Just when you thought the Melvins couldn’t possibly do one more meaningful and moral thing, they went ahead and made a classic-rock record. The follow-up to 2006’s (A) Senile Animal—the first record to see Melvins core lineup of guitarist/vocalist Buzz Osbourne and drummer Dale Crover augmented by Big Business’ titanic rhythm section, Jared Warren (bass) and Coady Willis (drums)—Nude With Boots crosses the goddamn line…and comes through clean.

Where Animal was a stripped-down rocker full of jagged, monster riffs and an up-tempo midsection of mosh-pit terror (closer resembling Boner-era Melvins than their more recent juicy, experimental heavy Ipecac sins) with Nude, the Melvins have issued what just might be their first radio-friendly record. Too bad nobody gives a fuck about the radio anymore.

Nude With Boots confirms these deviants—namely King Buzzo and Crover—grew up like many of their generation worshipping Kiss, Alice Cooper, ZZ Top and the Stooges. Tracks like “Suicide in Progress” rocks like Melvins crossed with Thin Lizzy and Jeff Beck, while “The Stupid Creep” has the boys twisting Rainbow-riffs between choruses full of pure Priest-like passion. The Melvins keep the weirdness to a minimum, except on the somewhat out-of-place “Flush,” and “Dies Iraea”—where they do a take on Wendy Carlos’ interpretation of the Latin “Does Irae,” made pop-culturally famous via the title music for Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining.

But the shit-kicking crown jewel of Nude With Boots comes in the form of “Smiling Cobra.” This song is wound so tightly that when it lashes and strikes, it hits you with a potent dose of their catalog’s choicest venom. Other highlights include “Billy Fish” and “The Savage Hippy,” which sound like classic-rock infused with the Melvins’ singular rhythmic stomp.

By the time you reach the end of Nude With Boots you realize the Melvins have made the same record back to back for the first time, well, ever. The main difference between Nude With Boots and (A) Senile Animal are not the song styles, but rather the approach they took constructing the songs: the harmonies are better assembled, the rhythms tighter, the riffing smoother and the breakdowns more deliciously complex.

At first this truth might not seem self-evident, but after a few hard listens your ears realize that these savages are actually attempting to join their classic-rock forefathers in the genre’s canon. And what’s more, they succeed with peculiar grace…and that familiar Melvin-y aftertaste. Melvins fans will love it. Classic rock fans won’t get it. Everyone else will let it float by. Don’t let that mistake be yours. — Butch Asimov