Nobody can ever criticise Melvins for not giving a hoot. It’s their calling card. Decades upon decades of peddling obscure doomy lyrical playthings that, in the process, just so happened to define all manner of ‘insert-bleak-synonym-here’ genres. Grunge, sludge, whatever: Buzz and Dale made it, in such voluminous capacity that it’s okay to lose your mind discovering your favourite gems after wading through it all.
And you will find them. Even my personal favourites of Hag Me, Your Blessened and Civilised Worm cover the bases for anyone that likes either subterranean filth or alt-rock radio jams. But they do sit amongst other less personally-affecting experiments; the case for their latest foray alongside similar goliaths and Scum-purveyors Napalm Death. It’s a collaboration that’s an excellent fever dream scenario, which takes some getting used to after waking up.
The two groups are far from strangers, bandmates even in Venomous Concept. They go so far back that it’s a minor miracle to see a joint effort as late as 2026. Yet here we are capturing Melvins in perhaps their kookiest phase (also a minor miracle given their fraught trip into weirdo noise nonsense with Prick, or the far better but befuddling Stag) and Napalm Death in relative hibernation since releasing a couple of wonderfully depraved LPs the past decade. This project has been in circulation as a hyper-limited 2025 tour novelty that’s now getting a full rollout. And it feels its novelty factor holds back the immense firepower these five members could have brewed together.
In fact, the two additional tracks to the earlier Savage Imperial Death March come in the forms of two wildcards that are real head-scratchers: ambient piece Comparison Is The Thief of Joy and Awful Handwriting, an interlude that sounds like an instrumental today’s outstanding alt-rappers should use as a backdrop more than anything else. Which is a shame sandwiched between tracks showcasing the individual talents fans of the bands crave; Dale Crover’s thud-thud drumming in Nine Days or Rain and the categorically King Buzzo harmonic riff and theatrical vocals in Some Kind Of Antichrist, which descends into a filtered vocal effect not far off from sounding like the alien vessel man from that episode of Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends. And there’s offputting squelching sci-fi noises, too.
Definitely, when Barney Greenway’s inimitable howl is brought to the fore, this thing levels up what’s around it. As early as introductory track Tossing Coins Into The Fountain Of Fuck, his and the chorus’s “fuckerrr!” chants sound like orc extras doing vocal exercises before being filmed for Helm’s Deep. The whole track sees the Napalm Death frontman in as haunting a form as he can ever be, even if Buzz’s opening riff sounds a little like a backstage warm-up. Stealing Horses really ups the fun factor in being the aural equivalent of the troupe free-wheelin’ to a ranch to cut some steeds free; I can’t describe how, but… And the record’s best moment Rip The God sees guitars built like a skeleton around Shane Embury’s heart-pounding bass tone, standing out from the starkness. The bend-and-release licks straight out of Melvins’ sludgy best are absolutely stonking.
The overarching idea behind the project was a sense of uninhibited fun, and it does show. Buzz would write a riff to be recorded then and there, and Barney “felt [himself] almost babbling lyrically” all the way up to an ending sample of Van Halen’s Jump that’s like a deflating whoopie cushion. While you can’t fault some of the best to ever commit to extreme music to enjoy a private joke, the loose knockabout-ness outnumbers the anticipated crunch. Still, it’s both bands’ usual agenda to steamroll right onto the next thing, together or separately, as they surely will. We all know that whatever happens there could produce something mega.
For fans of: Mr Bungle, Kyuss, Primus
‘Savage Imperial Death March’ by Melvins & Napalm Death is released on 10th April on Ipecac Records.
Words by Elliot Burr
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