91. Melvins - "Bad Mood Rising"

Ahh The Melvins, the band Kurt Cobain wanted Nirvana to be. The rather excellent grunge biog "Everyone Loves our Town" recounts how Kurt abandoned his Iron Maiden albums after seeing the Melvins play in car parks across Washington state. In many ways, they were grunge before grunge happened and remained grunge long after the wheels came off the genre. Over 36 years they have remained fiercely independent and heavily prolific. This is studio album number 25 and yet again they remain true to Buzz Osborne’s singular vision. Even though there is a melodic sheen to the tracks on offer there are very few nods to commerciality. The opening track Mr. Dog is Totally Right is 14 minutes long and illustrates perfectly the band’s desire to not play by anyone's rules. The rest of the album is chock full of sludgy riffs and off-kilter rhythms. The Melvins never achieved the success of the bands that they influenced and, in many ways, their continued output is all the better for that. This is the sound of a band that four decades into their varied career are still intent on being creative. Long may that continue.