Customer Reviews

Bride Screamed Murder

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First, I'll admit I am biased, I'm a huge fan of the Melvins current lineup with Jared and Coady, Buzzo and Dale. I was incredibly happy with A Senile Animal, Nude with Boots didn't hit me in the same place, but is a good listen, The Bride Screamed Murder takes things to another level though, start to finish I listened transfixed.

The intro track The Water Glass as mentioned previously has a blistering military cadence section that I can only imagine being perfromed live with both drummers, and he album finsihes with the unsettling, but oddly beautiful P.G. X 3

If you have enjoyed recent releases with the current lineup, I highly recommend you give this one a try. If you thought they were OK but love The Melvins in general, I'd still say it's a buy because IMO it may be their best release in many years.

The Melvins are one of favorite bands and the new line up rocks. I'm a huge Big Business fan and have been a fan of Karp for a long time so when I heard Jared was going to be in the Melvins I was excited. All 3 records have a new energized feel this record is more of the same goodness. But this one enters new territory with the excellent slow & heavy My Generation cover, the jazz infused tune, the opening track sounding like a military chant after the crushing riffs and drums and the last tune a has an old timey folk/western feel. But on a whole it still rocks like the Melvins do! Give it a couple listens and I think you'll learn to love it. They continue to do new things after so many glorious years, heres to another great Melvins record!

For the Melvins to do an odd album, it would probably have to be a techno-rave, keyboard only something with no vocals. That said, this is one of the Melvins odder albums, and it may take a few listens to get used to it, but the effort is worth it.

"The Water Glass," at 4'16", kicks things off with one of those seemingly-in-an-odd-time-signature power-chord crunch fests for about a minute, collapses into a nice big heap of mayhem ... then turns suddenly, and pretty much literally, into an army march callback (including the "huuuus"), albeit with not quite military lyrics. Well, there's a bit of a drum solo first, then the callbacks. It's of course pretty amusing and, with usual Melvins self-indulgence, probably goes on longer than it needs to, but after a few listens to the album, it's pretty groovy. The only decision is, is the water glass half full or half empty then?

"Evil New War God," at 4'48" once again kicks off with more power chords, crunching away gloriously with Buzz howling in the center of the mix somewhere, coming up every occasionally on something like chorus chords for a breath of fresh air. Then at approximately 1'40 the riff shifts into an even chuggier, more compelling guitar thing and one of those wily throw-away guitar solos Buzz is so good at. And then, at 3'00", everything falls apart into a drum/power chord callback session with a death metal horror theme of some sort just to round out the song. So, that's two songs that are both more than one song smashed interestingly together. The Melvins have been doing this a long time, and they're surprisingly good at it. What's interesting is how they somehow make the parts seem like they belong together.

Pig House, at 5'29", kicks off with more drums, followed by a semi-heavy squirrely guitar line that ambles around to the accompaniment of something like full band harmonies. At 2'19" the song seems to forget what it's doing, stumbles back toward the opening rift, then veers instead into the Melvin's version of anthemic arena rock. Like "The Water Glass," where the lyrics declared they were ready to go, here they run, "We started, but now we're running away" with some more militaryish snares and something like a guitar solo. This quiets down to just drums, whistling, and "a-oos" to make for a a rather haunting ending.

"I'll Finish You Off", at 4'57", starts off with a very different sounding, oozy riff sludged underneath by super bass, then opens up into another almost arena, anthemic, wide open slow grind fest. The vocals here are especially neat, rolling over the top of a wall of sound and slipping (deliberately) in and out of key before the guitar solo pokes through the mix like a plushie icepick and wrings itself out (no, really). Somehow this slides into a giant Gothic mood, reaching the slowest tempo of the album so far. Big poundy drums finish things off, and then there's some aimless noodling and a "My Sharona" lick coupled with "my generation" as a warning of things to come.

But first, "Electric Flower," at 3'27", starts off with a bass line much like Sky Pup (from Houdini), but more crunched up. And in fact even the harmonies here sound Houdini-era, for those wanting a throw-back.

"Hospital Up," at 5'38", is the power ballad of sorts, if this is a metal album. Ambling around in a kind of stoner flow fuzz, around three minutes it picks up a bit. Some really nice heavy bass in here. At 4'00", the free jazz begins as it were for piano, drums, and deflating balloon, because that's how the Melvins do a power ballad. It's all about the noise.

