The Melvins — Thunderball

Thunderball finds The Melvins stripped down to a core of just two members, though they still manage to maintain their heaviness, sonic weight, and distinctive charm.  We have King Buzzo on vocals, guitar, bass and production. And the band's original drummer, Mike Dillard, on percussion. It’s a five-track album, which splits itself between shorter/ more punchy tracks and longer, more mind-melting affairs.

The album is available as either a CD, digital download, or vinyl edition- I’m reviewing the first of these. The disc is presented in a mini grey, black and red gatefold- on the front cover, we have a red horned humanoid creature with multiple pupil eyes, with a line of blood drips falling from its mouth. Inside, we get an eight-page inlay booklet- listing the album's line-up, and a short write-up from King Buzzo on the album, along with a selection of end-of-the-world illustrations- featuring fireballs and an elephant in high-rise set streets, a bone hand grabbing a flesh hand from a pit, a spike-hatted reaper, and a huge death headmoth. As always with Melvins' release, the art/layout is done by Buzz’s wife, Mackie Osborne, and she’s done another classy job here.

As mentioned in my intro, this is primally a two-man venture, though a few collaborators do add subtle electro noise details/ atmospheric touches to the tracks. They are Toshi Kasai – production, recording, mixing, Void Manes – noise, creepy machine vocals, and Ni Maîtres – noise, upright bass, hand gestures.

We open with the gunning and unrelating chugs of “King Of Rome”, which moves between its rapid-fire sung verses, and its shimmeringly moody choruses-  it's a great just over three-minute opener. 

There’s the wonderfully entitled “Short Hair with a Wig"- this just over eleven-minute track moves between bass-bound moodiness & electro tone swirling sear, and strutting/ meaty riffing synchronicity- before finishing out with rewardingly taut electro plink ‘n’ plonk/ guitar feedback fuzz.

The album plays out with just over eight minutes of “Venus Blood”, which is a blend of eerie bass gallop, powerful guitar chugg, with moments of wavering sing/song vocals, and moody percussive detail.

Forty-two years into their musical journey, The Melvins still know how to create albums that are wonderfully convincing & enging affairs, which nod back to their past, yet add in interesting/creative twists, and that is exactly what Thunderball does.