Melvins
Stoner Witch

The Melvins are a true legend of the American underground scene and boast numerous high-quality albums. This "Stoner Witch" could be the ideal introduction for those unfamiliar with them: more accessible than their earlier works, less experimental than others, but a perfect synthesis of their eclecticism.

"Stoner Witch" is the ninth studio album in the band's vast discography and features the great King Buzzo on vocals and guitar, Dale Crover on drums, and Mark Deutrom on bass.

Almost everywhere, the Melvins are mentioned when discussing grunge due to the influence they've had on numerous bands (primarily Nirvana) that were later classified under that label. All true, but the Melvins are much more, and this LP is testimony to that with its oscillation between walls of grunge-rock sound, atmospheric and ambient moments that completely abandon traditional song structures, noise shards that test the listener's endurance (and patience), thrash metal-rooted bass-drum lines, rock-blues moments, and of course, their typical heavy, majestic, slow, martial sound.

This is an excellent album; every track evokes emotion, and surprises abound; there are no filler tracks—in fact, all songs add meaning to the work and are integral parts of it. The hits are "Queen" and especially "Revolve", absolutely two "chart-topping" tracks, if it weren't absurd to talk about charts with the Melvins; "Roadbull" and the abyssal "At the stake" are two other significant examples of the typical Melvins sound; "Shevil", beautiful, is the most atmospheric and ambient track. Melvins in great shape, not at the peak of their production because they have done even better, but almost.

Personally, I don't love categories, even though I recognize some utility in them; categorizing the Melvins is a hassle—they don't fit into any box and have a foot in many camps: King Buzzo declared "We don't give a fuck what anybody thinks", and that's partly why I adore them.