The Melvins return with the new album Pinkus Abortion Technician, featuring both ongoing Melvins’ bass player Steven McDonald and Butthole Surfers’, bottom ender Jeff Pinkus on bass. “With our upcoming release, we double your bass player with Steven McDonald AND Jeff Pinkus holding down the bottom,” explains Dale Crover. It’s an experiment in the low end of the aural spectrum where we asked ourselves, ‘would it work?’ ‘could it work??’ ‘should it work???’ The answers were yes, yes and YES!” “We’ve never had two bass players. We’ve had two drummers and two guitar players so it makes total sense to now have two bass players, adds Buzz Osborne. “We’ll be taking this two prong bass attack on the road as well which should prove to be interesting.”

With Stillicide, Helms Alee continues their sonic tradition of blending heavy riffs, dark guitar pop, and math rock into songs that are at turns brutal, anthemic, and cerebrally engaging. Starting with the syncopated poundage and epic piano line of "More Weight", Helms Alee demonstrates that they've fortified every angle of their attack. You want amp worship? Try to find a more barbaric chug than the riff in the appropriately titled "Galloping Mind Fuk". You want melodies so powerful you break out in goosebumps? Try to quell your follicles during the final crescendo of "Tit to Toe". You want one of those proggy odd-time signature moments where you can flex that you know where the "1" falls while banging your head? Listen to "Bullygoat" and bask in the knotty introductory guitar line that sounds like Duane Denison fucking with Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus". Relish the brutalage of the title track. Savor the minor-key jangle of "Andromenous". Ride the tumultuous tug-of-war between savagery and serenity in the album closer "Worth Your Wild".