July 29–August 5, 1999
disc quicks|rock/pop
The Melvins
The Maggot
(Ipecac)
So what does Melvins’ frontman King Buzzo do when not posing with porn star Papillion in Dirty Magazine? Why, he still has plenty of time to write slow, metal-punk tunes.
The Maggot continues Buzzo’s love affair with distortion and nearly indecipherable vocals. Even though this is the band’s umpteenth release in 13 years, traces of their influences can still be heard: Black Sabbath, MC5 and Jimi Hendrix, to name a few. Since The Maggot appears on indie label Ipecac, the production is nowhere near as crisp as their major label releases of a few years ago. Not that The Melvins have ever been too concerned with high fidelity. Being crowned the "godfathers of grunge" has allowed Buzzo and his boys to make records where the whole means more than its parts. Like an enthralling novel, The Maggot cannot be absorbed piecemeal. This 40-minute album demands you sit and listen attentively. Mysteriously though, The Melvins’ noise and subtle feedback soothes you, despite the absence of any pop song formulas. Alas, if nothing else, The Maggot gives us an inkling of what punk pioneers Flipper would have sound liked if they were still around today.
The Melvins play on Saturday, July 31, at the TLA, 334 South St., 215-922-1011
