Beyond Nirvana: 10 essential under-the-radar grunge records from the Seattle era

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melvins

The Melvins
26 Songs
(Ipecac)

Listen / Buy


Whatever crossroad bargain Dale Crover made with the devil, the resulting gift was technique of rare originality — if he was a guitarist or singer he’d be lauded to the skies…But drummers get no respect. Listen close though and you’ll see how even a hot minute like ‘Now a Limo’ comes with a dozen mind-warping approaches to the beat. Melvins were never grunge; their dark alchemy folded together metal, hardcore’s concision, plus the gonzo-edge of the underground — there’s not a hint of Seventies rock worship about what they forged. The heart of this is the first six-eight-ten songs but the bonus tracks come in handy. Check the three iterations of At a Crawl to appreciate how hard Melvins worked at tweaking each note to perfection.