MELVINS Goes Punk On New Single “King Of Rome”

Melvins, possibly one of the busiest bands that has ever existed, is now streaming a new single “King Of Rome” from their upcoming record Thunderball. Thunderball is the band’s Melvins 1983 lineup – guitarist and vocalist King Buzzo (also taking on bass duties) as well as original Melvins drummer Mike Dillard – alongside Void Manes and Ni Maîtres.

“The ‘King of Rome’!! Hot Cross Buns! This song is a hot little punk rock number,” said Melvins frontman Buzz Osborne. “I hope all of you enjoy it and tell your friends.”

On the record itself, Osborne added: “Mike Dillard is the original drummer for the Melvins, we’ve been friends since high school. We met in Montesano, a small town on the coast of Washington state. I hated everything about that town. I hated the people, hated the teachers, hated the cops, hated the weather and I hated how isolated it was. I had no friends at all, which was fine by me.

“My own classmates proved themselves the enemy so finding someone I could relate to was great. Mike was immediately impressed with all of the weird music I was into. Up to that point I hadn’t met anyone with an interest in any of my musical discoveries. It was an amazing time in the history of music and literally no one around me was interested. We were surrounded by mediocrity, stupidity, prejudice, and dangerous rednecks. We learned to play music together. We grew up together. We have remained friends all these years.

“Thunderball is the third Melvins 1983 record we’ve made together. I wanted this one to be bombastic. I think it is. I’ve been wanting to do something with Void Manes and Ni Maîtres for a long time. Both of them are exceptional talents and were a joy to work with. Their out-of-the-box use of electronics pushed Thunderball beyond my expectations.”

Thunderball is out on April 18 and comes right as Melvins hits the road with Napalm Death for their Savage Imperial Death March Part II tour. Pre-orders here, tickets for the shit ton of tour dates below are available here.

Melvins only

3/1 Bakersfield, CA The Nile Theater
3/2 Fresno, CA Strummer’s
3/3 Sacramento, CA Goldfield Trading Post
3/4 Santa Cruz, CA The Catalyst Atrium
3/5 San Luis Obispo, CA SLO Brew Rock
3/7 Pioneertown, CA Pappy & Harriet’s

Melvins & Napalm Death

4/4 San Diego, CA Music Box
4/5 Santa Ana, CA The Observatory
4/7 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall
4/8 San Jose, CA The Ritz
4/10 Los Angeles, CA The Belasco
4/12 Las Vegas, NV Swan Dive
4/13 Phoenix, AZ The Van Buren
4/14 Tucson, AZ Rialto Theatre
4/15 El Paso, TX Lowbrow Palace
4/17 Dallas, TX The Echo Lounge & Music Hall
4/18 Austin, TX Emo’s
4/19 Houston, TX White Oak Music Hall – Downstairs
4/20 Baton Rouge, LA Chelsea’s Live
4/21 New Orleans, LA House of Blues New Orleans
4/23 Tampa, FL The Orpheum
4/24 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Culture Room
4/25 Orlando, FL The Beacham
4/26 Savannah, GA District Live
4/27 Atlanta, GA The Masquerade – Heaven Stage
4/28 Birmingham, AL Saturn
4/29 Athens, GA 40 Watt Club
5/1 Charlotte, NC The Underground – Charlotte
5/2 Carrboro, NC Cat’s Cradle
5/3 Virginia Beach, VA Elevation 27
5/4 Baltimore, MD Baltimore Soundstage
5/5 Philadelphia, PA Union Transfer
5/6 Allentown, PA Archer Music Hall
5/7 Brooklyn, NY Warsaw
5/8 Boston, MA Paradise Rock Club
5/10 Pittsburgh, PA Mr .Small’s
5/11 Cleveland, OH Globe Iron
5/12 Detroit, MI Saint Andrew’s Hall
5/13 Grand Rapids, MI The Intersection
5/15 Cincinnati, OH Bogart’s
5/16 Louisville, KY Mercury Ballroom
5/17 Nashville, TN Brooklyn Bowl Nashville
5/18 St. Louis, MO Red Flag
5/19 Chicago, IL Metro
5/20 Milwaukee, WI The Rave II
5/22 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue
5/23 Des Moines, IA Wooly’s
5/24 Kansas City, MO Madrid Theatre
5/25 Omaha, NE The Waiting Room
5/27 Denver, CO Summit
5/29 Salt Lake City, UT Metro Music Hall
5/31 Bozeman, MT The ELM
6/1 Spokane, WA Knitting Factory
6/2 Seattle, WA The Showbox
6/3 Portland, OR Revolution Hall
6/4 Eugene, OR McDonald Theatre
6/6 Reno, NV Virginia Street Brewhouse
6/7 Berkeley, CA Cornerstone Berkeley