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Melvins

United States · formed 1983 · last active 2026

Formed in Montesano, Washington in 1983 around the constant core of Buzz Osborne and Dale Crover, Melvins fused punk with a heavy Black Sabbath influence and in doing so godfathered sludge metal, leaving fingerprints on everything from grunge to doom and stoner rock. Relentlessly prolific shapeshifters, they have cycled through bassists and configurations — including the Kevin Rutmanis era and the double-bass-driven Melvins Lite with Trevor Dunn — while releasing a torrent of albums on Mike Patton's Ipecac Recordings since 1999. Their gravitational pull is such that Japan's Boris took their name from the title of a Melvins song, and collaborators have ranged from Fantômas and Jello Biafra to Lustmord and Napalm Death.

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SCORE PROFILE

JazzyBalkanHardcoreSurfBarbershopDeathBlackTechnicalGlitchTheatricalFolkDoomDroneShoegazeAmbient8-bit
Jazzy1
Balkan0
Hardcore5
Surf1
Barbershop1
Death1
Black0
Technical4
Glitch2
Theatrical4
Folk0
Doom6
Drone2
Shoegaze0
Ambient1
8-bit0

Accent numbers counted towards the index. Hover an axis — or hold it on a phone — for what it means.

MEMBERS

CONNECTIONS

member · 9
collaboration
remix · 2
  • Isispath →

    Melvins (with Lustmord) remixed Isis's "Not in Rivers, But in Drops" — the Melvins/Lustmord Remix appears on the Holy Tears release (2008) and later on the Temporal compilation (2012). source ↗

  • Merzbowpath →

    Merzbow remixed a Melvins track ("SNOW REM REM IBVZ") for the Melvins remix compilation Chicken Switch (2009). source ↗

split release · 3
label founder
producer
tour · 6
  • Isispath →

    Melvins were among the support acts (with Baroness, Big Business and Cave In) on Isis's headlining Wavering Radiant tour, US/Europe/Japan/Australia, 2009-2010. source ↗

  • Melt-Bananapath →

    Melt-Banana toured as the opening act for the Melvins in 1999 (Japan and US) and again in 2016 (US, with Napalm Death). source ↗

  • Napalm Deathsatellitepath →

    Melvins and Napalm Death co-headlined a spring 2025 US tour, the same year the two bands released the joint collaborative album "Savage Imperial Death March." source ↗

  • Tomahawkpath →

    Tomahawk, Melvins and Fantômas co-headlined the 2003 "Geek Tour"; the band was also scheduled to co-headline a month-long tour with Melvins in 2026 celebrating Tomahawk's 25th anniversary. Companion to the existing member edge between the two bands. source ↗

  • Toolpath →

    Melvins opened for Tool in 1998, and toured with Tool in Australia in 2002. source ↗

  • Zupath →

    Zu toured in 2006 with the Fantômas Melvins Big Band, the joint Fantômas/Melvins supergroup. source ↗

artwork · 9
  • Faith No Morepath →

    Both bands' cover art/design work was done by freelance artist Mackie Osborne (Discogs artist id 515251): Melvins's "Lizzy" (1994, Layout) and Faith No More's "Superhero" (2015, Layout), same Discogs artist id confirmed on both releases. Pairwise artwork tie per the 2026-08-07 ruling (PROTOCOL rule 7) — Mackie Osborne is not an atlas band member so there is no anchor band. source ↗

  • Fantômaspath →

    Both bands' cover art/design work was done by freelance artist Mackie Osborne (Discogs artist id 515251): Melvins's "Lizzy" (1994, Layout) and Fantômas's "Wunderkammer" (2014, Design [Package]), same Discogs artist id confirmed on both releases. Pairwise artwork tie per the 2026-08-07 ruling (PROTOCOL rule 7) — Mackie Osborne is not an atlas band member so there is no anchor band. source ↗

  • Melt-Bananapath →

    Both bands' cover art/design work was done by freelance artist Mackie Osborne (Discogs artist id 515251): Melvins's "Lizzy" (1994, Layout) and Melt-Banana's "Cactuses Come In Flocks" (1999, Artwork), same Discogs artist id confirmed on both releases. Pairwise artwork tie per the 2026-08-07 ruling (PROTOCOL rule 7) — Mackie Osborne is not an atlas band member so there is no anchor band. source ↗

  • Mr. Bunglepath →

    Both bands' cover art/design work was done by freelance artist Mackie Osborne (Discogs artist id 515251): Melvins's "Lizzy" (1994, Layout) and Mr. Bungle's "California" (1999, Layout, Graphic Design), same Discogs artist id confirmed on both releases. Pairwise artwork tie per the 2026-08-07 ruling (PROTOCOL rule 7) — Mackie Osborne is not an atlas band member so there is no anchor band. source ↗

  • Napalm Deathsatellitepath →

    Both bands' cover art/design work was done by freelance artist Mackie Osborne (Discogs artist id 515251): Melvins's "Lizzy" (1994, Layout) and Napalm Death's "Napalm Death / Melt-Banana" (2016, Design [Cover Design], Illustration), same Discogs artist id confirmed on both releases. Pairwise artwork tie per the 2026-08-07 ruling (PROTOCOL rule 7) — Mackie Osborne is not an atlas band member so there is no anchor band. source ↗

  • Titan to Tachyonspath →

    Both bands' cover art/design work was done by freelance artist Mackie Osborne (Discogs artist id 515251): Melvins's "Lizzy" (1994, Layout) and Titan to Tachyons's "Cactides" (2025, Layout, Graphic Design, Design, Design Concept), same Discogs artist id confirmed on both releases. Pairwise artwork tie per the 2026-08-07 ruling (PROTOCOL rule 7) — Mackie Osborne is not an atlas band member so there is no anchor band. source ↗

  • Tomahawkpath →

    Both bands' cover art/design work was done by freelance artist Mackie Osborne (Discogs artist id 515251): Melvins's "Lizzy" (1994, Layout) and Tomahawk's "Stone Letter" (2012, Layout), same Discogs artist id confirmed on both releases. Pairwise artwork tie per the 2026-08-07 ruling (PROTOCOL rule 7) — Mackie Osborne is not an atlas band member so there is no anchor band. source ↗

  • Toolpath →

    Both bands' cover art/design work was done by freelance artist Mackie Osborne (Discogs artist id 515251): Melvins's "Lizzy" (1994, Layout) and Tool's "Lateralus" (2001, Design), same Discogs artist id confirmed on both releases. Pairwise artwork tie per the 2026-08-07 ruling (PROTOCOL rule 7) — Mackie Osborne is not an atlas band member so there is no anchor band. source ↗

  • Trevor Dunn's Trio-Convulsantpath →

    Both bands' cover art/design work was done by freelance artist Mackie Osborne (Discogs artist id 515251): Melvins's "Lizzy" (1994, Layout) and Trevor Dunn's Trio-Convulsant's "Sister Phantom Owl Fish" (2004, Design), same Discogs artist id confirmed on both releases. Pairwise artwork tie per the 2026-08-07 ruling (PROTOCOL rule 7) — Mackie Osborne is not an atlas band member so there is no anchor band. source ↗

label · 19
4 split releases →

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