Early years (1983–1987) The Melvins were formed in early 1983 by
Buzz Osborne (guitar, vocals),
Matt Lukin (bass), and
Mike Dillard (drums) who all went to Montesano Jr./Sr. High School in Montesano, Washington. The band was named after a supervisor at a
Thriftway in Montesano, where Osborne also worked as a
clerk; "Melvin" was disliked by other employees, and the band's members felt it to be an appropriately ridiculous name. In the beginning, they played
Jimi Hendrix and
Who covers, and also began playing fast
hardcore punk. Dillard left the band in 1984 and was replaced by local drummer
Dale Crover. The band's rehearsals moved to a back room of Crover's parents' house in
Aberdeen, Washington. Soon afterward, they started to play songs slower and "heavier" than nearly anyone else at the time. In 1985,
C/Z Records was created to document the
Washington music scene. The label released
Deep Six, featuring four songs by the Melvins. In 1986, the band released their debut, the
Six Songs EP, on
C/Z Records (later releases expanded and retitled this as
8 Songs,
10 Songs, and eventually
26 Songs in 2003 on
Ipecac Recordings). The album was recorded live to a two track at the now closed Ironwood Studio in
Seattle on February 8, 1986. In October 1986, they recorded their first full-length album,
Gluey Porch Treatments, at Studio D in
Sausalito, California. The album was released in 1987 on
Alchemy Records.
Gluey Porch Treatments was later coupled with their second album
Ozma for the
Boner Records CD release. It was expanded again for the 1999 re-release on Ipecac with some garage demos.
Boner Records era (1988–1992) Crover played drums with
Nirvana (booked under "Kurt Kovain" after mishearing the frontman for the currently unnamed band's name) when they recorded a ten-song demo on January 23, 1988, in Seattle, which later formed part of their debut album
Bleach, and played a live show in
Tacoma later that day. Osborne would later introduce
Kurt Cobain and
Krist Novoselic to
Dave Grohl. Later that year Osborne and Crover relocated to
San Francisco, California. Lukin stayed and formed the band
Mudhoney.
Lori "Lorax" Black (daughter of
Shirley Temple) replaced Lukin on bass. The band recorded
Ozma in May 1989, and released it later that year. The album was produced by
Mark Deutrom, who later joined the band on bass. In 1990, the band recorded
Bullhead, which marked a slower, more
drone music style for the band. The band then toured Europe; their show of January 23, 1991 in
Alzey, Germany was released by
Your Choice Records as
Your Choice Live Series Vol.12. When they returned to the U.S., they recorded the
Eggnog EP, which was released the same year on
Boner Records. Lorax left the band, and was replaced by
Joe Preston. Preston appears on the
Salad of a Thousand Delights (1992, Box Dog Video). Melvins then released three "solo" EPs, following the concept and imitating the cover artwork inspired by the four
Kiss members' solo albums released in 1978.
King Buzzo,
Dale Crover, and
Joe Preston were all released in 1992 on
Boner Records. Later in 1992, they released the full-length album,
Lysol, which had to be renamed
Melvins because
Lysol was a trademarked name. Preston departed from the band, and Lorax briefly rejoined.
Atlantic Records era (1993–1997) When Nirvana's
Nevermind became a massive and unexpected success, Melvins were one of many groups to benefit from Nirvana's support. Melvins were signed by
Atlantic Records, and its first major label release, 1993's
Houdini, entered the
Billboard Heatseekers chart at 29. Mark Deutrom replaced Lorax on bass shortly after the album's release. Melvins released its second album for Atlantic in 1994,
Stoner Witch. Due to its experimental nature, Melvins took its next album,
Prick, to
Amphetamine Reptile Records. Record label conflicts prevented the band from releasing any records under the name "Melvins", so the album was released with the band name
written in mirror. The band returned to Atlantic one last time for 1996's
Stag, which entered the Heatseekers chart at number 33. Melvins were dropped by
Atlantic Records in 1997 after three albums.
Switching labels and continued experimentation (1997–2004) The band signed with Amphetamine Reptile Records and released their next full-length album,
Honky, in 1997. They recorded an August 1997 concert in Richmond,
Melbourne, Australia as
Alive at the Fucker Club in 1998. The same year, Melvins opened for
Tool. (A picture on the Tool website depicts the Melvins along with the words "Melvins say...Tool Sux!" spelled out in
lunch meat. The photo was taken while on tour with Tool in 2002 in Australia.) In 1998, Melvins played the second stage at
Ozzfest. 1999 saw the beginning of a partnership with
Mike Patton's
Ipecac Recordings, which began remastering and reissuing much of the band's back catalog. The band also released three full-length albums dubbed (and later packaged together as)
The Trilogy:
The Maggot,
The Bootlicker, and
The Crybaby. The latter featured a number of guest vocalists and musicians.
