The ever-relentless Melvins have dropped two new album announcements in just five days.
Their latest releases, Thunderball and Savage Imperial Death March, follow up 2024’s Tarantula Heart and will coincide with the band’s 2025 tour. Full track listings and tour dates are below.
Savage Imperial Death March is a six-song collaboration with Napalm Death, who will be joining the Melvins on their upcoming tour. The album will be available on vinyl during the tour and as a bargain-bin $5 CD via AmRep at a later, undisclosed date. A limited online vinyl edition sold out instantly this past Sunday.
You can check out “Victory of the Pyramids” from Thunderball below.
Melvins – “Victory of the Pyramids”
The Melvins last hit the road with grindcore pioneers Napalm Death in 2016. There’s no confirmation on which Melvins members were part of the Death March sessions, but the band’s core lineup includes Buzz “King Buzzo” Osbourne (guitar/vocals), Dale Crover (drums, since 1984), and Steven McDonald (bass, since 2015).
Meanwhile, Thunderball marks the third album from the band’s Melvins 1983 lineup, featuring Osbourne and original drummer Mike Dillard. For past Melvins 1983 releases (Tres Cabrones in 2013 and Working With God in 2021), Crover handled bass duties—but he’s absent on Thunderball. Instead, Osbourne and Dillard are joined by Void Maines and “electronic noise terrorist” Ni Maitres on the five-track, 37-minute LP, set to drop on April 18.
“I wanted this one to be bombastic. I think it is,” Osbourne said in the Thunderball press release. “I’ve been wanting to do something with Void Manes and Ni Maîtres for a long time. Both of them are exceptional talents and were a joy to work with. Their out-of-the-box use of electronics pushed Thunderball beyond my expectations.”
Dale Crover, who sat out Melvins’ 2023 tour following spinal surgery, bounced back in 2024 with his solo album Glossolalia. He’ll be back in action for the 2025 tour, which kicks off with a short California run in March before linking up with Napalm Death in April for a two-month stretch that wraps up in Berkeley on June 7.
Joining the Melvins on this trek will be Big Business and High on Fire drummer Coady Willis, who, along with his Big Business bandmate Jared Warren, was part of the band’s dual-drummer lineup from 2006 to 2015.
Thunderball Tracklist
- “King of Rome”
- “Vomit of Clarity”
- “Short Hair With a Wig”
- “Victory of the Pyramids”
- “Venus Blood”
Savage Imperial Death March Tracklist
- “Tossing Coins Into the Fountain of Fuck”
- “Some Kind of Antichrist”
- “Nine Days of Rain”
- “Rip the God”
- “Stealing Horses”
- “Death Hour”
Melvins – The Spring Break Tour Dates
March 1 – Bakersfield, CA – The Nile Theater
March 2 – Fresno, CA – Strummer’s
March 3 – Sacramento, CA – Goldfield Trading Post
March 4 – Santa Cruz, CA – The Catalyst Atrium
March 5 – San Luis Obispo, CA – SLO Brew Rock
March 7 – Pioneertown, CA – Pappy & Harriet’s
Melvins & Napalm Death – Savage Imperial Death March Part II Tour Dates
April 4 – San Diego, CA – Music Box
April 5 – Santa Ana, CA – The Observatory
April 7 – San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
April 8 – San Jose, CA – The Ritz
April 10 – Los Angeles, CA – The Belasco
April 12 – Las Vegas, NV – Swan Dive
April 13 – Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren
April 14 – Tucson, AZ – Rialto Theatre
April 15 – El Paso, TX – Lowbrow Palace
April 17 – Dallas, TX – The Echo Lounge & Music Hall
April 18 – Austin, TX – Emo’s
April 19 – Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall – Downstairs
April 20 – Baton Rouge, LA – Chelsea’s Live
April 21 – New Orleans, LA – House of Blues New Orleans
April 23 – Tampa, FL – The Orpheum
April 24 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL – Culture Room
April 25 – Orlando, FL – The Beacham
April 26 – Savannah, GA – District Live
April 27 – Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade – Heaven Stage
April 28 – Birmingham, AL – Saturn
April 29 – Athens, GA – 40 Watt Club
May 1 – Charlotte, NC – The Underground – Charlotte
May 2 – Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle
May 3 – Virginia Beach, VA – Elevation 27
May 4 – Baltimore, MD – Baltimore Soundstage
May 5 – Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer
May 6 – Allentown, PA – