Thunderball
The third Melvins 1983 album sees that year’s version of the band—guitarist/vocalist King Buzzo and his childhood friend/original drummer Mike Dillard—collaborating with electronics wizards Void Manes and Ni Maîtres. As such, *Thunderball* simultaneously booms with towering slow-motion riffs and crackles with interstellar noise. With its squalling intro and soaring chorus, “King of Rome” might be the catchiest Melvins tune in over a decade. Then noise interlude “Vomit of Clarity” erupts into centerpiece “Short Hair With a Wig,” a bleak funeral dirge with a triumphant solo from Buzz. That triumph extends into the first half of “Victory of the Pyramids” before dissolving into the introspective space odyssey “Venus Blood.”
Washington State outsiders Melvins keep us guessing on (sort of) return to original line-up.
One inescapable fact about the wonderful and frightening musical world of the MELVINS, is that you can absolutely, definitely shove your expectations up your pipe. Instinctively disinclined to do the obvious, to repeat themselves, or to kowtow to others' notion of what this amorphous and legendary b...