Customer Reviews

Stoner Witch

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Reading various Melvins reviews, it is clear there is great fan support, but god only knows what they're driving at. Hopefully this review will make clearer why people get so excited about the Melvins.

Stonerwitch isn't a bad place to start for the Melvins. Get the song "Cow" (from Bullhead), and you can hear about 80% of the Melvins thing in one song. Get "Gluey Porch Treatments" (their first album) because it is the birth of all grunge and one of the Melvins' greatest. My personal favorite is "Honky" -- an amazing, difficult and fascinating thing. But, on to the album.

Stonerwitch starts with typical Melvins: a big thumpy peal of drums from Dale (easily one of the most underrated indie drummers), and then a huge blast of Buzz's fuzzed out guitar. A spazzy guitar line works through all the noise, and then Buzz begins growl-howling his way through impossible-to-decipher lyrics. There's a jagged, feedback guitar "solo", some big crunchy chords, and it's over - 72 seconds.

The next song, "Queen", justifies buying the disc -- a very heavy, downtempo thing, with Buzz howling at his absolute best on vocals and guitar. Download this song from somewhere -- description can't do it justice. This is one of those songs that gives proof to Nirvana's claim that they were heavily influenced by the Melvins (notwithstanding that Dale played drums on some of Nirvana's first album).

"Sweet Willy Rollbar" is an 88 second, uptempo song that shows some of the thrash sensibility that is everpresent throughout the Melvins, as well as their commonly off-meter time signatures.

"Revolve" was probably meant as the single for this Atlantic release (the Melvins managed to be major label for a bit befroe being dropped). Catchy-heavy guitar-bass, mid-range vocal growls, and natty drumwork -- very satisfying all the way around.

"Goose Freight Train", by contrast, is utterly anti-hit and totally not what you expect given the first four tracks. The bass and drums of this song remind me of toned-down Tom Waits' Bone Machine, with Buzz singing in a dreamy, stoned-sounding voice things like, "Let the glory boy of Mister Henry have it on rye."

"Roadbull" begins as you have been led to expect -- the big, heavy Melvins sound, which cuts to a non-distorted thing and then back to the heavy guitars (Nirvana fans will recognize Cobain's compositional style here). Suddenly, though, Dale is playing a military riff on his snare and someone is whistling the vocal line, like we're suddenly marching with the Confederate army. The switch is neither pointless or ineffective, and the surprise of it is very typical of the Melvins. The song fades out to this.

"At the Stake" is a long (almost 8 minutes), heavy drone of a thing. Prog-punk meets stoner-metal....I don't know how else to describe it. Some might find it demanding on their patience.

"Magic Pig Detective", by contrast, will totally try your patience -- the first 3 and a half minutes are nothing but spaced out guitar atmospherics/noise. People applaud Radiodhead for musical daring and innovation -- they really should hear this major label 1994 release; Radiohead will no longer seem so revolutionary. The last two minutes of the song revert to typical Melvins, with a driving metal line. The interest here is that Buzz combined the two sections into one song -- and they do actually work together.

"Shevil" is a very atmospheric, relaxed, bass-driven song with light drums. It drones and meanders along for 6 and a half minutes. It's tension largely arises because, by now, you're expecting the big blast of guitars and drums....but they never come.

"June Bug" totally dispels the mood of "Shevil", opening with a fast drum and bass line that suggests thrash-punk to come, but instead a chirpy little guitar line comes along -- very witty and unexpected, followed by the blast of guitars. Honestly, when you follow the logic of how Buzz puts his songs together, it's difficult not to be impressed by his wit, sensibility and sense of drama.

The last track, "Lividity", is an enormous 9 minute instrumental. A single guitar note lingers, while a very slow, richly harmonic bass line repeats itself for more than 3 minutes before slow drum crashes intrude on the mood. Around 5 minutes, occasional voices are heard in the background, and the sustained guitar note begins to be tweaked with (variations in volume mostly). All the additions trail away at eight minutes, and suddenly even the bass line vanishes, to be filled with a swelling hiss of white noise. Then Buzz declares in an emphesymic wheeze, "What do you mean? My lungs are fine", and the album is over.

Just like that.

The basis for the Melvins' career has been the simple principle: "we don't give a fxxx what anybody thinks". Indeed, Buzzo and company make music that is totally outside the confines of mainstream thinking, ranging from unholy sludge to soothing ambience. Their early work was largely responsible for the "grunge" movement, and in the 90s, Atlantic records decided to take a gamble with them. The notion of the Melvins - underground legends - on a major label is sort of amusing, but 94's Stoner Witch is ANYTHING but commercially palatable.

