 on Ipecac Recordings. The four-piece lineup remained active as well and released a digital EP, The Bulls & The Bees, in March on Scion A/V (With a vinyl edition via Amphetamine Reptile).

In 2012, the Melvins Lite completed a record-breaking tour, having performed every night for 51 straight days, once in each of the 50 United States and once in Washington D.C., billed as 51/51. The tour started on September 5 in Anchorage, Alaska and ended in Honolulu, Hawaii October 25, 2012.[8] |title=Melvins Attempt Guinness World Record: Play 51 Dates in All 50 States |accessdate=2013-04-07|work=Spin}}</ref>[9]

Everybody Loves Sausages, an album of cover songs performed with special guests (Such as Scott Kelly, J.G. Thirlwell, Mark Arm, Jello Biafra and HAZE XXL to name a few.), was released by Ipecac on April 30, 2013.[10][11][12] The same year, the Melvins would release Tres Cabrones, an album featuring original drummer Mike Dillard in what would be his first appearance on an official Melvins full-length.

In 2013, the Melvins marked 30 years as a band with an extensive summer tour supported by Honky with Die Kreuzen and Negative Approach also appearing at select dates. Grunge pioneers Mudhoney also joined the band for two shows on the 30th Anniversary tour.[13]

Buzzo would make a cameo appearance in the video game Sunset Overdrive, released in 2014.[14] On July 31, 2014, the band announced the album, Hold It In, with a release date of October 14, 2014. The lineup for this album was Osborne and Crover joined by Paul Leary and Jeff Pinkus of the Butthole Surfers.[15] Pinkus had joined the band the previous year as a touring bassist, filling in for current member Jared Warren. Two tours would follow in support of the album, namely 2015's Hold It In Tour with Le Butcherettes as direct support. Two short tours or the USA and Europe would follow with the four-piece lineup.

On March 9, 2015, Hellsmore Media & Idlehanz Media Productions officially launched a kickstarter for the Melvins documentary Colossus of Destiny: A Melvins Tale on March 13, 2015. The Kickstarter campaign proved to be a success as backers raised $98,953 of the intended $75,000 goal. The documentary features multiple people associated with the Melvins and of course the band themselves. Initial screenings of the documentary began in 2016. In November 2015 the band released Across the USA in 51 Days: The Movie, a tour diary/documentary of the Melvins' 51/51 tour with one minute of footage in each city the band performed.

On September 10, 2015, the band announced they would finally be releasing their collaboration with GodheadSilo's Mike Kunka, Three Men and a Baby, on April 1, 2016 through Sub Pop. The album, started in 1999 and shelved, was recently finished. They would also release Basses Loaded on June 3, 2016[16] which featured a rotating cast of bass players including regulars Dale Crover (With Mike Dillard), Jared Warren (With Coady Willis), Jeff Pinkus and Trevor Dunn as well as Steven McDonald (of Redd Kross), and Krist Novoselic (of Nirvana). [17]

In 2016, The Melvins announced a tour (Savage Imperial Death March) with Melt-Banana and Napalm Death with Steven McDonald as their newest bass player, along with a tour of Europe and a second tour of the United States in August/September with Helms Alee as direct support. Buzz and Dale would make a guest appearance on the Cartoon Network show Uncle Grandpa, helping the character Lizzy by being members of her band to win a talent show. Members and associates of the band make cameo appearances in the audience.[18]

The band would close 2016 with a string of shows alongside Redd Kross and OFF! (With Steven McDonald handling triple bass duties). The band would start 2017 with two shows opening for Sleep, Boner Records announcing re-issues of the solo EPs (With alternate art editions in the works via Amphetamine Reptile Records and a brand new solo EP for Steven McDonald.) and two more Melvins albums in the works alongside the band's most recent collaboration in Crystal Fairy.[19]

The Melvins have two forthcoming studio albums in the works: One of which being a concept double album with McDonald on bass and the other being a studio album with Pinkus and McDonald on bass. On 6 April 2017 the band announced a 23-track double album entitled A Walk With Love and Death to be released on Ipecac on 7 July 2017. Featuring Steven McDonald on bass and a host of guests, The disc entitled "Death" will be a conventional Melvins album while "Love" will be the soundtrack score to a Jesse Nieminen directed, self-produced short.[20] An 80+ date North American tour would be announced alongside Spotlights and later a headlining spot at Desertfest Belgium. Some weeks later a full tour of Europe and Australia with Redd Kross was announced for the months of October and November, with Crover and McDonald performing with both bands.

