Customer Reviews

Chicken Switch

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

 

 

The Melvins have been doing things their way for 25 years, and from the looks of it, they don't intend to stop. Even though they've had to deal with a constantly shifting lineup and a number of label changes, the Melvins have always remained true to their vision. So, when I first heard about a possible Melvins remix album six years ago I knew that the Melvins would release an album that twists the preconceived notions of what a remix album should be, I just didn't know how they would go about doing it. Well, now that Chicken Switch has finally been released, I do know. You see, unlike most remix albums, The Melvins gave each artist an entire album to reconstruct and condense into a 5 minute song. Also, unlike most albums of this sort, the remixers are not a collection of hip-hop and electronica artists. Instead, the artists who provide remixes on this disc mainly operate within the confines of underground experimental genres. So, rather than releasing an album of 4/4 kick-snare patterns lazily thrown under chopped up vocal melodies, the Melvins have given us a jagged, stuttering sound collage that will leave you disoriented by the time the last track ends.

Below I'll do a track by track review. Most of these remixes take great liberties with the Melvins' material, so I will not be able to tell you exactly what each track is a remix of.

1. Yamatsuka Eye: Washmachine Sk8tronics - Chicken Switch opens with a remix by the front man of acid/punk/psychedelic/noise/whatever band the Boredoms. The track begins with the sound of pouring water which then leads into a driving drum beat and a chugging guitar peppered with swirling noises. The beat fades out, leaving just the swirling noises. The drums then return, though this time they are skittering and skipping. The guitars and drums return to their original form, until the guitar is overtaken by high pitched noises until the end of the song. The song brings to mind eYe's solo noise works, as well as the Boredoms' Super Roots 3 album.

2. Christoph Heeman: Emperor Twaddle Remix - The track begins as an ambient drone adorned with light guitar plucks and electronic tones. The song slowly increases in volume and cymbals start fading into the mix, gradually building intensity. Finally, the song descends into a torrent of electronic blips, guitar shredding and merciless drum pounding.

3. V/VM: She Chokes Her Dying Breath and Does It In My Face - Plodding drums and guitars are assaulted with what sound like manipulated screams and heavy doses of static, and then slowly fades into 45 seconds of lo-fi string synthesizers and quiet static.

4.John Duncan: AAHHH... - It is easiest to recognize the songs used on this track. The track opens with a droning guitar riff lifted from the Lysol album and is paired with rumbling drums that slightly pan from one speaker to the next. The song then abruptly cuts to a low, throbbing sound which then fades into a high pitched tone and chopped up whispers jumping from one speaker to the other

5. Matmos: Linksander - A minimal electronic song with a danceable beat, soft synths, ambient glitches and a mellow bassline that slowly builds layers and becomes more intense as it goes. At one point a droning guitar loop invades the song and different glitchy noises and echoing samples slither around in the mix. Although there are many different, generally high-pitched sounds incorporated into the mix I'd still say that this track is one of the more soothing moments on the album. I'd call it psychedelic dance music.

6. Lee Ranaldo: Eggnog Trilogy - Another track that closely resembles the original album. Essentially, the track is more or less a bunch of abrupt cuts between different parts of the original album.

7.Merzbow: SNOW REM REM IBVZ - Begins with a slow, heavily distorted beat, which is then joined in by an equally distorted guitar loop and layers of feedback. Eventually the guitar loop and the beat slightly change and then the beat drops out entirely, leaving only the guitar loop. Suddenly some sound constantly changing pitch pops up and then turns into a sustained note while up beat drum samples and fuzzy noises abruptly cut in and out of the mix. The music combines elements of Merzbow's beat-oriented work with his signature wall of impenetrable sound

8. David Scott Stone: Prick Concrete/Revolution M - A singular sustained vocal is layered over itself endlessly, creating a drone reminiscent of throat singing practiced by Buddhist monks.

9.Panacea: Queen (Electroclash remix) - This song is the most standard sounding remix. Basically it's just samples from the Stoner Witch album reformatted into an electronic dance song. If someone told me two years ago that there's a Melvins dance remix I think I would've thought of it as a terrible idea, but this track actually works really well.

10. Sunroof!: The Silky Apple Butter of Youth - The track is essentially an organ like drone with some sounds quietly playing in the background.

