Melvins
Thunderball
Release Date: Apr 18, 2025
Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock
Record label: Ipecac Recordings
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Album Review: Thunderball by Melvins
Very Good, Based on 2 Critics
Based on rating 3.5/5
There will, fleetingly, be fireworks. It should be an event of great reverence whenever your favourite band's favourite band's favourite band [the] Melvins release an album. Instead, something to the tune of 29 LPs in, good will has been stretched to expectation-limiting limits, leaving fans wondering whether the band's exemplary habit of doing whatever makes them happy could conceivably result in a release more focused and refined than their last couple of caveat-laden returns to form.
Opinion: Fantastic
Thunderball is the third Melvins 1983 album and it's the most daring one. Originally created as an incarnation of the Melvins where original, original, original members Buzz Osborne and drummer Mike Dillard link back up to make music, the band's two previous LPs found the crew kicking out punky numbers with some dumb-but-actually-smart humor: "Tie my pecker to a tree," Beach Boys' "I Get Around" warped into "I Fuck Around." But, Thunderball is different. For starters, the lineup on this one is Buzz and Mike, plus electronic artists Void Manes and Nim Maitres (who Buzz says he's never actually met in person).
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