Pinpointing the Melvins style is an impossible task, for they shift genres with every song and album. Their stylo is downtuned, jagged riffs in complex signatures... imagine a severely scratched up copy of Symptom of the Universe... topped off with Buzz Osbourne's insane growls. The first 4 songs on Stoner Witch reveal the Melvins' more upbeat, thrashy side, particularly Revolve, their shining hour and most metal tune, IMO. Songs like Roadbull are nearly impossibly complex and twisted, while At the Stake is abysmally slow and droning sludge. Perhaps my favorite song on the record (behind revolve) is Shevil, a long, meandering and ambient trip that kind of demands bong usage.

If you're looking for something more diverse and intelligent than the average metal band, pick this shizzy up fo sho. Word.

Wow this is refreshing I don't have to dredge through all of the reviews professing that " LIMP DISKETTE ARE THE BEST BAND EVER!" or something like these guys suck because MTV doesn't play their videos. I have all of the Melvins albums and this one is probably my favorite, I don't know if it is their best but my favorite. I don't usually go into detail about certain aspects of songs or music. To me it is good or horsesh*t. That being said you can't go wrong with any of their records. I think for someone starting out this might be the one you want to get, so that you can kind of get the feel for how these guys like to create their own brand of music. Plus I think it has one of the more accesible songs in REVOLVE. Don't get me wrong I fu*king love the track but it is probably one of their most radio friendly songs. Ofcourse I have never heard it on the radio. Don't know if that's good or bad, guess that is for another discussion!

The other reviewers have gone out of their way to explain the feel of most of these songs.And for the most part they are right on.I just wanted to add ,that i think this is the best place for a newcomer to the Melvins ranks to start.I own or have heard pretty much everything they have done...and I think this is the perfect middle ground for the uninitiated.There are just enough hard sludge rockers here mixed with some of their more challenging and experimental material.Its obviously not a vast overview of what they do as a whole ,but I think it will give the listener a good idea of how "all over the musical map" these guys CAN be.Start here,go to "Houdini" for a slightly more commercial Melvins...then just strap yourself in for a musical ride of a lifetime with their other releases...

i was given this album because the person who had it just got it because they were one of curt cobain's favorite bands,and after a few listens they couldn't get into it.these guys are what sludge/grunge is all about!if you like sabbath,mastadon,patton,almost anything with a hint of rock,ambient,and humor get into the melvins while they're still making albums!!!

Stoner Witch is probably the melvins most accessable album (Dispite songs like lividity -which may cause your head to explode if your bass is up), and it's still a good album. Just check out the blues-riffed 'Goose-Freight Train', and such throat-churning tracks as 'Queen', 'Roadbull', and 'Sweet Willy Rollbar'.

Revolve is probably the worst song on the album because it's too metalica-ey. 'Shevil' is absoutly, f&cking beautiful -and should be listened to without pause.
'At the Stake' starts out slow and painful, but ends up one of the best melvins songs in their career. The same goes with magic pig detective -So don't be put off by the long openings. They WILL deliver.

if you've never purchased a melvins album i would seriously suggest starting with this one. it's got almost every side they have to offer. the heavy, the slow, the melodic, the dissonant, and even the minutes of feedback and noise.

as soon as dale's drums kick in you know that this is just going to be one hell of an album. stoner witch immediately takes you and shoots you with a shotgun at point blank.

if one wanted to they could definately say that each song on here is the best song, but i would have to say that roadbull is the standout. that is quite possiblly the best ending to any song i've ever heard.

if you don't have this you need to own it. it's absolutely incredible!

When you first pop this CD in, for about 9 or 10 minutes, you're going to think "THIS SUCKS! Oh man, they've sold out!". This is just your fore-warning. Sweetkis, Queen, Sweet Willy Rollbar and Revolve are all COMPLETELY generic upbeat hard rock. Do you want to hear them? Okay. Turn on your radio to the local hard rock/metal station. There they are. Yes, I know, that's some modern generic hard rock band. But the sound is exactly the same. This is bad Melvins. This type of music is more fun to play than to listen to, as it gets old within seconds. Hell, one of them even has a SOLO. You read correct. A SOLO IN A MELVINS SONG. Not a good one, I might add. But Melvins gotta have some fun too!

