Buzz Osborne: Behind the Mumu

Today, The Melvins release their four LP behemoth Five Legged Dog. The album finds the band reworking THREE DOZEN tracks from their discography (along with a few choice covers) in an acoustic style. As with most Melvins projects, it's daring, unexpected, and kind of funny.

But still, as with many Melvins projects, the actual intent of the release isn't immediately clear, particularly considering the extremity of the album. Most bands, when doing an acoustic release, kick out 10 or so quiet numbers. The Melvins cranked out 36 and to boot, they aren't "normal" nice and quiet acoustic takes. These tracks are heavy and creepy sounding.

So, to try to get inside the minds of one of music's most mettlesome maniacs, Punknews' John Gentile sat down with Melvins guitarist Buzz Osborne to talk about the new LP, his background, and being nice.

The Muslims talk their new album and their 401ks

Punknews writer, David Wilkins, just sat down with QADR and Fara7 of The Muslims, to discuss their signing to Epitaph and their general need to see the destruction of everything that was, in an effort to build the world anew. Check it out below.

Check out an excerpt from Architects of Self-Destruction: The Oral History of Leftover Crack!

Tomorrow sees the release of Architects of Self-Destruction: The Oral History of Leftover Crack. The book was written by Leftover Crack guitarist Brad Logan and Punknews' John Gentile. The pair interviewed nearly 100 people, including every member of LoC, and tell the band's entire history.

You can pre-order the book at Rare Bird Lit. FYI, today is the last day to get the zine and t-shirt.

Today, we are psyched to debut a chapter from the book. In this segment, the band gets threatened by a gang in Florida and their van gets smashed… check it out below.

Attila of Mayhem talks his punk roots

Little do people know that Mayhem, perhaps the most heralded band in extreme metal, has something of a punk background! Just recently, the Norwegian black metal titans released Atavistic Black Disorder / Kommando. The A-side of that record served as a companion to 2019's lauded Daemon album… and the flipside had an interesting twist… Mayhem kicked out four punk covers! Discharge, Dead Kennedys, Rudimentary Peni, and the Ramones each get a spin!

To that end, Punknews' John Gentile spoke to vocalist Attila Csihar (who is from Hungary) about his early punk history, his early band Tormentor, and buying records behind the iron curtain. You can check out the interview below.

Brendan Kelly talks his upcoming tour

Brendan Kelly needs no introduction. A prolific rebel-rouser of The Lawrence Arms, Slapstick, Broadways, The Falcon, the Wandering Birds, and on his own, he’s already left an indelible imprint in punk. But when it comes down to it, Kelly is a man convinced of his luck, and that he’s never doing enough. Punknews Contributor Ida Eskamani interviewed Kelly about his upcoming “Here Goes Nothin’ Tour” and his three-decades in music.

A chat with the Lockdowns

Hailing from Houston, Texas, The Lockdowns formed in the spring of 2020. While bars, restaurants and music venues were shuttered, this foursome got to work practicing and writing songs for a new EP. Self-described as “Ramones-core,” the lockdowns are far from a basic three-chord punk group. The new EP, simply titled The Lockdowns was released in January, 2021.

The band has two distinct vocal styles.. Guitarist Jimmy and bass player Alex both take turns fronting songs and singing backup vocals. Combined, the two styles compliment each other giving listeners a fresh new sound reminiscent of The Lillingtons or Screeching Weasel.

Contributor Rob Gorczyca spoke to the band about their new EP. Check it out below.

The Wonderful World of SBAM

Stefan Beham is the punk mastermind behind all things Sbam. He is the artist behind all of the reimagined artworks, show posters, and more. He is the festival promoter and the record label owner of SBAM, a record label that has been churning out new releases throughout this pandemic. Contributing Editor Samantha Barrett sat down with Beham to get to know him and all he does for the punk scene in Austria.

