If you don’t know who Buzz Osborne is, shame on you, hang your head, sort your life out. For those that do know, King Buzzo’s work with seminal sludge/grunge/bit -of-everything act The Melvins has influenced at least two generations of musicians across the rock and metal spectra. His most recent release, ‘This Machine Kills Artists’, is an entirely solo-acoustic venture. But that doesn’t stop it being heavy as fuck.
Up first is a DJ under the moniker of Moongangs. His drawn out, lengthy passages of throbbing synths are occasionally broken up by stabs of back beats. Many of the members of the audience stand utterly befuddled as he hunches over his decks, twiddling knobs and summoning up something like a bad 80’s sci-fi soundtrack on Ketamine. There’s no progression, any dynamic movements over for an instant and are then gone. The muted cheer at the end may have been one of relief rather than praise.
Source: Graham BerryThe cheers that greet King Buzzo as he comes onto the stage are absolutely genuine. He wastes no time before busting out riff after chunky riff. There’s an element to his playing that is incredibly rhythmic, a lot of palm muting and strum patterns that add a lot of weight and energy to his tracks. Album opener ‘Dark Brown Teeth’ is a meandering, gnarly groove, and ‘Rough Democracy’ has a triumphant, buzzy (no pun intended) tone. The sound mix is surprisingly loud and punchy, Buzz’s vocals bellowing out at a volume that’s felt as well as heard.
Source: Graham BerryThe audience are utterly captivated. Initially offering no words, Buzz soon opens up with some wicked one liners and semi-rambling anecdotes that prove his is an all round entertainer. “It’s always been my dream to be a claims adjuster” he quips at one point, before launching into a tale about Faith No More frontman Mike Patton literally shitting on an audience that had been less than kind to the Melvins. Still prowling the stage and throwing down burly, angular riffs, he pauses to ask his soundman to introduce a particular story, to which the reply is ‘Tell them about the time you beat up that guy in the wheelchair’. Needless to say, it’s not as bad as it sounds.
Although initially batting off audience members (semi-seriously) requesting Melvins songs, claiming to one fan that “All the songs are called ‘Honey Bucket’“, Buzz does deliver a sterling rendition of ‘Hooch’ to round off the evening in superb style.
