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Label: Ipecac

The Bride Screamed Murder marks the third full length album in a row that underground sludge-rockers The Melvins have released since joining forces with Seattle noise rockers Big Business.  Much the same as their previous two albums, (A) Senile Animal and Nude With Boots, this latest album continues to show that despite having been around for nearly 30 years and having influenced bands as diverse as Nirvana, Mastadon and Tool, The Melvins are perhaps only now putting out the best music of their career.

What is immediately noticeable about The Bride Screamed Murder is its pronounced use of dynamics; previously The Melvins had experimented with ambient music, but songs such as “Evil New War God” and opener “The Water Glass” shift backwards and forwards between all out noise and moments of hushed and delicate silence.  The later in particular is a highlight of the album, incorporating what can only be described as “tribal” drumming and call-and-response vocals between the group’s four singers.  Album closer “P.G. X 3” is perhaps the most surprising of all however, opening with a brief harmonica tune before giving way to waves of echo infused vocal harmonisation and sparse guitar work.  While overall it seems that The Bride Screamed Murder is a bit more varied than many of their previous sixteen albums, this in no way detracts from the work as a whole, nor should it alienate long time listeners.  If anything, it merely proves that The Melvins are not yet resting on their (extensive) laurels just yet.

As always the instrumentation is heavy and precise, with several layers of artificial fuzz added for just the right amount of murkiness.  Drummers Dale Crover and Coady Willis continue to utilise their combined percussive talents to produce complex and punishing polyrhythms, and Buzz Osbourne and Jared Warren are both equally commendable for their blunt but powerful guitar and bass work.  The percussive work in particular requires a special mention however, with songs like “Hospital Up” and “Inhumanity and Death” accentuated nicely with all manner of extra instruments being thrown into the mix.

The track that many listeners might find most intriguing however would definitely have to be the album’s second last track, a brooding and very sludgy cover of the classic “My Generation” by The Who.  The original three minute track is stretched and mangled into a nearly eight minute long epic, with drums and bass marching along in the dreary and desolate manner of a funeral.  While definitely not for everyone, there is a certain charm to the way that the song almost aimlessly plods through its immense playing time.

While throughout their long career The Melvins have never really experienced a slump in quality, their last two albums were definitely a head above most of their releases since Houdini; The Bride Screamed Murder brings this tally up to three.  Despite all the odds therefore, from the age of the group to their seeming inability to hold onto a bass player for any real amount of time, The Melvins appear to be experiencing a late career renaissance.  In a world where artists like Lady Gaga are allowed to record music, it is comforting to know that there are still at least bands like The Melvins out there.

By Matthew Woodward