11. Kawabata Makoto: 4th Floor Hellcopter: A repetitive drum beat plays in tandem with lo-fi guitars and then all hell breaks loose.
A swarm of samples that have been stretched and warped in a variety of ways fly between the speakers at rapid speed. This is one of the best tracks on the album. It sounds like Kawabata took his approach to guitar playing and applied it to samples.

12. Farmersmanual: disp_tx_skel_mach_murx - Fragments of sound churn and bubble for the duration of the track. It's really hard to describe this one. It sounds as if someone smashed a bunch of Melvins songs into dust and then threw them into the wind.

13. Void Manes: Overgoat - high pitched sounds are paired with Night Goat's bassline which then gives way to reversed echoed vocals, and skipping drums. The track then makes quick changes between heavy drum patterns and strange atmospheric noise.

14. RLW: Over From Under the Dog Girl & Boy Treatment - a high sustained tone plays and is eventually paired with some ambient noises and some slow-yet-heavy drums and guitar. the drum and guitar jam disappears and then reappears in various manipulated forms throughout the mix. All the while, the sustained tone plays throughout the track, only changing slightly

15. $peedranch: Hard Revenge Milly Bloody Battle VS The Melvins Ozmatized Gore Police - A variety of sounds, including drum beats, guitar riffs, feedback, static, and movie samples are strung together and played at rapid speeds. This is easily the most chaotic track, since it only focuses on a sound for a couple of seconds before switching to another completely unrelated sound. It kind of sounds like switching radio stations at rapid speeds.

All in all, Chicken Switch, although not essential, is still an interesting and worthwhile addition to the Melvins catalog. I would not recommend this album to anyone who hasn't heard the Melvins before, because it's abrasive and, for the most part, doesn't sound like typical Melvins in the slightest. The album is really for diehard fans who have heard most of their discography and it will definitely appeal to fans of Colossus of Destiny and Prick.

This CD might be challenging for Melvins fans who have a hard time digesting the more experimental elements of the band, but it's a rewarding listen and probably the best "remix" album I've ever heard. If you listen on headphones you'll be amazed at what's going on here. Unlike typical remix projects, you're not getting techno megamixes - you are getting a behemoth chunk of gristly noise and violent soundscapes, interspersed with gauzy ambience.

I see it as a gateway for Melvins listeners to discover some of the obscure noiseniks onboard, and for fans of experimental music to approach the Melvins while bypassing the METAL stereotypes.

If you are feeling adventurous, give CHICKEN SWITCH a try. It may set you on a path of discovering other fantastic music that you didn't even know existed. There are plenty of sample to hear online to help you make up your mind.

Definitely recommended for fans of Boredoms, Merzbow, Nurse with Wound, P16.D4, HNAS, Sunn O))), Throbbing Gristle.

This album is infectious, and I really can't stop listening to it. Maybe I'm just fascinated. It really doesn't matter, It reminds alot of the broken to downward spiral remix albums, maybe that's why there's a part of me that thinks some of these tracks could have been done a little better considering each artist had a whole album of source material to work with for each track. I was thinking something along the lines of The Beatles' LOVE Album, but with a definite Melvins' feel. On second thought maybe that's what I got. It's good, I just think they could have been a little bit more creative with some of these tracks. "Hard Revenge Milly Bloody Battle VS. The Melvins Ozmatized Gore Police" is my favorite track so far, and I'm thinking of using it to torture my roomate with while he sleeps.

Just bought this yesterday, listened to it last night toasted. It plays out like the absolute noise terror of Colossus of Destiny, but with familiar moments from past Melvins tunes. I don't want to ruin all the surprises for you, but lets just say you'll recognize stuff from Lysol, Houdini, Eggnog, BUllhead, Honky, & the list goes on. Instead of your traditional greatest hits tracks, this cd is a horrifying soundscape out of which classic Melvins riffs and sounds emerge, but with varying twists & turns. If you liked C.o.d. then this is right up your alley. THEY ALL MUST BE SLAUGHTERED.

The Melvins are my favorite band and I was looking forward to Chicken Switch for years. After owning it for a few months I'm still not sure how I feel about it but here's a quick look at all the songs.