On 12 February 2018, The Melvins would announce a brand new studio album released on 20 April entitled Pinkus Abortion Technician with a USA tour spanning through May and then July and August to follow.[21] A tour of Europe for that October and November was later announced as well. For the 2018 live shows the band would utilize both bassists. The Melvins would tour frequently in 2019, along with releasing several extended plays through Amphetamine Reptile Records.

The Melvins in the 2020s (2020 - Present)[]

In a 2019 interview with Coachella Valley, not long after announcing a full tour of Europe and North America, Osborne would state that there were several new releases in the works in the following statement including a new Melvins 1983 album, a new acoustic record, two new EPs and one release in secret:

"We always have records. We’re recording all kinds of things. We have a split-EP with the Flipper guys coming out. We have an EP with a band from Sweden called ShitKid coming out soon. We have a Melvins project with me, Dale and the original drummer that we’re working on. I also have a solo acoustic album I’m finishing. We have another album that I can’t really let the cat out of the bag on that one yet that we’re working on

It’s a ton of stuff. I think in the last two months we’ve recorded 35 songs.”

 
— Buzz Osborne, Coachella Valley Weekly [22]

On 13 November 2020 a new album would be announced in Working With God, featuring the Melvins 1983 lineup and set for a February 2021 release. Notably this would be the longest gap between Melvins albums. In 21 July 2021 Melvins would announce a two-disc, four LP acoustic album entitled Five Legged Dog, featuring acoustic re-imaginings of songs spanning the band's whole career along with covers previously un-recorded by the band, a total of thirty-six tracks. Five Legged Dog would be set to be released on 15 October 2021 on digital and CD and in 2022 on vinyl.[23]

On 23 September 2021 it would be announced that The Melvins would tour with Corrosion of Conformity and Ministry in the Spring of 2022. The band would release a new EP entitled Lord of The Flies that January, with two songs set for the band's next album along with two covers. Notably one of the covers would be that of the Soundgarden song "Spoonman", featuring Matt Cameron (Soundgarden) as a guest second drummer. The band would record more material in the Summer of 2022, with Roy Mayorga (Ministry, Amebix, Stone Sour) as a guest. In July 2022 the band's next album Bad Mood Rising would be announced via AmRep, with an early August limited release via that label and a proper release later that month.

In 2023 Melvins would celebrate their fortieth anniversary. The first release the band would put out would be The Devil You Knew, The Devil You Know, a compilation LP that has the original Six Songs from 1986 along with re-recordings of all six songs in 2023. Following a West coast tour with Mr. Bungle, The Melvins would tour Europe for the first time since 2018 and also announce a tour with Boris entitled Twins of Evil. On this tour Boris would be performing Heavy Rocks in it's entirety while Melvins would be performing Bullhead and other songs.[24] On 23 August 2023 it would be announced Coady Willis would be filling in on the tour as Dale would be forced to sit out due to emergency spinal surgery.[25]

On 20 June, Melvins and Amphetamine Reptile Records would announce Throbbing Jazz Gristle Funk Hits, an all-electronic LP that serves as a tribute to Throbbing Gristle. Released in late June, it is a long-awaited and speculated collaboration with Void Manes.[26][27] A split/collab with Helms Alee is also confirmed to be in the works along with another studio album.[28] The collab with Helms Alee would see release later in 2023, entitled Controlling Data For a Better Feeling Future.

On 6 February 2024 The Melvins would announce their next album Tarantula Heart, set for a 19 April release via Ipecac. Notably, it would feature Gary Chester (We Are The Asteroid) and Roy Mayorga (Amebix, Soulfly, Ministry, etc.).[29]

Selected Discography[]

Studio Albums[]

NOTE: The list of official Melvins albums is purely subjective from source to source.

