Melvins has a monopoly on metal

There are few bands that have maintained such a monolithic presence and influence in music as a whole, as Melvins have. Melvins emerged in Washington in the early 80s, playing live shows before ever entering a recording studio. They immediately set themselves apart from the norm by playing atypically slow and heavy music in an era when speed and energy were the key to success. Their endless inspiration to musicians and bands, both then and now, is a phenomenon worthy of its own book.

Their second studio album, “Bullhead,” takes the attitude and experimentation of their first album, “Ozma/Gluey Porch Treatments,” and refines the sound into something more cohesive and expanded.

I would categorize Melvins as a “drum band.” Some bands might have more focus on the vocals, the guitars or the bass, but Melvins are undoubtedly a band that prioritizes the presence of the drums in their music. This album is a prime example of this focus on the instrument, with its expansive drum fills and solos and the unignorable, heavy occupancy of the drums.

Bullhead opens with “Boris,” which enters with a spacious, echoey riff before the drums pick up and Buzz Osbourne’s vocals come in. The song drags like a weight tied around a waist. It’s slow, and the riff it opens with remains a constant fixture in the song, almost becoming background noise to Osbourne’s snarled vocals.

“Boris” gives way to “Anaconda,” a jinglier song featuring a riff that exposes the band’s influence from glam metal band, Kiss—an influence that rears its head throughout the album and the band’s future works.

The foreboding atmosphere returns in “Ligature,” with its blaring, noncommittal riff, persistent bassline and expertly restrained drums. Osbourne’s vocals fluctuate between mewling yowls and bitten-off words. The song is mostly instrumental and sparse in that respect. It’s mainly drum solos interspersed with a single strum on the guitar and heavy feedback.

The tone set by “Ligature” is immediately extinguished by the groovy bassline of “It’s Shoved.” This song is, by and large, the most accessible song on the album. It has a clear and identifiable melody and again serves as an homage to the band’s more mainstream influence.

“Zodiac” is more in tune with the style of when this album came out. It’s faster paced at the expense of some of the heaviness harnessed at other pointsin the album. Make no mistake, however; this is undeniably a Melvins song. It has every mark of their style woven in its genetic make-up.

“If I Had An Exorcism” enters with gibberish from Osbourne. The instrumentals explode before catching onto a discordant, feedback-heavy riff. The plucked high string of the guitar persists as the drums enter, and a second guitar and the bass play at each other. Underneath a harmonic cacophony only the Melvins could construct, Osbourne growls into the microphone. The song fades into the feedback initially set by the guitar before leading into the empty drums of “Your Blessened.”

“Your Blessened” is a track that has to be heard to be fully understood. The drums are alone on the track for several seconds before the guitar climbs in, and the two instruments build into a steady rhythm. Just as you get used to it, a staggering, blaring riff enters with the vocals. Two riffs that wereoffered to the listener for nearly six menacing minutes are now interspersed with jarring solos and thin guitar feedback. The song empties a little past the halfway point, becoming a conversation between a metronomical drum rhythm, constant guitar feedback and a bassline that refuses to relent. Osbourne shouts into the mic as the instruments reassume their previous bravado.

“Your Blessened” leads into the conclusion of the album, “Cow.” Where the other songs on the album build into intimidating riffs and rhythms, “Cow” trips into it. The opening guitar lick is like leaning too far back in a chair and the rest of the song is coming to terms with your fate on the way down. Osbourne’s vocals sound like they’re being sung from a room away. Once the fall is over and you’re on the ground, the song is a spotlight for Dale Crover’s unmatched drumming capabilities.

This album has become a necessary facet of every modern metal or alternative band’s inspiration in one way or another. Its direct, unapologetic and brazenly passionate approach to metal is the reference point in the textbook all musicians ought to read. History would show, and I would support, that there are few albums as important to modern metal as “Bullhead” by Melvins has proven to be.