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King Buzzo's new album streaming (listen); Amphetamine Reptile documentary coming soon (watch the trailer)

by Ian Chainey

King Buzzo at Housecore Horror Film Festival, 2013 (More by Trent Maxwell)
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Richard “King Buzzo” Osborne, frontman/guitarist for the Melvins is now streaming his new solo outing, This Machine Kills Artists, in full. The record (not to be confused with the new Scion AV split with Tweak Bird) is a departure from his recognizable stew of slow sludge, booming doom, and Kiss-riffs twisted into a nightmare. Instead of punk distortion overload, This Machine is simply Buzz and an acoustic guitar, recorded straight to tape, string rattle and all. It will be released by Ipecac on June 3. Then, Buzzo will hit the road for a long tour.

That said, it would be a mistake to think This Machine lacks heft. While opener “Dark Brown Teeth” is a Richie Havens-esque strummer containing beautiful, haunting singing pulled from ’70s power pop, there are long passages where the collection gets unnervingly dark. When I caught Buzzo at the Scion Rock Fest, I was surprised by the force of his impact. I wrote:

He yelled, growled; hammering the same gut-bucket progression past flushness. His grey hair spun out in spirals, whipping the air. He was Woody Guthrie in a nightmare. The audience watched reverently.

It was but a man and his guitar, but his charisma, keen sense of melody, and focus kept a crowd of antsy metalheads facing the stage during his set. This Machine isn’t any different. Its sub-three minute songs, while raw, are full of surprises.

In related news, after a Kickstarter campaign dating back at least two years, The Color of Noise, the documentary tracking the history of Amphetamine Reptile Records will be seeing a debut shortly. Began by Tom Hazelmyer in 1986, the Minneapolis label catered to the burgeoning noise rock scene, releasing records by Melvins, the Jesus Lizard, Helmet, Tar, Today is the Day, and many, many more that have achieved a cult following. Its legacy lives on today, influencing third and fourth waves of noisy bands best described as having that ‘AmRep’ sound. The film will premiere May 30 at Third Man Records in Nashville, Tennessee and features many talking heads ranging from Steve Austin, Derek Hess, John Stainer, and, yep, King Buzzo.

What The Color of Noise trailer and a clip of the flick, along with the This Machine Kills Artists stream and those dates again (Santos Party House and The Wick included), below…


King Buzzo — 2014 Tour Dates
June 10 San Diego, CA The Casbah
June 11 Echo Park, CA The Echo
June 12 Santa Ana, CA The Observatory
June 13 Fresno, CA Strummer’s
June 14 Sacramento, CA Assembly
June 15 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall
June 17 Eugene, OR Wow Hall
June 18 Portland, OR Hawthorne Theatre
June 20 Seattle, WA Neumo’s
June 21 Bellingham, WA The Shakedown
June 22 Spokane, WA The Hop
June 23 Missoula, MT The Palace
June 24 Billings, MT The Railyard
June 26 Fargo, ND The Aquarium
June 27 Minneapolis, MN Grumpy’s
June 28 Milwaukee, WI Shank Hall
June 30 Grand Rapids, MI The Pyramid Scheme
July 1 Columbus, OH A&R Music Bar
July 2 Detroit, MI Small’s
July 3 Cleveland, OH The Grog Shop
July 6 South Burlington, VT Higher Ground
July 7 Portland, ME Portland City Music Hall
July 10 Allston, MA Brighton Music Hall
July 12 Hamden, CT The Ballroom at The Outerspace
July 13 New York, NY Santos Party House
July 14 Brooklyn, NY The Wick
July 15 Philadelphia, PA Underground Arts
July 17 Baltimore, MD Ottobar
July 18 Charlottesville, VA The Southern
July 20 Carrboro, NC Cat’s Cradle
July 22 Atlanta, GA The Basement
July 23 Birmingham, AL The Bottle Tree
July 25 New Orleans, LA One Eyed Jack’s
July 26 Houston, TX Warehouse Live
July 27 Austin, TX Red 7
July 28 Sam Antonio, TX Limelight
July 30 Tucson, AZ Club Congress
July 31 Pioneertown, CA Pappy and Harriet’s