The next Melvins full-length, entitled "The Bride Screamed Murder" is set to be released via Ipecac on June 1st. North American tourdates have been announced and they've also released the cover art and tracklisting.

And.... wait for it...... themelvins.net has a new twitter account which you can follow at twitter.com/melvinsdotnet  if you're into that kind of thing

'The Bride Screamed Murder' Tracklisting:

1. The Water Glass
2. Evil New War God
3. Pig House
4. I'll Finish You Off
5. Electric Flower
6. Hospital Up
7. Inhumanity and Death
8. My Generation?
9. P.G. x 3
   

Aside from the festival dates Melvins will be playing 2 sets on this tour. Totimoshi will be opening on all dates (other than Bonnaroo) and Isis will also be on the bill from 6/14 - 6/23:

• June 1, 2010 - San Diego, CA - The Casbah
• June 2, 2010 - Tempe, AZ - The Clubhouse
• June 3, 2010 - Albuquerque, NM - Launch Pad
• June 5, 2010 - Austin, TX - Emos
• June 7, 2010 - Houston, TX - Warehouse Live
• June 8, 2010 - Baton Rouge, LA - Spanish Moon
• June 9, 2010 - New Orleans, LA - One Eyed Jacks
• June 10, 2010 - Birmingham, AL - Bottle Tree
• June 12, 2010 - Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo Festival
• June 14, 2010 - Athens, GA - 40 Watt Club
• June 16, 2010 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
• June 17, 2010 - Philadelphia, PA - Theatre Of The Living Arts
• June 18, 2010 - New York, NY - Webster Hall
• June 19, 2010 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall Of Williamsburg
• June 20, 2010 - Boston, MA - Paradise
• June 21, 2010 - Boston, MA - Paradise
• June 23, 2010 - Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop
• June 24, 2010 - Detroit, MI - Small’s
• June 25, 2010 - Chicago, IL - Double Door
• June 26, 2010 - Madison, WI - High Noon Saloon
• June 27, 2010 - Des Moines, IA - House Of Bricks
• June 29, 2010 - Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre
• July 2, 2010 - Calgary, AB, Canada - Sled Island Festival
• July 3, 2010 - Calgary, AB, Canada - Sled Island Festival
• July 5, 2010 - Vancouver, BC, Canada - Rickshaw Theatre
• July 6, 2010 - Seattle, WA - Showbox At The Market
• July 7, 2010 - Eugene, OR - John Henry's
• July 9, 2010 - San Jose, CA - Blank Club

SOLD OUT

The Austrian magazine Rokko’s Adventures put out a special issue, 92 pages dedicated only to the Melvins, including exclusive photos. Despite the website being in German the magazine is in English and was a big hit with the members of the forum, read the thread here. Read more for further details...

MOTHERS AND FATHERS OF MERRINESS!

Welcome to a special issue of Rokko’s Adventures, completely dedicated to the Melvins. You ask why? I tell you: I have been collecting interviews, stories, articles, basically everything about the Melvins, for years. What I got are about 500 Word-pages, various magazines and books with interviews, articles, and reviews ranging from 1985 till now. On top of that, I interviewed the Melvins whenever they were crossing Austria since 2004. The results are five conversations, four of them were recorded: November 8th 2004 in Vienna (not recorded), April 21st 2006 in Krems, April 26th 2007 in Vienna, April 30th 2008 in Krems, September 21st 2008 in Vienna. I also interviewed Buzz Osborne’s wife Mackie Osborne (March 28th 2008) and the two ex-Melvins-bassists Joe Preston (April 14th 2007) and Kevin Rutmanis (February 14th 2009).

Then I went through all this material in search of THE TRUTH, in the process of which I found a lot of different truths, and truths that are undoubtedly lies. Sometimes you should be aware that it’s difficult to make gold out of shit, but I got through the piles of turd (meaning: dubious interviews and sources) too and didn’t leave them out of the story. A lot of the myths around the Melvinsphenomenon were created on purpose by themselves, or they woudln’t clarify the weird stories - which is a good policy and keeps the Melvins more interesting than any MTV-baby spilling their personal affairs all over the population.

So actually, I’m aware of my working against the Melvins, because I try to clear out a few of those stories. But I tried to work the mountain of material out in all conscienece and wherever I had serious doubts, I noted my concerns. And remember: This is NOT authorized, this is just ONE version of the Melvins (and not theirs! Neither mine, actually...), more or less a collection of different statements of the Melvins and their pals. But after all, I got the "OK" from the highest court: When I told Buzz Osborne on April 30th 2008 that I plan to write my diploma thesis about the Melvins, I got the following reaction:
Buzz Osborne: "You’ll fail. (laughs) No, it sounds great. Do it, do it, do it!"
Rokko: "I just need a good headline so I can justify it for my professor."
BO: "’The End Of The World’ - how is that? No...ahm.... #Smoke Pot And Kill Your Parents’! (laughs)"
R: "I don’t know if that works. I have to justify that for a professor who probably doesn’t even know the Melvins."
BO: " ’So that’s why it’s justified: ’cause you don’t know them! And it proves that you don’t know everything.’ "

Well, it worked out somehow and I wrote a speculative, completely non-authorized biography of the Melvins. Here it is! Lies and lies about a band that says nothing but the truth. The first attempt to reconstrut the history of the Melvins. If you think you can do a better job, go on. I’m happy to read something new.

And no, I was not smoking weed in Aberdeen with the Cling-Ons, I have not seen their very first show and I didn’t know them before Kurt Cobain stated that they are the future of music. But if that should be a reason not to talk about them, well...then you don’t tell me anything about Hitler. (unless you’ve been a soldier on the right side...)

Back to business: The Melvins did all the good things a band can do and are still relevant after more than 25 years. They keep it exciting by ignoring any set up rules, by their exorbitant abilitiy to make the most beautiful noise ever heard - and by their HUMOR!, which is an essential brandmark of the Melvins. They never compromise or apply for anything - they just do their very own thing in their very own way, more intelligent and consequent than any other entertainment company. The Melvins also escaped the typical 'rock-band-settings' and entered the realm of high art, of film festivals and of a lot of different musical genres - they always keep it challenging for themselves and potential listeners. Therefore, they are not only discussed by rock critics, but also by feuilletons, curators, metalheads and God knows who.

In 1993, the German magazine "Spex" asked, concerning the Melvins: "Pure individualism? Anarcho-attitude? Or just pissed?", and more than 15 years later, I dare to say that it really is only the first one, which, in this case, implies the second - but why should they be pissed? The only rules are the ones they make for themselves - and the Melvins are quite aware of what they do and take responsibility for every single movement they make. They don’t refuse temporary fashions in defiance, but just because they are characterless and not represantive for them. This pitiless and straightforward approach of the Melvins keeps them interesting and longlasting for both, their fans and themselves.

Enough of that, I got to thank: Mom and Dad (you know who you are...), Manfred Angerer, Sami Mandee, Jochen Summer, Brian Eberlein (themelvins.net) and the members of his message board. Thanks also to Manfred Rahs, Kurt Prinz and Klaus Pichler who went through their archives and provided me with beautiful photos of the Melvins!

I will concentrate on the early years of the Melvins, stay as objective and simple as possible and use the following abbreviations for that long and winding story:
BO Buzz Osborne
DC Dale Crover
LB Lori Black
MD Mark Deutrom
KR Kevin Rutmanis
R Rokko
Keep it real,
Rokko