"Inhumanity and Death," at 3'03", kicks off with high-hat splashes to wipe away the free jazz, and then a huge, deep bass grind with (you just know there's a fed-back guitar coming in ... sometimes the Melvins manage to be predictable) ... and we're off, another uptempo grinder that hearkens back to an older Melvins sound, but with a whole bunch more production. However, that only lasts 50 seconds before a variation kicks in with a screaming-nasty guitar solo smearing over the top of things for not long enough. That's about a minute, then there's another drum section intro and yet a third sort-of variation on the opening riff. Then a full stop, a few bass drum thumps ... done. It's this kind of song, almost incomprehensibly put together but nevertheless really workable, that earns the Melvins critical acclaim.

"My Generation," at 7'39", is the slowest howl-anthem on the album. Like Nevermore's cover of "The Sound of Silence," the lyrics are basically intact, while the music is not the same at all--though the bass-heaviness of the line points back to Entwistle's great work on this track. The vocals are group slurred (and do resemble the original). There's something surprisingly relevant about aging punk-metal monsters covering this song. A really smart cover choice. And the lyrics give way to a huge, rather eerie, and certainly epic space jam.

Last, "P.G. x 3", at 6'19", closes the album. This is apparently three versions of "Peggy Gordon" (a Canadian folk tune). The first version has the melody on harmonica, rather haunting after the end of the last song. But then there's a full-on, straight up, super-echoed a capella version of the song. Unlikely as it may be, this may be the first time the Melvins may ever come close to pulling a tearjerker, but the singing is haunting and beautiful. And followed by an Acid Mothers Temple-scale guitar version that further adds to the pathos, blending into a counting child, feedback, and then the same child(?) pitch-shifted down and sticking on the number four ultimately before fuzz-delaying to infinity. A truly remarkable album closer--probably the Melvin's most haunting song ever, not usually an adjective one associates with them.

One last note about the album overall ... it really hangs together. All the odd bits add up to something bigger, just like in a Melvins song. It might take a few listens, but this is a disc to really get into.

Slow and heavy. Guitar work reminiscent of Gluey Porch Treatments. Drums loud, heavy, dominating. Widest range of the Melvins sound on one album, from the heavy to the "weird." A touch of Mike Patton in there somewhere.

This is not quite on the level of Bullhead, but it is up there, especially the first 5 songs. The only problem with this album is that it leaves me wanting more.

My ratings are based on other Melvins songs. So a 5 means one of the best Melvins songs; 3 is an average Melvins song.

The Water Glass
Melvins marching song
4 stars

Evil New War God
Solid Melvins heaviness with a Fantomas ending
4 stars

Pig House
Melvins doing Fantomas doing a marching song
4 stars

I'll Finish You Off
Gluey porch treatments at its slowest best. Close your eyes and meditate to this one.
5 stars

Electric Flower
Uptempto, sludging, layered vocals, complex, leaves you wanting more
4 stars

Hospital Up
Mellow song, could be off of Stag
3 stars, but may grow on you

Inhumanity And Death
Fast, thrashy, essentially a musical interlude
3 stars

My Generation
Slow, heavy, good, but not the best cover the Melvins have produced
3 stars, but may grow on you

P.G. x 3
Is that a harmonica? Is that a hymn? Epic guitar solo? A child counting? Has an eerie feel of
Delirium Cordia by Fantomas.
4 stars (if you like this song, Delirium Cordia)

They've done it again! The Melvins' current line-up with Big Business guys is just as vital as their past music. With The Bride Screamed Murder, the Melvins have crafted what will hopefully be remembered as a modern classic. While the past two efforts have been great bundles of sludge power, Bride Screamed Murder stands above those two in every aspect. Each track is brimmed with inspiration and has some sort of nuance that will make you want to replay it over and over.

The opener "The Water Glass" starts off with the traditional Melvins heavy riff and drum line but segues into the band's own military candance. The loud and proud shouts from King Buzzo and crew proclaiming, "HERE WE GO! HERE WE GO! HERE WE GO!", "WE ARE REEEADY! I SAID WE ARE READY READ READY!", and "ROCK N ROCK N ROCK ROCK STEADY!" will have you chiming in right off the bat. The next two tracks, "Evil New War God" and "Pig House", not only deliver two monumental slabs of chunky power chords and pummeling drums but also dabble into some Fantomas-esque weirdness, especially with the former's eerie guitar effects in the second half and the latter's bizarre "a-oo" chants. And speaking of Fantomas, Mike Patton and Buzzo really need to get it off the ice! Not to mention, the drum combination of Dale Crover and Coady Willis really cut loose on these two songs. The nearly endless rolls and fills will simply blow your mind.

