Only the announcement of a new Melvins record gets my blood pumping, so yes, I'm bias. But for their newest release, The Bride Screamed Murder, you don't have to be a devotee to appreciate the music/craziness.
As you can see, the cover isn't that awesome which in its self is a continuation of the artwork of Nude With Boots which wasn't a Houdini or a Bullhead cover. But the music outweighs everything.
I'm trying to imagine the situation the band was in when they were working on the opening song, The Water Glass. It probably went like this:
King Buzzo: "I just came up with one of the coolest riffs, we can start the record with that one."
Dale Crover: "Great! Coady and I are working on a really tight double drum section, even more tight than the ones we did in the past. Let's do that after that massive riff."
Jared Warren: "What about putting our vocals together as a sort of chorus that follows Buzzo's voice?"
-All Melvins members agree with this course of action-
There's no way of knowing of course but the fact is that this record blows Nude With Boots out of the water. It's better album, songwise and productionwise.
This 46 minutes of music is extremely cohesive and shows that this line-up is far from creatively drained after two records. This sounds as a band who are just releasing their record which takes them to the next level.
Like I said, the first song -The Water Glass- is amazing. Just listen to it for yourself, you'll be blown away. Evil New War God begins with a short drumintro and the moment the guitars fall in, you have the feeling that these thunderous sounds will not be the last on this record. The third song Pig House, is a bit different than the previous one, especially the ending is worth mentioning, they go for a drumsection together some whistling and some double tracked vocals, all in all, it sounds very Morricone to me but it works. And there are more of these little walks outside the area they covered with their previous efforts, for example: an organ in I'll Finish You Off which by the way ends in the atypical Melvins way we know. One of the highlights of this album is their cover of My Generation. Well, it's not really a cover anymore, more like one of their slower songs with the lyrics from My Generation. The people who have seen them on previous tours will recognize it, it's almost the highlight of the record but it makes a glorious second. The Water Glass is definitely the highlight of the record but that doesn't mean the rest is crap, it's exceptionally good in what is one of the best records I've heard in 2010 so far. A song which deserves praise is the last one -P.G. x 3. It's the perfect way to close this already fantastic record, with a slow and also strange track where different instruments and voices overlap each other and at the same time make room for each other.
Without a shadow of a doubt is it an improvement on all fronts, but productionwise this album is a huge departure from the sound on Nude With Boots which was just not good. Actually that was one of the reasons I listened to (A) Senile Animal more. Every instrument and voice gets the room in the mix it needs and deserves.
This one will surely be included in my top ten list for 2010 and I'm doubting if another record will be able to the same from the start.
