The Melvins have been around for over 40 years. After decades of reinventing themselves, or at least shedding their skin, in pursuit of their very own vision of heavy rock music, they seemed to get a bit lost in their own universe about ten years ago. Various line-up changes and collaborations haven’t done much to change that. It’s a real miracle that after 41 years they have released one of their best albums, »Tarantula Heart«. And it’s even more of a miracle that they still sound like the Melvins. It seems to be the principle of improvisation that inspired them. According to guitarist and vocalist Buzz Osborne there was no repertoire of songs the band went into the studio with this time. Instead, drummer Dale Crover and guest vocalist Roy Mayorga (Ministry) came up with the basic ideas for the tracks, which ranged in length from just under four minutes to almost 20 minutes. Osborne then added his own riffs. Maybe it’s that inquisitive spirit or maybe it’s something else, but the Melvins, who recently added bassist Steven McDonald to Crover and Osborne, haven’t sounded this fresh, free, unspent and inspired in a long time. Someone else will have beat them at their game first.
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