Review Summary: Melvin's most experimental album yet.
Even for Melvins, this is a weird album. Dark, eerie, and odd, ‘Honky’ is a piece of sonic art that challenges and teases the mind of the listener. A confusing, and absurdly experimental album, Melvins went all out to make a piece of work that would alter their sound for the rest of their career.
“They All Must Be Slaughtered”, the first track exemplifies this perfectly. It starts off with soft-sounding drones that mold into a soundscape consisting of lightly distorted synths, drum samples and female vocals that sound more like soft hum than actual singing. “They All Must Be Slaughtered” is the pinnacle moment on the album. The track creates a very surreal, obscure atmosphere, and it has that weird aesthetic that Melvins are popularly known for today (other than their undeniably fantastic sludge). I think this type of song translates to their later albums (i.e. ‘The Maggot’, ‘Hostile Ambient Takeover’, ‘Freak Puke’, etc…). These albums are all a reflection of many of the elements that not only that track has, but in ‘Honky’ as a whole.
“In the Freaktose the Bugs Are Dying”, is another track that continues to create this obscure atmosphere that I mentioned earlier. Starting with five minutes of cluttered, fast paced psychedelic rock, similar to something from ‘Heavy Rocks’ by Boris. After that barrage, a 25 minutes of silence induces, compelling the listener to really do nothing but scratch their head.
Odd as ever, Melvins made a name for themselves by making this album. No longer would they only be known as a slow, heavy stoner/sludge band, but as one of the most obscure, and absurd experimental bands out there. ‘Honky’ went to places many albums, especially by metal bands, would ever dare to go. From the music itself, to the concept, and the thought process, Melvins made something that is as progressive for the avant-garde genre as Black Sabbath’s self-titled album was for Doom. The sad thing is, ‘Honky’ is often disregarded, since most people who hear about the Melvins automatically categorize them as metal. For those who have or will give this listen, give it a chance. As absurd at times this album seems, it has a huge payoff in its entirety.
