Manchild 3, by The Melvins/ Brian Walsby (Book on Bifocal)

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This record left our Ant feeling ecstatic.

I killed some time on my train journey home by briefly flicking through 'Manchild 3' the super cool Brian Walsby comic book that comes complete with a Melvins CD. 'The Making Love Demos' disc that accompanies the package is simply a must for any die-hard Melvins head. A fantastic CD of raw, early recordings from 1987 which were given to the comic creator and ex- Polvo drummer almost twenty years ago. The tracks imply the fury that the band would harness during their illustrious, monolithic career. It's a collection of good old 4-track recordings from the post 'Gluey Porch Treatments' period. perhaps a little rough around the edges but that's natural for a recording of this nature / period. It presents the group (to me one of the most important heavy rock bands of the 20th century) at their infancy and yet with a clear idea of their sound and direction. Killer riffs, ace songs and total heaviness (which isn't clear in the overall sound but you just know if you had been there at the recording you'd have been skull fucked). This is a band at their most primal and innocent. You simply cannot fuck with lyrics like "you disgrace me... Now you learn what it's like to cry" and "Repelled at just the site". Twenty one and a half minutes leaves you wanting more, yet you just have to be grateful that these recordings were ever unearthed in the first place. Recent converts to the church of the Melvins may be disorientated a little, however, this serves as an education to their roots and is an essential document of the bands history. In King Buzzo's guitar riffs you can totally hear where the ideas for 'Anaconda' from classic their 'Bullhead' LP and uber classic 'Nightgoat' tune come from. All hail at the church of the Melvins (but never before breakfast as they say!). Meanwhile the comic book has some moments of genius punk rock parody and cartoonism. Absolutely crushing stuff on Bifocal. Miss at your peril for this will probably become the stuff of the infamous online bidding legend. Essential.