"I'll Finish You Off" slows the tempo down with a lazy riff and light drumming before erupting into an atmospheric wall of sludge with soaring high-pitched vocal harmonies that have permeated the last few Melvins' albums. For some reason, I conjure up the image a ship slowly sailing across the seas whenever I listen to this and the sunny ambiance further affirms this. "Electric Flower" delivers a barrage of tempo shifts and powerful howls of "They have it! We want it! Let's get it!". Man, you just want to shout along when you hear that! Somewhat straight forward in comparison to what come before it but still a good track. I also agree with the other two reviews that claimed it harkened back to Houdini. It's a throw back but done with the current band's shade to it.
"Hospital Up" is an odd juxtaposition of a sunny sludge song through most of the song and abruptly changes into a jazzy instrumental near the end, coupled with some strange whining sounds that can easily unnerve and a deflating balloon. The pool of ideas the Melvins have never seems to dry up!

"Inhumanity and Death" cranks the tempo into high gear with some thrashy Prong riff and drum interplay along with a clutch of snotty harmonic squeals but unfortunately ends too quickly. This leads to the band's take on The Who's "My Generation". Replacing the upbeat rhythm of the original with slow atmospheric sludge and the joyful vocals of Roger Daltrey with slurred howls, it isn't your parent's Who! Nonetheless, an interesting cover and the band at least puts their own spin on it.

"Pg X 3" ends the conniving of sludge by going out in an ambient trip of all sorts of odd proportions. Grafting together juxtapositions like a haromica, ethereal Beatles-like vocal harmonies, sustained guitar, and a little girl and robot voice counting, the coda is quite...dream-like. But this is the Melvins' after all.

I haven't listened to much new music this year but this album is easily my pick for the best of the year. It satisfies all my musical needs in one setting and is proof that classics can still be produced today. The Melvins' have been around for nearly 30 years with no end in sight but with their integrity and consistency, they will continue to hold their own in the music world. Out of every album they have created in this decade, this one showcases the best the band has to offer for this part of their career.

This album is full of odd hooks and rhythms that get inside your head and set up residence. I have listened to it 50 times and it still sounds fresh to me. It is too easy to underestimate the range of these great musicians and just think they are all about noise and distortion. There is a reason The Melvins have been around for over 25 years and continue to influence so many other bands. That reason is apparent in The Bride Screamed Murder; they are making the complex seem simple. The buzz saw guitar, unique use of percussion and the beauty of the last track should make it clear just how good The Melvins are and how wide their range is. I think one reviewer referred to them as "defiantly noncommercial". If they keep making CDs like this they are going to fool around and make a chart busting hit someday.

i really thought that the melvins had explored every musical territory but there was an undiscovered land that they traveled to on this album, on the first song,"the water glass", the last 2/3 of the track they break into this drumline/stomp section and completely nail it. i would like to see buzzo and his big gray fro stomping around the stage on this song. the rest of the album is pretty standard melvins which if you are already a fan you know what that means and you know its good. if you're new, you picked a great place to start

The creativity of this album is what inwas looking for. It's been in my cd player since I got it.

I love, love, love the Melvins, especially the current line up with Jared and Coady. That being said, I think this album is a big disappointment for me. A couple of the songs are great, and in the flavor of the last two albums, but some of the other songs I found downright annoying and they try my patience. I rate A Senile Animal and Nude with Boots both five stars, so I highly recommend those instead.

I may not be the best person to review a new Melvins album because I am a huge fan and love pretty much everything they have ever done, but when it comes down to it that doesn't really matter. The new Melvins album sounds very little like anything they, or any other band, has done ever before.

If you've listened to the clips you may be under the impression that this a relatively straightforward rock album that sounds like a mix between their earlier efforts "The Maggot" and "A Senile Animal". If that's the vibe you got you will be completely shocked hearing this for the first time!

What makes "The Bride Screamed Murder" stand out more than anything is how unpredictable it is. One minute you'll hear a powerful riff that could easily be stretched into an entire song and then, seemingly out of nowhere, it completely changes. This change could be as subtle as a jazzy drum solo or notes shifting around on each speaker, or it could be as drastic as having an army chant in the middle of a song. Although this makes each song sound a little daunting at first in the long run it adds an incredible amount of depth.

One of the best examples of how completely unpredictable this album is comes at the end of "Hospital Up". The surprisingly thought provoking lyric "Hey remember - it won't be how you found it. Hey forget it - it won't be what you wanted" comes up and it is almost immediately followed by what appears to be a stab at John Zorn's "goose honking New York jazz scene". But wait, there's more! Then THAT is immediately followed by the semi-traditional Melvins rocker "Inhumanity and Death". Of course this song only seems normal by this albums standards. It still makes "The Bloated Pope" and "The Smiling Cobra" seem completely normal by comparison.

"The Bride Screamed Murder" is complex, challenging, heavy, weird, and completely unlike anything you have heard before. But that certainly isn't a bad thing. You'll discover new, interesting, and intriguing aspects about every song on each listen and it's extremely rewarding. I'll be surprised if a better album comes out this year.