A Walk with Love & Death

Released in 2017, A Walk with Love & Death is the Melvins' first official double album, marking a significant milestone in their prolific three-decade career. The project is divided into two distinct entities: 'Death', a nine-song collection of relatively straightforward (by Melvins standards) sludge and art rock, and 'Love', a fourteen-track experimental soundtrack to a short film by Jesse Nieminen. This structure allows the band to showcase their dual identity as both pioneers of the Pacific Northwest heavy sound and restless avant-garde provocateurs. The 'Death' tracks feature guest appearances from Joey Santiago (Pixies) and Teri Gender Bender (Le Butcherettes), adding new melodic and vocal textures to their established sound. Critically, the album was seen as a bold, if polarizing, addition to their catalog, with AllMusic noting its ambitious scope and the successful integration of their experimental 'Love' soundscapes with the more visceral 'Death' material. It stands as a testament to the band's refusal to stagnate, even as elder statesmen of the underground.