The Bride Screamed Murder

iTunes Review

As the band who inspired Nirvana and who have been playing aggressive punk-metal for decades, the Melvins have seen and done it all. However, rock ‘n’ roll and youth spring eternal and there’s nothing old or even middle-aged about these tunes of pure-breed intensity. “The Water Glass” grunts and chugs with the band’s usual terse groove. But it’s “Evil New War God,” with its extra keyboard touches and sudden drum solos, that sounds like a progressive rock anthem packed in just under five minutes. “Pig House” kicks up the dust on 1970s-styled hard rock and slams it into a chant that became popularized in the ‘80s hardcore scene — sort of like Judas Priest meets S.O.D. “I’ll Finish You Off” has the sound of a burial mass brooding over its grumbling beats. The seven-and-a-half minute cover of the Who’s “My Generation” turns the song from a call to arms into a long, languid march up the hill where, like with Sisyphus, the rock keeps rolling back down.