1. Now this is a pretty cool remix! Loud, semi catchy, and heavy! I think it's a Black Stooges remix. I was kind of expecting the rest of the album to be more like this.
2. Basically the Honky intro repeated for 4:21min. Not exactly a bad track but it just makes me want to hear Honky instead.
3. The main riff of Grinding Process looped while a loud as Merzbow track plays over it. I'd like it more if the noise was mixed a bit lower but it still has a bit of charm to it.
4. The Lysol intro with twice as many drums! Then when it gets to the REALLY heavy part it ends abruptly and is replaced with the middle part of Let It All Be. Once again, not exactly bad but just makes me want to hear Lysol or The Bootlicker instead.
5. Is this a remix of a Melvins song?!? Maybe something off Ozma? I still have no idea but I actually like this one.
6. Have you ever thought, "Man, I wish I could listen to the first 3 songs from Eggnog but I only have 4:25 to do it. What should I do?!?" Well now your problem is solved with this other wise pointless remix.
7. Now Merzbow is up to bat and this track is pretty decent if you like Merzbow. If not you'll hate it. VERY LOUD! I think it's another Lysol remix.
8. Semi-Melvin David Scott Stone remixes a funny track from a funny album. I laugh at how ridiculous it is but I don't know if I'd call it good.
9. When I hear the word "remix" for some reason techno usually comes to mind. This is the only song like that on this album. Ironically, because of it's traditional approach it ends up standing out from the rest of these tracks! I really like it.
10. Does this even count as a remix? What exactly is being remixed!?! It doesn't sound the slightest bit like ANY Melvins track. As far as I know the guy created all of this himself. Regardless, this is my least favorite track.
11. A familiar drum beat followed by ridiculously loud noise that doesn't resemble any Melvins track. Eh, I'm gonna pass on this one.
12. After the last two tracks my patience is beginning to run thin and this track does nothing to change my mind. Noisey and sounds nothing like any Melvins track.
13. So literally after 13:24min there is finally another track that actually has a recognizable Melvins riff! It's so exciting to hear the Night Goat bass line that you won't even care if it's bad at this point. But then the Prick sample comes in and it quickly goes downhill. It's just a bit too disjointed. Random Melvins samples come and go one after the other and they aren't really put together in any interesting way. At least I know it's the Melvins!
14. If I could hear a dog whistle I imagine it would sound like this track. It's pretty annoying and very few Melvins clips are used.
15. If I had a ton of Melvins samples on a keyboard and just hit them every now and then at random that's what this track would sound like.

I think the problem with this album is that the remixers felt like they needed to out weird the Melvins instead of just simply making it good. Dalek's remix of Dawn of the Locust was great! I even preferred Al Jourgensen's remix of Enchanted Thoughtfist. But even the good remixes on Chicken Switch leave just a little bit more to be desired.

So there's Chicken Switch in a nutshell. I'm still not sure if I like or dislike it but as a huge Melvins fan I'm glad to have it in my collection. The artwork is enjoyable and there is just enough here to keep me entertained from time to time. It's just a shame this didn't turn out better. Chicken Switch will inevitably become as infamous as Prick and Colossus of Destiny if it hasn't already.

I love the Melvins. No really... I do. Truly.

This freaky little album, on the other hand...

Well... instead of bashing a project which was sanctioned by a band whom I greatly admire, let me just refer back to the title of this review:

You'll probably enjoy "Chicken Switch" a lot more if you swallow two or three bottles of Vick's NyQuil first. Otherwise, it's entirely possible that you will end up feeling more annoyed than entertained. That's definitely the way that I felt after listening to it... but you see, I never drink NyQuil. It's icky. So like... I wasn't properly prepared for "Chicken Switch."

I'm giving this album three stars -only- because I respect the original source material.

Hey Buzz..? What gives..?

I feel like sending these guys a bill for the money I spent on this garbage. Nothing but feedback, distortion and some keyboard tones. The few lyrics on it are indeciferable. One of the worst CD's I have ever bought. A band that I know has much more talent in them as evident in their 90s alblums.

I have been a long time Melvins fan. I have every other record they have done and seen them live several times. I must say that this release was a huge disappointment for me. It reminded me of the Prick record, which I also hated. I'd save your money and buy Stoner Witch or Houdini instead.