As members of the Melvins, guitarist-vocalist Buzz “King Buzzo” Osborne and drummer Dale Crover have obliterated eardrums and brought their distinct, but ever-changing, wacko brand of sludge metal to willing audiences around the world for more than two decades. While the band may not be quite as well known as some of the acts it has influenced (see: Nirvana, Tool), the Melvins reign as one of the most important rock bands of the modern era.
But luckily for those of us who missed the first wave of the then-burgeoning alternative rock scene, the Melvins are one of the few bands still around to tell the tale. And boy, do they tell it (bring your earplugs to this one).
The now Los Angeles-based group will be back in Baltimore on Tuesday for a night of metal at Sonar, opening for the heavy metal band, Down. The Melvins’ last album was 2008’s Nude with Boots, and the band is touring the country, as it does annually. Even though the Melvins are opening, the experience isn’t diminished, according to Crover.
“[The crowds have] been really receptive,” Crover said in an interview with The Diamondback. “We’re the opening band. We haven’t been on a tour like this for a while, and we thought that it would be something cool to do. I think that we’ll probably gain some of their fans, I hope. We’re having a lot of people come up to us and say, ‘I’ve never heard of you guys before, you guys were really great.'”
The Melvins are somewhat known for a history of collaborations. If the members of the group aren’t changing (Osborne and Crover are the band’s longest-standing members), then the band is working on an album with another established act. In 2006, the dynamic of the Melvins changed again when the band Big Business was added to the member lineup, and the bass and drums duo significantly changed the Melvins.
“We decided that we would ask both those guys to play with us and have two drummers — do something completely different,” Crover said. “[That] pretty much renewed the band for us.”
With decades under the veterans’ belts and a couple of new members, Crover thinks the more recent years of the Melvins have been some of the band’s best.
Crover cites curating an All Tomorrow’s Parties festival in England and opening for The Stooges as a couple of the recent highlights for the group.
“[These days are] a million times better because people now, for some reason, like us,” Crover said. “We used to be the most hated band in the world, and now they like us.”
As to why the band is only now enjoying a strong legion of visible fans, Crover is unsure.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I feel like we’re doing the same thing. People come around for some reason. I guess because we just won’t go away.”
But even with a sound Crover describes as “big, dumb and stupid looking,” the Melvins seem as attractive as ever. A key to the band’s success is its vast array of musical influences. And one of the bigger inspirations for the grungy, droney rock band right now? Bob Dylan.
“He’s one of those guys that for years and years, I just didn’t get. And all of a sudden, it hit me,” Crover said. “He kind of does whatever he wants to. He doesn’t really worry about what other people think. And that’s definitely how we like to be, too. Obviously, we want people to like it, but at the same time, we’re not worried about what people are gonna think about it.”
The Melvins will play at Sonar on Tuesday night. Doors are at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $25 in advance and $30 at the door.
rhiggins@umdbk.com
