Melvins — At The Stake – Atlantic Recordings 1993-1995

At The Stake is a CD set bringing together the three major label albums put out by The Melvins in the early 1990s- after the success of Nirvana/ all things grunge.  And very surprisingly for major label releases- there is still very much a spark of invention/ quirkiness running through all three records. As well as a rather timeless quality/ distinctive edge, which you certainly don’t find in a lot of releases of the early ’90s that were lumped in with grunge. All three albums featured here first appeared on Atlantic Recordings- and featured are 1993’s Houdini, 1994’s Stoner Witch, and 1995’s Stag- with each disc featuring a few bonus tracks.

The release appears on HNE Recordings- one of the Cherry Red family of labels, which focuses on rock & metal reissues. The three CDs each come in their own card sleeves recreating the original album art. There is also a twenty-page inlay booklet- which just recreates the credits/ artwork from the original albums- so sadly no new write-up/ essay about the albums, and this point in the band's career.
 
One would hope if you reading M[m], and enjoy the more quirky/ creative side of the rock/ metal genre you’ll be aware of who the Melvins are- but just in case here’s a very brief summing up of the band who have now been active for forty years- and can very easily be label as one of the most unique bands with-in the rock/ metal genres. The band was formed in 1983 Montesano, Washington- playing as either a trio or a quarter with two drummers & bass players. The band's first album was 1987’s Gluey Porch Treatments- which was a heady-to-battering blend of punk, sludgy doom, and what would become known as grunge. Since the band has gone on to release twenty-seven studio albums- and really they have never truly sold out or diluted their sound- even on these major label albums.
 
So first up we have 1993’s Houdini. It’s a thirteen-track album, and I guess would be the most generally known album to wider/ more commercial rock audiences. Though it’s a varied & often surprising record that tools normal rock/ metal/punk genre tropes with playful edges, and lightly experimental twists. The album kicks off with the blown-out chug and drum crash ‘n’ smash of “Hooch”. Moving on we have gunning punk meets thrash out of “Honey Bucket”, or there’s the muddy-wondering bass lines, snapping cymbal, weird muffled vocals of “Sky Pup” which sounds somewhere death rock, weird bar band rock out, and sleazed funk rock. With the album playing out with the ten-minute instrumental track “Spread Eagle Beagle” which is built detailed-if-abstract collection of rhythmic lashings ‘n’ bashes- these get more bent/ warped the further the track goes on.
 
Next up we have 1994’s Stoner Witch, which features eleven tracks- and I guess it’s the more approachable rock records of the three albums here- but there is still playful flare/ invention present. We have“Revolve” which opens up with a  single pig grunt- before throwing itself into a darting mix of speeding punk, muscular rock with the occasional meaty doom riff swipe. There’s the cymbal smash ‘n’ circle, wound down rock riffing, bounding bass line, and guitar pick swipe ‘n’ play of “At The Stake”. Or there’s “June Bug” with its moody hovering feedback, creepy bass plod, minimal percussion hits, and distant/ strange mumble vocals.
 
This leads us to the third & final album here 1996’s Stag- which is sixteen track album, and the most experimental/ wacky of the bunch. So you can kind of see why they got dropped from Atlantic Recordings, though it’s still a damn great ride of a record. Highlights been the horn-edged chug ‘n’ turntable scratching of “Bar-X-The Rocking M”. There’s “Tripping The Lion” which is a lopsided crossbreed between twanging  ‘n bright indie/ lite psych rock. We have the pulsing bass guitar lveins, layered percussion weight, sci-fied female vocal elements & manic gallop of “Buck Owens”.  With the album playing out with the extremely muffled & running down slide blues of “Cottonmouth” which features tissue-in-mouth vocals & train horn sounds.
 
We get around three to four bonus tracks on each CD. These take in live versions of album tracks, demos, and a few other oddities- and there is certainly worth to found in these- for example, we get a great jam-ed out/ barely hanging together version of Pink Floyd’s "Interstellar Overdrive".
 
In finishing it certainly is great to have these three albums in one place- and if you’re wondering what the Melvins are all about this is as good as any place to start. It’s just a pity there could have been more substance to the booklet of the release- but I understand this isn’t always possible with reissues.