EPs[]

Live Albums / Videos[]

Selected Other Releases[]

Singles and Splits[]

  • Outtakes From 1st 7" (1989, Do The Right Thing Records)
  • Oven/Revulsion/We Reach (1989, Leopard Gecko Records)
  • Sweet Young Thing Ain't Sweet No More / I Dreamed, I Dream (Split with Steel Pole Bath Tub) (1989, Boner Records)
  • Melvins/Malfunkshun (Split with Malfunkshun) (1990, Self-released)
  • Yuthanagia (1990, Self-Released)
  • With Yo' Heart, Not Yo' Hands (1990, Sympathy For The Record Industry)
  • Dope-Guns'-N-Fucking In The Streets Volume 5 (Split with Helmet, Dwarves and Gas Huffer) (1990, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • Your Blessened (1990, Slap A Ham)
  • Here She Comes Now / Venus in Furs (Split with Nirvana) (1991, Communion)
  • Love Canal / Someday (1992, Slap a Ham)
  • Hooch (1993, Rise / Atlantic)
  • Honey Bucket (1993, Atlantic)
  • Lizzy (1993, Atlantic)
  • Queen (1994, Atlantic)
  • Revolve (1994, Atlantic)
  • Hag Me (1994, Gasatanka)
  • Subraum (Split with Pornoetronix, Notwist and Mars Bonfire) (1995, Subraum Magazine)
  • I Like Porn / Coitus City (1995, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • Thora-zine's Buzzo Flexo 8" (With Fu Manchu, Mojo Nixon and Bracket) (1995, Thora-Zine)
  • Melvins / Plainfield (With Plainfield) (1995, Smelly)
  • Melvins / Guv'ner (With Guv'ner) (1995, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • Bar-X-The Rocking M (1996, Atlantic)
  • The Bit (1996, Atlantic)
  • Lexicon Devil / Pigtro (Jan. 1996, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • In The Rain / Spread Eagle (Feb. 1996, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • Leech / Queen (Mar. 1996, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • Way Of The World / Theme (Apr. 1996, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • It's Shoved / Forgotten Principles (May 1996, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • GGIIBBYY / Theresa Screams (Jun. 1996, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • Poison / Double Troubled (Jul. 1996, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • Specimen / All At Once (Aug. 1996, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • Jacksonville / Dallas (Sep. 1996, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • The Bloat / Fast Forward (Oct. 1996, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • Nasty Dogs and Funky Kings / HDYF (Nov. 1996, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • How-++-Harry Lauders Walking Stick Tree / Zodiac (Split with Brutal Truth) (Dec. 1996, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • Barbaraal² (1997, Barbaraal)
  • I Can't Shake It / Some Girls (Split with Cosmic Psychos) (1998, Gearhead Magazine)
  • Spit It Out (2000, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • Shit Sandwich (2001, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • Black Stooges / Foaming (Fast Version) (2003, Ipecac)
  • Dr. Geek / Return Of The Spiders (2003, Ipecac)
  • Little Judas Chongo / Jerkin' Krokus (2003, Ipecac)
  • The Fool, The Meddling Idiot / Promise Me (2003, Ipecac)
  • The Brain Center At Whipples / Today Your Love, Tomorrow The World (2003, Ipecac)
  • Foaming / Arny (2003, Ipecac)
  • The Anti-Vermin Seed (2003, Ipecac)
  • Revolve / With Teeth (Live) (2003, Suicide Squeeze)
  • Message Saved / Thank You! (2004, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • PigSkin / Starve Already (2006, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • Boss Hoss / The Two Dumbest C*nts In The World (Split with Patton Oswalt) (2006, Chunklet)
  • Melvins/H•O•F - Split Tour Single (Split with Halo of Flies) (2007, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • Star Spangled Banner / Detroit Rock City (2008, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • Black Betty (Split with Jon Spencer Blues Explosion) (2011, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • Suicide in Progress Live (Split with Totimoshi) (2011, Volcom)
  • Sugar Daddy Live Split Series Vol. 1 (With U-Men) (2012, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • Sugar Daddy Live Split Series Vol. 2 (With Cows) (2012, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • Melvins / Unsane (With Unsane) (2012, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • Sugar Daddy Live Split Series Vol. 3 (With Killdozer) (2012, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • Sugar Daddy Live Split Series Vol. 4 (With OFF!) (2012, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • Post Moral Neanderthal Retardist Pornography (With Hammerhead) (2012, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • Melvins / Seawhores (With Seawhores) (2012, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • Sugar Daddy Live Split Series Vol. 5 (With Die Kreuzen, Necros and Negative Approach) (2012, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • Sugar Daddy Live Split Series Vol. 6 (With Butthole Surfers) (2012, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • New Years Eve Ballroom Blitz (With Redd Kross) (2012, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • Sugar Daddy Live Split Series Vol. 7 (With Mudhoney) (2013, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • Sugar Daddy Live Split Series Vol. 8 (With Fucked Up) (2013, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • BASH 13 (With Mudhoney, Negative Approach, Gay Witch Abortion, Die Kreuzen and Hepa-Titus) (2013, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • Nine Clowns of The Apocalypse Vol. 1: A Tribute to The Scientists (2013, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • Nine Clowns of The Apocalypse Vol. 2: A Tribute to Venom (2013, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • Sugar Daddy Live Split Series Vol. 9 (With Napalm Death) (2013, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • Billy Fish Alive (2013, Joyful Noise)
  • Nine Clowns of The Apocalypse Vol. 3: A Tribute to The Kinks (2013, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • Nine Clowns of The Apocalypse Vol. 4: A Tribute to Pop-O-Pies / Tales Of Terror (2013, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • 2013 Invasion (With Helmet) (2013, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • Nine Clowns of The Apocalypse Vol. 5: A Tribute to Roxy Music (2013, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • Sugar Daddy Live Split Series Vol. 10 (With Fantomas) (2013, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • I Told You I Was Crazy / Tie My Pecker To A Tree (2013, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • Nine Clowns of The Apocalypse Vol. 6: A Tribute to David Bowie) (2014, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • Nine Clowns of The Apocalypse Vol. 7: A Tribute to Queen) (2014, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • Sugar Daddy Live Split Series Vol. 11 (With King Buzzo) (2014, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • Sugar Daddy Live Split Series Vol. 12 (With Melvins 1983) (2014, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • How Chow Now Dead Cow? (With Hepa-Titus) (2014, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • Melvins / Hard Ons (With Hard Ons) (2014, WeEmptyRooms)
  • Sugar Daddy Live Split Series Vol. 13) (With Karp) (2015, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • Nine Clowns of The Apocalypse: A Tribute to The Jam (2015, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • Nine Clowns of The Apocalypse: A Tribute to Throbbing Gristle (2015, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • Chaos As Usual (With Le Butcherettes) (2015, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • Dumb Numbers Split Series (With Dumb Numbers, David Lynch, David Yow) (2015, Joyful Noise)
  • Almost Live - feat. Teri Gender Bender (2015, Joyful Noise)
  • Psychopticotic Vol. 1 (With Mudhoney, Boss Hog, Gay Witch Abortion) (2016, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
  • Rocket Reducer No. 62 (Rama Lama Fa Fa Fa) (with MC5) (2016, Elektra / Atlantic)
  • Euthanasia / Ambition (2016, Amphetamine Reptile Records)

