Melvins in Paris 07/12/09

 

An excellent performance but unfortunately in an overcowded venue (glaz'art is a tiny venue and Melvins is a cult band therefore fans are rather numerous). I could only see the singer/guitarist Buzz Osborne (guitarist for Fantomas by the way) and the bassist. The band is no more a trio since three or four albums, they hired indeed a second drummer and now they present themselves on stage with two combined drum kits. The drumset was placed at the front of the stage but drummers were hidden behind and could be seen only at the end of the perofrmace, when they stood up. Porn opened for Melvins, it is a sort of a more spacy Melvins without vocals, Melvins original drummer, Dale Crover plays in this band. After half an hour of performance, the drummer stayed and other Melvins members entered the stage. They played a sort of stoner with psychedelic flavour. Their last album sounds a lot like early Led Zeppelin, with a sabbathian Dies Irae. The performance was really astonishing, a massive sound with an alternance of intricate rhythms and a more quick straightforward beat. Notwithstanding I was disappointed by the merchandising, with a T-shirt bearing a 3rd Reich eagle and no CDs to sell...

This band is often associated with the grunge movement, as they come from Seattle, but they play rather sludge metal, a blend of stoner rock (music) and hardcore (voice). Their songs are complex enough to appeal to progsters.