Honky (album)


Honky is the ninth studio album by Melvins, which was released in 1997 through Amphetamine Reptile Records. It is widely considered to be the band's most experimental album. Their first studio album after being dropped from Atlantic, it contains a mixture of traditional Melvins-sounding rock, experiments with drones and soundscapes, and some rather uncharacteristic electronic pieces. A video was made for "Mombius Hibachi". The final track, "In the Freaktose the Bugs are Dying", concludes with more than 25 minutes of silence.

Background

In an interview, Buzz Osborne said that album cost $3000 to make, three days rehearsal, and six days recording. The project was an attempt to plug the gap after the major release of the previous album Stag under Atlantic label. Joe Barresi was the engineer on the album.
The album's 8-minute plus opening track "They All Must Be Slaughtered" features co-lead vocals from Kat Bjelland of Babes in Toyland.
This is the last album to feature bassist Mark Deutrom.
In January 2011, Melvins played a series of four shows at Club Spaceland. A special handmade digipak edition of album was sold there, limited to 50 copies. This version had a typo in the album title, spelling it "Honkey".

Vinyl version

A vinyl version was also released by Amphetamine Reptile Records in a limited amount. The vinyl version splits the song "Air Breather Deep in the Arms of Morphius" into two parts due to limitations of the vinyl sides. Also the final song "In the Freaktose The Bugs Are Dying" omits the 25 minutes of silence.

Track listing

All songs written by The Melvins.

Personnel

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