Members[]

Current Members[]

Former Members[]

  • Mike Dillard - Drums, Vocals (1983 - 1984, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2018 - Present) (Melvins 1983)
  • Matt Lukin - Bass, Vocals (1983 - 1987)
  • Lori Black - Bass (1987 - 1991, 1992 - 1993)
  • Joe Preston - Bass, Vocals (1991 - 1992)
  • Mark Deutrom - Bass, Guitar, Vocals (1993 - 1997)
  • Kevin Rutmanis - Bass, Guitar, Vocals (1998 - 2005, 2018, 2019, 2020)
  • Trevor Dunn - Double Bass, Bass, Vocals (2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011 - 2015) (Melvins Lite)
  • Jared Warren - Bass, Vocals (2006 - 2013, 2014 (One Date), 2015)
  • Coady Willis - Drums, Vocals (2006 - 2013, 2014 (One Date), 2015, 2023)
  • Jeff Pinkus - Bass, Vocals (2013 - 2015, 2018 - 2019)

Additional/Touring Musicians[]

  • Tom Flynn - Live Bass (1990)
  • Billy Anderson - Live Bass (1993)
  • Dave Sahijdak - Live Bass (1993)
  • David Scott Stone - Guitar, Bass, Effects (1997 - 2006; Sporadic appearances)
  • Mike Patton - Vocals, Effects (2000, 2003, 2006) (FantomasMelvins Big Band)
  • Dave Lombardo - Drums (2000, 2003, 2006) (FantomasMelvins Big Band)
  • Adam Jones - Guitar, Bass (1998 - 2008; Sporadic appearances)
  • Jello Biafra - Vocals (2002, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2016) (Jello Biafra and The Melvins)

Tours[]

