Review: Melvins ‘Tarantula Heart’
The Melvins. The riffs. The drums. The snarkiness. The influence. The frizzy hair. The massive discography. From small town obscurity in the Pacific Northwest to major prominence as an act which laid the ground roots for grunge and sludge metal alike, they are one of the most ubiquitous bands in our world of slow motion guitar pummeling and amplifier punishment.
While ‘heavy’ is a term associated with them, another would be ‘weird’, as Melvins have seldom made normal heavy music. And they have been at it for decades. The wonderfully titled Tarantula Heart is something of a return to form for the band, in that it touches on the art rock unpredictability of 1996’s Stag record with the melodic two-drummer attack of 2006’s (A) Senile Animal.
In place of Big Business, and now High On Fire, Coady Willis is Ray Mayorga, a workhorse drummer whose previous credits include Ministry, Soulfly and a host of New York metal and hardcore acts. Steve McDonald of Red Kross fame continues to hold down the low end as well as providing vocals, continuing the melodic harmonized singing first characterized by Jared Warren’s contributions to the band. If that wasn’t enough, we also have additional guitar from We Are the Asteroid’s Gary Chester, and longtime producer Toshi Kasai is once again along for the ride.
At nearly twenty minutes, Pain Equals Funny begins as a ‘sunny’ alt rock affair with some, dare I say, power pop flourishes for the first segment before mutating into three other forms. We get a grooving vibe courtesy of Dale Crover and Mayorga with a more menacing jaunt, then into Captain Beefheart-esque avant-garde-ness with squiggly lead guitar, and then into a driving head bang rhythm, before the track disappears down a drain of low-fi weirdness.
The punk rock quirkiness coupled with searing volcanic guitar. The daring art rock mixed with propulsive drumming. The oddball lyrics and soaring choruses. It’s all here…
Working The Ditch’s caustic heavy-objects-falling-down-the-stairs percussion gives way to a classic Buzz Osbourne riff reminiscent of the ‘90s output coupled with his combination of menacingly hushed rants and loud singing. It sticks to its repetitive attack till the end but never turns away the listener’s attention. The eclectic She’s Got Weird Arms perfectly fuses the rhythm and counter-rhythm of (A) Senile Animal with the bonkers oddball-ness of Stag’s stranger tracks (which I suppose is a bit of a broad description).
The instrumental Allergic To Food is a straight up headbanger, and while I remember Buzz sharing guitar duties with Tool’s Adam Jones on The Crybaby EP, it’s quite interesting to hear him trading off with Chester. Noodly leads are not something you typically associate with Melvins. Closer Smiler is balls-to-the-wall hard rock in the tradition of Stoner Witch and I couldn’t be happier.
Simply put, Tarantula Heart sounds like Melvins. The punk rock quirkiness coupled with searing volcanic guitar. The daring art rock mixed with propulsive drumming. The oddball lyrics and soaring choruses. It’s all here. The additional musicians certainly add their touches, and thanks to Kasai’s impeccable production, the mix sounds stellar. Through it all, the band’s devotion to DIY perseverance and maintaining their throne as the most influential and strange band in the genre remains intact. This tarantula certainly has heart.
Label: Ipecac Recordings
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Scribed by: Rob Walsh
