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They now have their own very distinctive sound, which ranges from impossibly ugly metal to frantic psychobilly riffage; they have a strong experimentalist bent on much of their output.

The Melvins' sludgey sound was inspirational to the band Nirvana and many other Seattle-area bands, around 1988; the younger bands took the Black Sabbath-styled heaviness of the Melvins and added more elements of pop song structure, which the group tended to lack. Fans of the Melvins tend to not care so much about the pop hooks.

While all of their disciples became famous after Nirvana broke big in 1991 (including Mudhoney, who featured former Melvins bassist, Matt Lukin ), the Melvins only expanded their cult slightly. In addition to their Melvins activities, Buzz Osborne joined Mike Patton (and former SlayerThis article is about the metal band. For the anime, see Slayers. For the American television show, see Slayer (Buffy the Vampire Slayer). Slayer is a thrash metal band featuring Kerry King on guitar, Tom Araya on bass and vocals, Jeff Hanneman (also on g drummer Dave LombardoDave Lombardo was born February 16, 1965 in Havana, Cuba. At age two his parents left Cuba and made way for California. At a young age Dave took to playing drums, which has lead to a successful career in music. Dave is a founding member of Slayer, which h and Mr. BungleBungle is a musical group that fuses elements of heavy metal, rock music, ska, free jazz, pop, contemporary art music, and many other musical styles, often within a single track. This fast-change tendency is sometimes similar to John Zorn's Naked City. bassist Trevor DunnTrevor Dunn is an American musician. His primary instrument is bass. He is (or has been) a member of: Mr. Bungle Fantomas Secret Chiefs 3 Trevor Dunn's Trio Convulsant He has contributed to or played with: John Zorn's Electric Masada John Zorn's Naked Cit) for the experimental outfit FantômasFantomas is an Alternative Metal (dubbed dada-metal by one ) band formed by singer Mike Patton, guitarist King Buzzo ( Buzz Osbourne), bass guitarist Trevor Dunn and drummer Dave Lombardo. Patton named the group after Fantomas, a villain featured in a ser, resulting so far in three releases ( 1999For the album by Prince, see 1999 (album 1999 is a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar), and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the UN. Events Kosovo War Former child star Gary Coleman files for bankruptcy Y2K prep's Fantômas debut, 20012001 is a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar), and also: The International Year of the Volunteer The United Nations Year of Dialogue Among Civilizations Events January January 1 A black monolith measuring approximately nine feet tall ap's The Director's Cut and` 20042004 is a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 2004 calendar), and has also been designated the: International Year of Rice International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and its Abolition Elections are to be held in 73 co's Delerium Chordia ), while the Melvins' latest bassist, Kevin Rutmanis (formerly of The Cows), joined Mike Patton in another side project, Tomahawk.

The Melvins also display a sense of humor not often seen in the too-serious music of today. Examples include their two-track Colossus of Destiny , which was a live set of synthesizer and sampler experimentation and one song. Other examples include their other album titles, as well as their candor at live performances. Live antics include King Buzzo asking the crowd at a concert the question "Were you guys as suprised as I was to find out Rob Zombie was gay?"

In 2004, the Melvins toured to celebrate their 20th anniversary, and also released their 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 also included a CD with a selected tracks from their albums.

More recently, the Melvins have 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 , to be released in the second half of 2004. The two pairings brought a level of anticipation not seen since 1999's guest starring of Leif Garrett for the a cover of Smells like Teen Spirit, by Nirvana.