Live Review: Melvins - Club Academy, Manchester
13th August 2025
Support: Redd Kross
Words: Dan Barnes
Photos: Rich Price
It seems to be quite the musical night in town this sunny evening, with Forbidden at the Bread Shed, King Buffalo at Gorilla and Pelican at Yes; I’m at (the) Melvins this evening in the Club Academy, yet there’s still the option of seeing Snot up in the Academy 2 which has, presumably, stopped shaking after Kerry King and Fear Factory wrecked the place last night.
It was only when watching King Buzzo’s show at the Deaf Institute last October that I realised I’d never seen Melvins live, and such was the quality of the show that night, then how much better might the full band in complete electric mode be?
The answer is: tremendous! But I shall get to that later. First up and supporting are Californian Alt Rock/ Power Punk survivors, Redd Kross who bring deep grooves and some morosely upbeat rhythms to the early evening. The band go even further back than the headliners tonight, with their formation around the end of the Seventies, and a first album issued in 1982.
Theirs is a laidback vibe, as original member Steve McDonald’s bass sketches outlines and the guitars of brother Jeff and Jason Shapiro add those all-important touches of colour and shade. The band’s new self-titled album gets a reasonable airing: Stunt Queen is muscularly upbeat; What’s in It for You? has a Sixties pop sound and a dalliance with country. Candy Coloured Catastrophe is part Type O Negative and part The Beatles, and I’ll Take Your Word for It comes over as being from another time, but in a good way.
The pre-song spiel before Uglier sets out to discover whether Manchester wants a rock & roll party, TONIGHT! The consensus is yes, as the song’s big bottom end kicks in. Ms Lady Evans is dedicated to all the females on the front row; Annie’s Gone comes with an unmistakeable eastern flavour and 1993 non-album single, Switchblade Sister, is a chilled rockin’ roller. The set ends with what is referred to as the “heaviest section of the show” and it’s not so much a pedal to the metal scenario than a slightly faster than recommended; but it’s all relative, and Redd Kross get as heavy as they comfortable with.
When you’ve been at it nearly forty years, have close to thirty studio albums under your belts, are still releasing top quality material, and still touring like a band half your age, then I think you’ve truly earned the title: Legendary.
Trying to isolate (the) Melvins’ sound is a little like trying to herd cats, as theirs is such a chameleon approach to music that the central sludge core is simply the foundation around which all else is constructed. Working the Ditch from last year’s Tarantula Heart opens with a probing riff, the collaboration with Lustmord, The Bloated Pope has an Imperial sound to its progression, while the edge and angular nature of Never Say Your Sorry haunts with both ancient terror and futuristic fear.
Even though Melvins’ songs are, more often than not, shorter compositions, they offer a complete banquet of musical nourishment. Stones are rarely left unturned, and ideas not explored to the utmost on the likes of Evil New War God and A History of Bad Men; their unbridled frenzy rears its head and snorts on the band’s classic, Honey Bucket, while the Sabbath-like doom of Hag Me, Your Blessened and Night Goat remind one why they are usually categories into the Stoner genre.
However, you don’t become scene leaders by following, and the inclusion in tonight’s set of Blood Witch and Bullhead’s It’s Shoved show a more experimental side to the band, letting a quite simple riff be unpacked and explored, or locking into an eccentric sound and running with it.
There is certainly something magical about (the) Melvins’ ability to have minimal crowd interaction yet still manage to hold an audience enraptured. It’s not the most animated crowds I’ve seen this week, but the music doesn’t really warrant circle pits or crowd surfing; more a most pit for the mind if anything, as you can feel the composition slowly pulling you in.
A consummate performance by seasoned performers, this might have been my first Melvins show, but I certainly hope it won’t be my last.
Photo Credits: Rich Price Photography
