First roaring to life in 1983, Melvins slowed punk rock to a punishing crawl and cranked up the sludgy riffs of '70s metal to a new level of feedback-soaked intensity. Often described as grunge pioneers, Melvins have always been heavier, louder and noisier than their Pacific Northwest peers, and even during the '90s alt-rock explosion, their sludge-meets-stoner-rock assault made them too defiantly extreme to reach the mainstream. One of metal's most prolific and unpredictable bands, Melvins are as beloved for their sarcastic humor as they are for their crushingly heavy sound.