The Melvins have toured extensively over their 30+ year career. As a note, some of these tours only have the featured artists on select dates. All tours can be sourced at themelvins.net.[30]

  • October 1985 Canada Tour (With Beyond Posession) (1985)
  • 1986 Canada Tour (With Beyond Posession) (1986)
  • 1986 Tour (With RKL) (1986)
  • July 1989 Mini-Tour (1989)
  • Spring 1990 Tour (Tom Flynn on Bass) (1990)
  • Fall 1990 West Coast Tour (1990)
  • Fall/Winter 1990 Tour (with Helmet) (1990)
  • Winter European 1991 Tour (1991)
  • 1991 US Tour (With Nirvana) (1991)
  • 1992 Tour (With GWAR) (1992)
  • Melvins & Hammerhead Tour (With Hammerhead) (1992)
  • Fall 1992 USA Tour (With Primus) (1992)
  • Spring 1993 Tour (1993)
  • Fall 1993 USA Tour (With Primus) (1993)
  • December 1993 Tour (With Nirvana, Breeders) (1993)
  • Winter 1994 West Coast Tour (With Rush) (1994)
  • Winter 1994 European Tour (With Nirvana on six dates) (1994)
  • Spring 1994 Tour (With The Obsessed on select dates) (1994)
  • Fall 1994 Tour (With L7, Wool) (1994)
  • European 1994 Tour (1994)
  • Winter 1995 Tour (With Nine Inch Nails) (1995)
  • Spring 1995 Tour (With GodheadSilo, White Zombie, Reverend Horton Heat, Babes in Toyland depending on dates) (1995)
  • Summer 1995 European Tour (1995)
  • Summer 1996 Tour (with KISS on select dates) (1996)
  • Lollapalooza 1996 (1996)
  • Summer 1996 European Tour (1996)
  • Fall 1996 North American Tour (1996)
  • Fall 1996 European Tour (1996)
  • Winter 1997 Tour (With Tool on select dates) (1997)
  • Summer 1997 U.S. Tour (With Helmet; Skeleton Key on select dates) (1997)
  • Summer 1997 Australasian Tour (With Cosmic Psychos) (1997)
  • Fall 1997 Tour (With Helmet) (1997)
  • Fall 1997 European Tour (1997)
  • 1998 West Coast Tour (With Tool) (1998)
  • OzzFest 1998 (1998)
  • 1998 U.S. Tour (With Tool) (1998)
  • Spring 1999 Japan Tour (With Melt-Banana, Boris) (1999)
  • Summer 1999 U.S. Tour (With Enemymine, Cosmic Psychos, Melt-Banana, Vaz, Honky, Hovercraft depending on dates) (1999)
  • 2x4 Tour (2000)
  • FantomasMelvins Big Band Tour (As FantomasMelvins Big Band) (2000)
  • Spring 2001 European Tour (2001)
  • Spring 2001 U.S. Tour (With Folk Implosion, Hank Williams III) (2001)
  • Fall 2001 U.S. Tour (With Tool)
  • Spring 2002 Warm-Up Dates (With Black Heart Procession) (2002)
  • Spring 2002 Down Under Tour (With Tool) (2002)
  • Summer 2002 U.S. Tour (With Dead Low Tide, Bad Wizard, ISIS, Jucifer depending on dates) (2002)
  • New Year's Eve 2002 Ipecac Showcases (With various guests, Jello Biafra on vocals for the New Years Eve date) (2002)
  • Winter 2003 Tour (With Altamont; Adam Jones as guest guitarist) (2003)
  • Spring 2003 Tour (With Tomahawk; Skeleton Key, Mondo Generator, Dälek as rotating openers.) (2003)
  • Summer 2003 European Tour (With Tomahawk) (2003)
  • Fall 2003 England Tour (With Cameron Jamie Films) (2003)
  • Fall 2003 Australian Tour (With Fantomas, Tomahawk) (2003)
  • Winter 2004 West Coast Tour (2004)
  • Summer 2004 Tour (With Trevor Dunn's Trio Convulsant; partially canceled) (2004)
  • Fall 2004 Tour (Canceled) (2004)
  • Cameron Jamie Tour Shows (With Cameron Jamie Films; David Scott Stone on bass) (2004)
  • New Years Eve 2004 (As Jello Biafra and The Melvins) (2004)
  • June 2005 Germany Shows (As Jello Biafra and The Melvins; With Fantomas) (2005)
  • Fall 2005 U.S. Tour (As Jello Biafra and The Melvins; With Altamont) (2005)
