UMUR
"Freak Puke" is the 19th full-length studio album by US sludge/stoner rock/metal act Melvins. The album was released through Ipecac Recordings in June 2012. Buzz Osborne (guitars, vocals) and Dale Crover (drums) have opted to record the album without the Big Business part of the band (bassist/vocalist Jared Warren and drummer Coady Willis). Instead Trevor Dunn (Mr. Bungle, Fantômas, Tomahawk) handles the bass on "Freak Puke", which was recorded as a trio. The trio have previously toured under the Melvins Lite monicker. As far as I understand there is nothing dramatic about the lineup change, and I expect it to be temporary. We might even be so lucky that there is a new Big Business album in the making.
Trio or fourpiece, the music on "Freak Puke" is unmistakably the sound of Melvins (or "the" Melvins as it says on the cover of the album). The percussion part of the album is a little bit less intense than have been the case on the last three albums, but as usual we´re treated to brick heavy riffing, weird humour and experimental musical ideas packed in a hard rock sludge/stoner metal sound. In addition to the group´s own material they´ve included a cover version of "Let Me Roll It" by Paul McCartney and Wings, which they respectfully give a Melvins twist.
The musicianship is as always excellent. Sure Buzz Osborne neither sings very pretty nor have a particularly powerful voice, but he still delivers a charming vocal performance that suits the music well. There´s of course no questioning his riff meister status. Osborne as always delivers one crushingly heavy yet hard rocking riff after another. Drummer Dale Crover delivers a heavy beat to boot and to round things off Trevor Dunn is quite the inventive bassist. Especially his upright bass playing stand out.
Overall "Freak Puke" isn´t the best Melvins album and personally I prefer the previous three albums where they worked as a fourpiece, but I admire their boldness and will to experiment. Melvins always push themselves and challenge their fans and that´s also the case with "Freak Puke". A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.