It feels like in the post-Pandemic world, the collaborative album has proliferated in the more experimental corners of metal. For Savage Imperial Death March (Ipecac Recordings), the marriage of the godfathers of Grindcore Napalm Death, joining forces with Sludge/ Noise-rock pioneers the Melvins. The opening track, “Tossing Coins into the Fountain of Fuck” sums up what is going down here. These are songs that feel like they are written by the Melvins side of the equation, and that Napalm Death are lending their raw, punchy, Punk Metal chaos.

05.07.25-Warsaw Theater- Brooklyn, NY

05.07.25-Warsaw Theater- Brooklyn, NY

The key points of this theory lie in the instrumental arrangements that find Barney Greenway roaring over them. Some impressive riffing kicks off the nine-minute “Somekind of Antichrist.” Buzz Osborne’s vocals lead into this, with a call-and-response featuring Greenway’s more savage snarl. Three and a half minutes, things ebb down to allow for atmosphere.  This ambient weirdness consumes the rest of the song. 

More electronic elements than you might expect from this pairing comprise the two minutes of “Awful Handwriting,” which is more like an interlude than a song. The dark and stormy metal intentions that you might expect from them are the backbone of “Nine Days of Rain.” The sludgey mood of “Rip the God” finds Osbourne’s sung vocals dripping with melodic unease. It is hard to detect Napalm Death’s contributions on this one until Barney’s vocals come in later. 

The pace picks for “Stealing Horses” which finds them splitting the difference with a more punk flavored riff that still holds the Melvins angular ugliness. There is a fair amount of chaos injected into this. “Comparison is the Thief of Joy” finds a weird synth groove in the midst of a dreamy atmosphere. They rear the metallic head back up with a mean riff driving “Death Hour” that finds Buzz and Barney layering their varied vocal approaches over this. Once again, the weird wave of experimental ambient noises takes over to wash the song away from going in a more metallic direction. This seems to be the theme of this partnership, which is almost too odd for its own good, but works not unlike Ummagumma-era Pink Floyd in this regard. Melvins fans will eagerly embrace this album, and Napalm Death fans should at least be willing to give it a listen.

Buy the album here:
https://themelvins.lnk.to/savage

9 / 10
WIL CIFER
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