  • FantomasMelvins Big Band European Tour (As FantomasMelvins Big Band) (2006)
  • Fall 2006 Tour (First double-drum tour; With Big Business, Porn (The Men Of), Ghostgital, Joe Lally) (2006)
  • Winter 2006 U.K./Ireland Tour (With Big Business, Porn (The Men Of), Flipper) (2006)
  • European 2007 Tour (With Big Business, Porn (The Men Of),) (2007)
  • American Fall 2007 Tour (2007)
  • American Summer 2008 Tour (With Big Business) (2008)
  • South American 2008 Shows (With Big Business) (2008)
  • European Fall 2008 Tour (With Big Business, Porn (The Men Of)) (2008)
  • Australian Tour 2009 (2009)
  • 25th Anniversary Spring / Summer Tour (2009)
  • 25th Anniversary Fall Tour (With Down, Weedeater) (2009)
  • European Fall 2009 Tour (With Porn (The Men Of)) (2009)
  • Spring/Summer 2010 U.S. Tour (With Totimoshi) (2010)
  • Spaceland Residency (2011)
  • Pacific Rim Winter Tour 2011 (With High on Fire, Primus; some dates canceled) (2011)
  • Endless Residency Tour 2011 (2011)
  • Melvins Lite Tour 2011 (As Melvins Lite) (2011)
  • European Fall Tour 2011 (2011)
  • 2012 USA Spring Tour (With Unsane) (2012)
  • Melvins Lite Canada/U.S. Tour (As Melvins Lite) (2012)
  • 51/51 (As Melvins Lite; With Tweak Bird) (2012)
  • Melvins Lite European Tour (As Melvins Lite; With Big Business) (2013)
  • European Endless Residency Tour (2013)
  • 2013 May U.S. Mini-Tour (2013)
  • 30th Anniversary Tour (With Honky) (2013)
  • 2013 Australasia Tour (With Helmet on select dates) (2013)
  • 2014 Fall Tour (With Honky, Le Butcherettes) (2014)
  • 2014 South America Residency (As Melvins Lite; With Fantomas) (2014)
  • Hold It In Tour (With Le Butcherettes; Void Manes on select dates) (2015)
  • 2015 Fall U.S. Tour (With Big Business) (2015)
  • 2015 European Tour (With Big Business) (2015)
  • Savage Imperial Death March (With Napalm Death, Melt-Banana) (2016)
  • Basses Loaded European Tour (2016)
  • Basses Loaded American Tour (With Helms Alee on all dates; Reverend Horton Heat on select dates) (2016)
  • High Desert Overdose (With OFF!, Redd Kross) (2016)
  • 2017 Mini-Tour (With Sleep) (2017)
  • A Walk With Love and Death North American Tour (With Spotlights) (2017)
  • A Walk With Love and Death European Tour (With Redd Kross) (2017)
  • A Walk With Love and Death Australian Tour (With Redd Kross) (2017)
  • Pinkus Abortion Technician North American Tour (With All Souls, Modpods, Jon Spencer, We Are The Asteroid depending on dates) (2018)
  • Pinkus Abortion Technician European Tour (With Jon Spencer, Shitkid depending on dates) (2018)
  • January 2019 North American Tour (With Hepa/Titus) (2019)
  • Pinkus Abortion Technician Japan Tour (2019; Canceled)
  • 2019 European Tour (2019; Canceled)
  • Fall 2019 Mini-Tour (With The Racontuers) (2019)
  • Escape From LA (With Redd Kross, Toshi Kasai; ShitKid intended but dropped off) (2019)
  • November 2019 Japan Tour (2019)[31]
  • Intensities In Ten Cities (With Hepa/Titus, Cunts) (2020)[32]
  • Industrial Strength (With Ministry, Corrosion of Conformity) (2022)[33]
  • The Electric Roach Tour (With Helms Alee, Harsh Mellow) (2022)[34]
  • Five Legged Tour (With We Are The Asteroid) (2022)
  • Geek Show 2023 (With Mr. Bungle, Spotlights) (2023)
  • 40th Anniversary European Tour (2023)
  • Twins of Evil (With Boris) (2023)[35]
  • 2024 Australia & New Zealand Tour (With Mr. Bungle) (2024)