Kevin Rutmanis, formerly of
The Cows, was bassist during this era. In 2001, the band returned to their experimental tendencies for
Colossus of Destiny, a live set of synthesizer and sampler experiments presented as two tracks (one clocking in at 59:23 and the other at five seconds). The album was described approvingly by one critic as "more like
avant-garde electro-acoustic than anything else." In 2002,
Ipecac Recordings released
Hostile Ambient Takeover, a record that was not in fact ambient music at all. This album is the first instance of Melvins working with long time producer and engineer
Toshi Kasai. In 2003,
Atlantic Records (UK) released
Melvinmania: Best of the Atlantic Years 1993–1996, a compilation of recycled tracks from the band's three major label releases. This release was unsanctioned by the band who had no input into the track selection or (occasionally inaccurate) liner notes. In 2004, Osborne and Crover toured to celebrate their 20th anniversary as a band, and also released an art book
Neither Here Nor There. The book is a collection of art by creators of their cover art as well as friends of the band, and also contained retrospectives on the past twenty years of the Melvins. The book included a CD with selected tracks from their albums.
Later period and collaboration albums (2004–2010) In 2004, Melvins collaborated with ambient artist
Lustmord for
Pigs of the Roman Empire and with
Dead Kennedys singer
Jello Biafra for ''
Never Breathe What You Can't See and Sieg Howdy! released in 2004 and 2005 respectively. Never Breathe What You Can't See'' was supported by a mini-tour with
Jello Biafra and
Adam Jones from
Tool. A planned European tour was canceled in early October 2004 reportedly due to unknown complications involving Rutmanis. Following the tour cancellation, Melvins finished the year playing a few shows with
David Scott Stone supporting the work of filmmaker Cameron Jamie in Europe and the United States. When asked about Rutmanis and the canceled portion of the tour. Osborne and Crover stated that Rutmanis had "disappeared". Fans feared that Rutmanis had departed like so many bassists before him; however, Rutmanis returned temporarily in early 2005. In June 2005, Rutmanis officially left the band. When Melvins toured with Jello Biafra in October and November 2005,
David Scott Stone filled in on bass for both sets. David Scott Stone did not leave the live lineup on good terms, waiting until 9 days before a tour to back out and saying in an interview: "It was unprofessional and a betrayal of a friendship," The band toured the U.S. in the fall of 2006 in support of their album,
(A) Senile Animal. The Melvins also toured briefly the United Kingdom in mid-December 2006. Two new songs entitled "Suicide in Progress" and "Billy Fish" were played during the 2007 tour, and appear on their next album
Nude With Boots. On June 16 and 17, 2008, a lineup of Osborne, original drummer Mike Dillard, and Dale Crover (playing bass) played two shows at the
Great American Music Hall in San Francisco in honor of
Jello Biafra's 50th birthday. Both sets were composed of songs from The Mangled Demos, a collection of early material released on the
Alternative Tentacles record label in 2005. In July 2008, their new album entitled
Nude with Boots was released. In December 2008, along with Mike Patton, the Melvins co-curated an edition of the
All Tomorrow's Parties Nightmare Before Christmas festival. They chose half of the lineup and also performed themselves. The long rumored (since 2003) remix CD
Chicken Switch was released on September 29, 2009, via
Ipecac Recordings. Unlike usual remix CDs where the remixer is given a single track to work with, for
Chicken Switch each remixer was given a full album to work with and pull from to create their track. Melvins joined with New Orleans' super group
Down and
Weedeater for a North American tour in the summer and fall of 2009. Melvins released their follow up to
Nude with Boots, entitled
The Bride Screamed Murder, on June 1, 2010.
Melvins Lite, reunion with Mike Dillard and more albums (2011–present) Melvins started 2011 with a series of unique shows. Four of the shows were every Friday at
Spaceland in California. January 7 featured the current line-up playing
Colossus of Destiny,
Lysol, and
Eggnog. Jan 14 featured a Melvins 1983 set followed by the band playing
Houdini. Jan 21 featured a two-piece Melvins set followed by the current lineup playing
Bullhead. Jan 28 featured the band playing a normal set followed by
Stoner Witch. In early 2011 the band was on tour first in
Christchurch, New Zealand at the time of the February
2011 Christchurch earthquake then in
Tokyo, Japan at the time of the
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. Melvins supported
Slayer at the
All Tomorrow's Parties 'I'll Be Your Mirror' festival at
Alexandra Palace, London in May 2012. Melvins formed a lineup called Melvins Lite (Buzz, Dale, and
Trevor Dunn) that toured through parts of 2011. This line-up released an album,
Freak Puke, in June 2012 on Ipecac Recordings. The main four-piece lineup remains active as well and released a digital EP,
The Bulls & the Bees, in March on Scion a/v. In 2012, Melvins Lite completed a record-breaking tour, having performed every night for 51 straight days, once in each of the 50 United States and once in the
District of Columbia. The tour started on September 5 in
Anchorage, Alaska and ended in
Honolulu, Hawaii on October 25, 2012.
