Melvins
Lysol

I wonder why, after studying and practicing French for the imminent university exam (remotely!), this morning I felt like indulging in a bit of healthy 90s stoner-sludge!? On Facebook, I'm part of a group of music lovers, where we regularly participate in various polls about the decades of rock (and the like), starting from the Sixties. Thanks to the ongoing poll, related to the Nineties, I had the opportunity to listen to albums like "The Mollusk" by Ween and "Ladies and Gentlemen We’re Floating In Space" by Spiritualized—before casting my vote. The poll related to the Eighties concluded with the victory of "Remain In Light" by Talking Heads, which edged out "Master of Puppets" by need-not-tell-you-by-whom-or-I-risk-being-didactic-and-speaking-of-the-obvious.
Despite not being included in any of the rounds planned by our band of friendly freaks, "Lysol" is an album I wanted to listen to for a long time, and the Melvins are one of those projects that, despite my ignorance, exert a certain fascination over me. From them, I know, for having listened, the debut "Gluey Porch Treatments," a small great masterpiece of sludge metal merged with doom, and "Houdini," which I must admit I should listen to again—even though I already have a very positive impression of it.
After listening, feeling satisfied and greatly energized, I began to research "Lysol" and its reference period, because I expected to appreciate it a lot, but not to the point of being captivated by it. It's one of those cases where the work exceeds the highest expectations, hence the need to write about it.

"Lysol," also known as "Melvins," "Untitled," and "Lice-All," is the Melvins' fourth studio effort. Released in 1992 on the Boner Records label, it was recorded and produced with a budget of merely 500 dollars. Yet, there's a lot of "meat" in the 31 minutes of what some consider an LP and others an EP. Fact is, Buzz Osborne, aware that an extended play would have fewer chances of selling well and being taken seriously, decided to bring the material to a duration that ensured it was credited as a full-fledged album. All of this was achieved without excess. The result is an intense and exhaustive concentrate of granitic stoner rock that precedes and makes banal in comparison the works of the Sunn O))), who have declared themselves indebted to the fellow local band.
From Melvins, you can't expect sweet melodies, but stentorian sound cathedrals erected by guitar and bass, and if there are any recognizable melodies, they are intentionally tainted by an apparatus of distortions that take no prisoners. The greatness of the band from Seattle (actually formed in Aberdeen, Washington) lies precisely in being challenging but not too much, thus non-repetitive—despite basing their tracks on "drone" sequences—and not overly pretentious.

None of the LP versions include a tracklist, while on the CD, the entire set is presented as a single long track, without interruptions. The perceived transitions are a condensed evilness that is difficult to find in much of rock tradition, even the less compliant one.
"Lysol" consists of 6 tracks "in suite." What can be considered the central part of the "megacomposition" is made up of three covers: two tracks by Alice Cooper ("Second Coming" and "The Ballad of Dwight Fry," both from "Love It To Death," from way back in '71) and a track by Flipper ("Sacrifice," from their milestone of August 1984, "Gone Fishin’," a masterful example of fusing noise rock and punk, combined with a lo-fi sonic aesthetic and graphics), a complex from San Francisco, active since '79 and surviving several departures (at some point Krist Novoselic will join the lineup, who surely needs no introduction). But these renditions are not mere copies of the originals, but rather a worthy tribute, carving out a space of their own. Imagine Neutral Milk Hotel redoing, in their own way, an "Ambulance Blues" (Neil Young) or a "Sea Song" (Robert Wyatt), and perhaps I'll give you the idea.
The remaining three tracks adhere, as layered sonic matter, to the skin, ensnaring the senses in a quasi-psychedelic trance led by Buzz's voice (Osborne's nickname), and enriched by the "backing vocals" of Joe (bass) and Dale (drums). Right after the release of "Lysol," the first of the two will be dismissed due to dissatisfaction expressed towards his companions—dissatisfaction generated by the little consideration he believes is reserved for him. But first, as an extreme act of generosity, Buzz ensures that, in the credits of the album, the bassist's name appears graphically larger than the others.
The lyrics—whether signed by Melvins or other authors—do not constitute manifestations of high poetry, but naturally, this is not required of doom subgenres like stoner rock and sludge metal, for which one can write pages referring to the historical and spatial contexts, and the sound.

The title of the album, which will be subject to controversy, seems to refer to "Bleach" ("bleach") by their much more famous colleagues, Nirvana (the same Kurt Cobain is from Aberdeen). "Lysol" (a brand of cleaning products under copyright) is released a year after the consecration of Cobain and company via "Nevermind." Osborne's trio remains faithful to a certain professional ethic, making few compromises. Even when they have a budget far, far above 500 dollars, the Melvins will do whatever the hell they want: their much more acclaimed masterpiece "Houdini," just after "Lysol," will achieve incredible success, although not comparable to that of Nirvana, and despite this, Osborne and his companions will release an album on a noise label, Amphetamine Records, contravening the agreement made with Atlantic, the major they've signed with, but which would have them embark on a less difficult sound.
The title, exhibited on the cover of the first print, will, as mentioned, be subject to censorship: the unsold copies are immediately defiled with the application of a black sticker over the brand name. The lucky early purchasers thus find themselves with a precious piece, which, not only on a historical level but also on a commercial level, does not go unnoticed. The artwork represents a two-dimensional version of the sculpture by Cyrus Edwin Dallin, "Appeal to the Great Spirit," an equestrian statue located in front of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. In the same city, the other monument for which the Utah artist is remembered is present: the bronze figure of Paul Revere on horseback ("The reincarnation of Paul Revere’s horse" ring a bell?). But it's not with the Melvins that "Appeal to the Great Spirit" is baptized for the first time on a vinyl "pouchette": in '73, the image was chosen for the cover of the third live album by the Beach Boys, and even earlier, in '70, for "The Time Is Near" by the Keef Hartley Band.

To this day, as in the '90s, the Seattle group is considered an institution of alternative music, but remains the preserve of a cult audience, both for the uniqueness of their offering and for Buzz's ethic, the driving force of the project, from its beginnings to the present day. "Lysol," according to the humble opinion of the "here present absent" reviewer, ranks among the most brilliant musical creations, as oxymoronic as it may sound, not just of the Nineties, but of the whole history of what is considered "popular" art.

Rating: 9/10