Melvins Senile Animals CD

Melvins: King Buzzo (vocals, guitar); Jared Warren (vocals, bass instrument); Dale Crover, Coady Willis (vocals, drum).
The early 2000s found the Melvins engaging in all manner of loud/heavy experiments, some considerably more enjoyable than others. On 2006's (A) SENILE ANIMAL, however, the long-running avant-metal ensemble return to its classic roots. Band mainstays Dale Crover (drums) and Buzz Osborne (vocals/guitar) are joined here by Pacific Northwest bass/drums power duo Big Business, and the results are devastating.
Crover is a brutal enough drummer on his own, but the addition of Coady Willis on a second kit both increases the power of the assault and keeps things curiously off-kilter; Jared Warren's bass is all rumbling fuzz and punch and provides an impressive platform for Crover's art-metal riffage; and the multilayered vocals make the whole thing that much more colossal. The Melvins have always been something of a grab bag, and while it's a safe bet to expect something interesting, it's a pleasure to be awarded something this unrelentingly awesome.
The Melvins have long been considered one of hard rock/metal's most powerful/monolithic-sounding bands, despite only consisting of three members. So, imagine what the group would sound like with two drummers. Well, imagine no more. The Melvins' second release of 2006, A Senile Animal, sees longtime members -- guitarist Buzz Osborne and drummer Dale Crover -- joined by both members of noise duo Big Business (bassist Jared Warren and drummer Coady Willis). Unlike some bands that have two drummers but do not sound that remarkably different than if they had a single one, the "new look" Melvins puts the extra pair of sticks to good use, as evidenced by the drum march breakdown of the album opening "The Talking Horse," the onslaught of "You've Never Been Right," and "Civilized Worm," which ends in an absolute landslide of percussion. Although they started out primarily as a punk band that slowed down the riffs, the Melvins have also always mixed in prog rock-like bits, such as the tricky rhythms of "Blood Witch" and the King Crimson/Tool-ish "The Hawk." The album also contains some of the group's most straightforward compositions in some time, including the metallic/new wave-ish ditty "A History of Drunks." The transfusion of new blood has made one of rock's gnarliest beats even -- gnarlier! ~ Greg PratoAlternative Press (p.194) - "[L]ead Melvins Buzz Osborne and Dale Crover haven't just reconnected with their early roar; they've added welcome new layers of excess to it: More groove, more brutality, more melody and more wonderfully gratuitous percussion."
The Wire (p.59) - "Both stalwart Dale Crover and Coady Willis play drums, and the double kit rumble is one of the album's defining sonic tropes....A SENILE ANIMAL is the sound of a group -- past, present and future."
Kerrang (Magazine) (p.58) - "Always ones to smash expectations, The Melvins have actually turned in their most straight-up rock album since 1994's STONER WITCH."