4 out of 5

Label: Nefarious Industries

Produced by: ?

They figured it out. Miracle Blood took their Alternative Tentacles, Who-ish bombast, and post-Nirvana grunge influences and simmered out some of the more cringey elements – the funk; the cribbed hardcore punk – and added a dash of Mike Patton performance to the vocals, and dropped an amazing album pretty soon after their already amazing EP. We further know this works because ‘Melter’ can represent a song from ‘Cannibals’ – the Orange 9MM groove of “Lullaby” – and recontextualize it within the release, proving all the foundational stuff already rocked, and just needed some focusing.

As before, Melter most immediately calls to mind the kind of grounded punk rock of NoMeansNo, but the group more clearly blends that with some Toadies-esque (or perhaps Burden Bros.) out-and-out riffage – this is me maintaining that Toadies have continued to write some of the best riffs in post-grunge rawk – and further fleshes out the melody that felt a little raw on the preceding EP. In short, if any of these references tickle your fancy, the music of Melter is legitimately perfect, with every track delivering a memorable hook, even if / when the bass-heavy mix can lend itself to some intros sounding a little similar.

On the vocal front, the spread between a kind of B-52s / Daughters baritone and vocal shredding is balanced; there’s no doubting this is hardcore, but songs can slide into talk-sung choruses seamlessly, as well as some belted out lines that carry us through more richly emotive moments. Lyrics are a bit impressionistic, being not quite silly or illustrative or thoughtful enough to really make a mark, but overall feelings are delivered. Most importantly, the combo of the voice and music is identifiable: despite the namedrops, MB have quickly carved out their own style.