Everybody Loves Sausages, an album of
cover songs performed with special guests, was released by Ipecac on April 30, 2013. In 2013, Melvins marked 30 years as a band with an extensive summer tour supported by
Honky,
Die Kreuzen and
Negative Approach. Grunge pioneers
Mudhoney also joined the band for two shows on the 30th anniversary tour. Rutmanis reconciled with his former bandmates, appearing on the 2013 album,
Everybody Loves Sausages and a 2014 7" single. Melvins were featured on the 2013, Joyful Noise Recordings flexi-series. On August 5, 2013, Melvins announced a new album,
Tres Cabrones, featuring the "Melvins 1983" lineup with Osborne and Crover joined by the band's original drummer, Mike Dillard. Crover replaced Dillard in 1984 and plays bass on the album.
Tres Cabrones was released on November 5, 2013, on the band's longtime label Ipecac. Jeff Pinkus had aided the band in 2013 as a touring bassist, filling in for current member Jared Warren who was on paternity leave. Afterward Pinkus joined the Melvins full time to begin a collaboration with fellow Butthole Surfers guitarist Paul Leary. The collaborative album
Hold It In was released in October 2014. The lineup for this album was Osborne and Crover joined by
Paul Leary and Jeff Pinkus of the
Butthole Surfers. A collaboration with
godheadSilo's
Mike Kunka,
Three Men and a Baby, was released in April 2016 through
Sub Pop. The album, started in 1999 and shelved, was recently finished. Another album,
Basses Loaded, was released in June 2016, which features a rotating cast of bass players including regulars Dale Crover, Jared Warren, Jeff Pinkus and Trevor Dunn as well as Steven McDonald (of
Redd Kross), and
Krist Novoselic (of
Nirvana). In July 2017, the band released the double album
A Walk with Love & Death. One of the discs,
Love, is a 14-song soundtrack to a short film of the same name, by Jesse Nieminen. The other disc,
Death, is made up of standard Melvins songs. The band released
Pinkus Abortion Technician in April 2018. The album features dual bassists, Melvins' regular bass player
Steven McDonald as well as
Butthole Surfers'
Jeff Pinkus. The title of the album resembles the Butthole Surfers album
Locust Abortion Technician, and the album features a cover of the Butthole Surfers tune "Graveyard". Melvins' 24th studio album,
Working with God, was released on February 26, 2021, and once again includes the 1983 lineup of Osborne, Crover and Dillard reunited. On July 21, 2021, it was announced that Melvins' would release a 36-song acoustic double album titled
Five Legged Dog later in the year, featuring acoustic versions of songs spanning their career. Also in 2021, Melvins were featured in the 25th anniversary of
TapeOp with a feature interview. On August 21, 2022, the Melvins surprise released their 26th studio album, titled
Bad Mood Rising. The record was not announced beforehand and there were no singles, it just showed up on vinyl. The album arrived on streaming services on 30 September. In August 2023, it was announced that former second drummer
Coady Willis would be returning to the band for their 2023 US Tour, filling in for Crover as he undergoes spinal surgery. Melvins announced their 27th album, titled
Tarantula Heart, on February 6, 2024, with a release date of April 19. The lead single "Working the Ditch" was released that same day. The second single "Allergic to Food" was released on March 20. In November 2024, Melvins announced a co-headlining spring 2025 US tour with
Napalm Death, as a successor/sequel to their 2016 Savage Imperial Death March Tour. This will also be their first tour since 2016 to feature both Dale Crover and Coady Willis on drums, as Crover had to sit out their previous tour due to spinal surgery. Support includes Napalm Death bassist
Shane Embury's side project Dark Sky Burial on all dates, as well as support from
Weedeater, Titan To Tachyons, and
Hard-Ons on select dates. Both bands also announced a collaboration album also titled
Savage Imperial Death March, which was released on February 16, 2025 to coincide with the tour. On February 17, 2025, Melvins released a single titled "Victory of the Pyramids" from their 28th studio album
Thunderball. The album is their third to feature the Melvins 1983 lineup, the previous two being
Tres Cabrones (2013) and
Working With God (2021). The album was released on April 18. ==Musical style and influences==