Gleeful Exhumation: How Death Metal is Progressing by Looking to its Past

Depending on the parts of the musical spectrum that you’re interested in, or even keep an eye on, you may or may not have noticed a significant increase in the amount of new bands, publicity, fans and general visibility surrounding the world of death metal of late. There seems to be a resurgence of sorts, but not in quite the same way as the myriad emo revivals have happened, for example. Monthly listeners to both the new crop of bands and their progenitors are up on and vintage merch has become even more de rigeur than it was before, if you can believe it. But what’s behind this explosion in a scene that has historically been hard to penetrate or market beyond a hardcore contingent of superfans…?

To find out, Sam Houlden dug a bit deeper, speaking to new era death metal bands Undeath and Sanguisugabogg about the state of the scene today, what has influenced it and where it’s headed.

Check out a long lost track by new wave/art-folk-rockers The Cucumbers!

Do you know The Cucumbers? If not, you should… and we've got a long lost, unreleased track!

The Cucumbers formed in the early '80s and kicked out a few records of perfectly pop new wave music. Their first big hit was "My Boyfriend," which led them to getting signed by Profile at the same time as Cro-Mags, Run-DMC, Motorhead, and a bunch of others. Over the next 15 years, the band cut four albums, starting out with a perfectly palstic new wave sound before morphing into art-rock and then finally into a more folk influenced unit. Memebers Deena Shoshkes and Jon Fried are married and they still cut cool tunes today! (A little while ago we debuted a cool new Deena tune).

Well, following the digital release of the early Cucumbers discography, which was called The Fake Doom Years after their first label, the band has now assembled a compilation of a bunch of long lost tunes! The tracks were literally pulled out from a drawer and represent recordings by the band from the earliest days through the present.

The Desk Drawer Tapes is out June 4 via Life Force Records and will be on all major streaming platforms. You can check out the band's other recording here. But, before that, check out the unreleased "Beauty from Afar." The tune continues the thread that was held by Joan Baez and Carly Simon, maintained by the Cucumbers, and followed through to bands like Laura Stevenson and the Cans and Cayetana. Check out the new song, and a short interview with the Cucumbers, below, right now!

Hunter Martinez (Decent Criminal, Dwarves) Talks Human Issue, His New Death Rock Band

Hunter Martinez, drummer for Decent Criminal and frequent Dwarves collaborator, has started a new project. The project is called Human Issue and it features Hunter and a revolving cast of compatriots. Influenced by 80s hardcore and deathrock, resulting in a sound that is dark and savage. Martinez created the tracks up by doing rough drum demos, and then building the song up with his long list of collaborators- and what a list!

Rikk Agnew of Adolescents is on guitar, Crow Jane of Prissy Whip handles vocals, Brian Lothian of A Global Threat also takes vocals, and Ricky Schmidt of western Settings works the bass. But, there's also Tristan Martinez on Bass (Violation, Decent Criminal), Brian Gellman on Backup Vocals (Snag, M Section, Decent Criminal), Jacque Mendez on Piano and Vocals (Hey Chels), and Riff Cuellar on Backup Vocals and production chair (Corrupted Youth). Meanwhile, Hunter directs the whole thing as a sort of doom 'n' gloom George Clinton.

The band is finishing up their debut release, an album called Faceless Nameless and it is dark, baby! To get a little bit more info, Punknews' John Gentile spoke to Hunter about the new project. You can read the interview below.

Check out the new flexi by Time and Pressure!

St. Louis, Missouri’s Time and Pressure released one of hardcore’s strongest LPs back in 2019 with The Gateway City Sound. The record mixed tightly woven and speedy guitars with screamed yet clear vocal cadences that created a sound that was at once aggressive, engaging, and well-written. And now they’re back with a new full-length LP due out this summer on Safe Inside Records. The new album, Halfway Down, is set for release this July but the band is also set to release a two-song flexi today via Wide Eyed Noise Records. Punknews' Mike Musilli sat down with Blake and James to talk the new record, the pandemic, and Midwest hardcore. You can pick up the new flexi here. Meanwhile, you can stream the two new songs and check out the interview below, right now.