External Links[]

References[]

  1. YoutubeWikipedia: Fact or Fiction?, accessed March 18, 2016.
  2. Pitchfork's Page on YouTubeMelvins Recount Their 1986 Tour, accessed February 19, 2016.
  3. MarkPrindleAccessed 15 April, 2016
  4. Spin Melvins 51 States Tour Diary: Rob Zombie Sucks, Accessed 16 April 2016.
  5. Ultimate-Guitar accessed 8th May 2016
  6. Rolling Stone Melvins Talk 'Basses Loaded' LP, Featuring Nirvana's Krist Novoselic, accessed 18th March 2016
  7. Los Angeles Times
  8. SPIN
  9. Honolulu Pulse
  10. Ipecac Recordings Official
  11. The Sleeping Shaman
  12. {Loudwire
  13. [cite web|url=http://consequenceofsound.net/2013/04/melvins-tour/ Consequence of Sound]
  14. YouTube Accessed 6th August 2016
  15. Blabbermouth
  16. Pitchfork
  17. Radio Neutron
  18. Cartoon Network on YouTube Uncle Melvins Performance | Uncle Grandpa | Cartoon Network, accessed 6th August 2016.
  19. San Francisco CBS LocalAccessed 17 February 2017
  20. Melvins FacebookAccessed 6 April 2017
  21. Melvins FacebookAccessed 12 February 2018
  22. Coachella Valley Weekly Melvins will be performing at Stoned and Dusted, accessed 30 May 2019
  23. Rolling Stone
  24. Melvins Facebook
  25. Melvins Instagram
  26. Melvins Facebook
  27. Amphetamine Reptile Records Facebook
  28. Interceptor Beyond Podcast
  29. Melvins Facebook
  30. themelvins.netMelvins Tour Dates, accessed February 19, 2016.
  31. The Melvins Forum
  32. Lambgoat
  33. Lambgoat
  34. Lambgoat
  35. Melvins Facebook
  V·T·E Melvins
Current Members Buzz OsborneDale CroverSteven McDonald
Past Members Mike DillardMatt LukinLori BlackJoe PrestonMark DeutromKevin RutmanisTrevor DunnJared WarrenCoady WillisJeff Pinkus
Albums Gluey Porch TreatmentsOzmaBullheadLysolHoudiniPrickStoner WitchStagHonkyThe MaggotThe BootlickerThe CrybabyElectroretardHostile Ambient TakeoverPigs of The Roman EmpireNever Breathe What You Can't See(A) Senile AnimalNude With BootsThe Bride Screamed MurderFreak PukeEverybody Loves SausagesTres CabronesHold It InThree Men And A BabyBasses LoadedA Walk With Love and DeathPinkus Abortion TechnicianWorking With GodFive Legged DogBad Mood RisingThrobbing Jazz Gristle Funk HitsTarantula Heart
Select Extended Plays and Splits Six SongsEggnogNight GoatKing Buzzo (EP)Dale Crover (EP)Joe Preston (EP)Interstellar OverdriveSmash The StateSludge GlamorousHurray For Me Fuk YouThe Bulls & The BeesHigh Desert OverdoseSteven McDonald (EP)SabbathHot FishBangersEscape From LAWhite Lazy BoyMulletSlithering SlaughterThe Devil You Knew, The Devil You KnowControlling Data For a Better Feeling Future
Live Albums & Videos Your Choice Live Vol. 12Salad of a Thousand DelightsTora Tora ToraAlive At The F*cker ClubLive At Slim's 8-Track TapeColossus of DestinyA Live History of Gluttony and LustThe EndMelvins Vs. MinneapolisPick Your BattlesEndless ResidencySugar Daddy LiveMelvins Live At Third Man RecordsAround The USA in 51 Days: The Movie!The Colossus of Destiny: A Melvins TaleLive Stream Obscene
Compilations Singles 1-1226 SongsNeither Here Nor ThereMangled Demos From 1983Sieg Howdy!The Making Love DemosChicken Switch
Associated Bands and Artists Nirvana • Fantomas • Butthole Surfers • Redd Kross • Mr. Bungle • AltamontPorn (The Men Of)ShrinebuilderOFF!Crystal FairyCrystal Fairy (Album)Big BusinessBilly AndersonAcid KingSawed OffMelvanaDrumbWe Reach: The Music of The Melvins
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