MELVINS — Lysol (review)

Album · 1992 · Sludge Metal

4/5 · 2012-01-13
Doomster

*Ahem*

Excuse me for a second, but...

DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11111

Every respective metalhead has at least once heard of The Melvins. The one band that has revolutionized genres such as drone, sludge, experimental doom and ambient/rock fusion are one of the most influential yet under appreciated bands I have ever heard. Without The Melvins, we wouldn't have top-of-their-game bands such as Tool, Suma, Isis, Electric Wizard and Sunn O))). But their is something about The Melvins that sets them apart from other bands in a similar vein that I can't quite put my finger on - is it the distinct switching of musical genres with each release? The originality? The genius mix of ridiculous humor and dead seriousness in their music?

Well, all three, in my eyes.

Their fourth album, "Lysol" is STILL The Melvins' heaviest to date, and one of the HEAVIEST albums of the early nineties. It was also the band's last stand on Boner Records, and boy did they go out with a bang. "Lysol" is often cited as being the grandaddy of drone doom metal, and without this puppy (and it's absolutely badass cover art), there wouldn't be any of us getting shat on by the gigantic riffage erupting from the speakers of bands such as Sunn O))), Earth, Khanate, Boris etc. And holy shit, THIS is the epitome of drone.

The album is actually only just one 31 minute song, but it's actually split into five parts - the 11 minute drone-fest "Hung Bunny", the 7 minute "Roman Bird Dog", A 6 minute Flipper cover "Sacrifice" and another cover, followed by a two minute doom piece "With Teeth". On my edition, the album is just one monolithic 31 minute song, with no parts to split it up.

The first "part", "Hung Bunny" gives you a good idea of what this baby's all about. It begins with a breathy drone sound, and then the guitar feedback comes in, followed by some of the most crushing riffs since Sabbath first recorded "Into The Void". The "southern metal" influence is all around this one, and speaking of Sabbath, there is a distinctively Sabbath-y influence here, as with most doom bands. For a while, the song is just merely King Buzzo and Joe Preston slamming out massive riff after massive riff on your head...and then Dale Crover's absolutely insane drumming starts, and the real fun begins. It's a gigantic 11 minute track that might as well have been the first drone metal song ever. Usually masochism isn't something applied to music, but this is rather difficult to listen to, but that's what makes it so kickass.

The next track, "Roman Bird Dog" thrashes along at breakneck speed...I'm being sarcastic, of course. In all seriousness, however, this song is very similar to the previous track, except it has more traditional riffs (in the loosest sense of the word) and King Buzzo's almost country-influenced vocals are just amazing - druggie, thick and just makes him look like a 400 tonne badass samurai god stomping through city streets...OK, that was a terrible analogy, but you get the point. So heavy, it still hurts.

"Sacrifice" (which is a cover of the punk band Flipper) follows in a differentiating vein. It's still so heavy as fuck that it makes your ears bleed, but it's way more bass oriented than the past two "segments". Guitar feedback and chords come and go, but just when you think you are about to get pummeled by a huge explosion of riffage, the mysterious bass line just continues in it's groovy plod which soon gives way to Buzz' almost humorous vocal delivery. The lyrics are awesome, too, but I guess you should credit Flipper for that.

After a rather pointless but still cool interlude called "Second Coming", "The Ballad Of Dwight Fry", which is a cover of Alice Cooper, kicks off. Oh man, this song is just awesome. It's not heavy at all, but it's super fun. There's no mammoth explosions or anything, just some grungy guitar riffage for a few minutes. Buzz' vocals are the focal point of this song. Even if I would have preffered it more heavy, this still kicks ass and is one my favorite cover songs by The Melvins. There's also a female singer in here, and she really shows the country-influence on this album. Nice stuff.

If anybody was getting pissed off by the distinct lack of heaviness in the past few minutes or so, there's no need to worry, because "With Teeth" comes shambling in, and it's a heavy as fuck, short-but-sweet grungry drone (grunge-drone?) song with some of Buzzo's best vocal performance on the album. There's not much to say since it's so short (but at the same time not a filler), and besides "Second Coming" I'd mark it as the album's weakest with ease, but, surprise surprise, it's still a great song!

The only thing that keeps me from giving it a perfect score is the length. Only 31 minutes?! Full length my ass! Despite this, though, this album absolutely incredible, but it's not the first Melvins album you should pick up - get Houdini, then this, and then go from there. Point is, buy this or I'll beat the living shit outta you.