Thunderball

The third Melvins 1983 album sees that year’s version of the band—guitarist/vocalist King Buzzo and his childhood friend/original drummer Mike Dillard—collaborating with electronics wizards Void Manes and Ni Maîtres. As such, Thunderball simultaneously booms with towering slow-motion riffs and crackles with interstellar noise. With its squalling intro and soaring chorus, “King of Rome” might be the catchiest Melvins tune in over a decade. Then noise interlude “Vomit of Clarity” erupts into centrepiece “Short Hair With a Wig,” a bleak funeral dirge with a triumphant solo from Buzz. That triumph extends into the first half of “Victory of the Pyramids” before dissolving into the introspective space odyssey “Venus Blood.”