It's good that they put all the crap first, that way the last 7 tracks are complete gold.Goose Freight Train starts up and the album redeems itself. Then Roadbull, probably the best track here. Roadbull is very dynamic, extreme heavy parts and ambient parts. At The Stake is just MURDERING your speakers, seriously. I was scared when this came on, I thought my speakers were going to fry. It has some very heavy parts where Buzz's voice is just booming and you dare not stand up to this wall of force, instead you just fall to your knees and do a Wayne and Garth: "WE'RE NOT WORTHY, WE'RE NOT WORTHY, WE'RE SCUM, WE SUCK!"

Magic Pig Detective might be the second finest moment. The first 3 or so minutes are EXACTLY what a tornado sounds like while going over your house. I've been through 4 or 5 of them. It gets more intense, and pretty scary. It actually makes you feel like a looney. Complete noise freakout. How did they DO this!? What kind of effects do you need, jeez. Must have taken them forever. I've never heard anything like this before. It's kinda Sonic Youth-y. But, ah, it gets ruined. Dale's drums kick in and it goes into a generic metal jam. RIGHT WHEN I THOUGHT THEY WERE GONE!!! Fortunately it's only a crappy metal jam for a couple minutes. And then Shevil begins. Nothing else to describe it but a sea of bass and noise. It's JUST barely balancing between a clean delivery and a speaker-shaky buzzy delivery, so it sounds like waves of a sludge sea lapping up on the shores of your eardrums. Has some female(?) vocals, they might be processed Buzz vocals but I'm not sure. June Bug is another rocker, this time pretty good. It's also dynamic, some quiet parts and some parts that are sub-Minor Threat pace. Probably the fastest the Melvins have ever moved. I prefer my Melvins slow though.

Which is why I love Lividity. It's...complete torture. Through audio. Seriously. The whole song has, eh, maybe...10 notes. And for about 8 minutes, there is ONLY a handful of notes played on bass and a handful of random snare hits. Yeah, to you right now it is seeming like complete trash. But the bass is a MENACE. It is as loud as bass gets. It will shake your house. This song is the exact song to be played in a 15th century concrete dungeon, a few brute guards with maces, and one of those body strechers. You know, where they clamp your wrists and heels in and slowly strech you. Exactly. THIS is that song in the background. It has some overdubbed whispered reverbing mumbles occasionally. But then, the end. This will make you physically scared. You will jump for the volume button and turn it down. I'll admit it, I did. It fades into this cacaphony of pure NOISE. I believe this is the only guitar part on the whole song. It's just massive cymbal crashes, guitar fuzz and bass fuzz. It sounds like the fuzz 'snow' thing on TV. At first, I covered my ears because it was colossally loud. Then I just cut the volume in half. Then at the end there's something that will make you want to quit smoking, or just not take it up. And the album ends.

BRILLIANT! This album however is NOT the Melvins' finest moment. Simply because it has those cheesy, horrible generic hard rock moments at an upbeat pace. They leave a big ugly stain on the album as a whole. They leave a bland taste in your mouth, they make you want to go take a shower and get clean. They SUCK. They equal -1 star. The rest is all pure gold though. That's the 5 stars. It adds up to 4 stars. This album is good though for showcasing their bassist. Usually all you hear is "Buzz's guitar is sooo good and his vocals rule!" or "Dale's drums are just pounding!" but this time the album really is focused heavily on the bass.

Get this. But first, get Bullhead. THAT is Melvins at their best. It is absurdly heavy.

The title a supposed allusion to Ms. Love, this album is a big fat gob of spit in the face of convention, particularly the "big, long now" sound the melvins had perfected. Forget Gluey Porch Treatments, their ode to the northwest, and start here. This is pure brilliance.

While everyone loves the heaviness (and understandably so) the song-writing finally caught up. As on their best work, Buzzo seems to write AROUND the point:
"let the glory boy of mr. henry have it on rye"????

"each every time I kept the reel alive/ you took me far and tried to feel the fear"?
"BULL! you SQUALL!"?

Open to endless interpretation, this is an album that will never grow tiresome, from the hushed military march outro of "roadbull"
to the soaring guitar work of "revolve" (which IS perhaps the greatest thing the melvins ever wrote). They hadn't totally progged themselves out yet, but they had grown so much musically from their independent "heyday."

Unbelieveable in its scope, this is the album that made me a fan.

This album is The Melvins best work...If you like off beat drumming...enough feedback to make your ears bleed..and guitars tuned so low it makes you sick to your stomach..than this album is for you...These guys influenced Nirvana and you can tell why on this album...Bleach and Stonder Witches guitar parts are one alike....The Melvins kick ass and deserve more credit than they get...