Melvins Houdini 180g Import LP

The iconic fifth album Houdini by the Melvins captures the band's power, vision and musical strangeness. It's an essential '90s release, combining elements of grunge with hard rock and sludge metal. Their biggest commercial success and first major label release is an album where they display the full width of their musical abilities. Buzz Osbourne's guitar sound is deep and heavy and combined with Dale Crover's powerful drum rolls and fills it sounds really impressive. Kurt Cobain (Nirvana) added his guitar skills to the track "Sky Pup" and can be heard as a percussionist on "Spread Eagle Beagle". It's one of the most accessible Melvins albums and the gateway to explore more records by the band. Houdini is the ultimate Melvins classic and a must-have for every grunge and music fan in general.

It was this album that displayed the full fruition of the outfit's sonic breadth, from the cough-syrup river drag of 'Night Goat' to the revved-up 'Honey Bucket,' and from the creepy 'Joan of Arc' to the glue-damaged 'Sky Pup.' Ringleader King Buzzo's riffs are stretched -- taffy-like -- to meltdown, and at other times they are razor sharp. Either way, they abound with a lumbering, lurching power. With their voluminous output and determination to continuously expand their sound regardless of musical trends, the Melvins oeuvre has begun to rival -- at least on paper -- the career arcs of Frank Zappa and Neil Young.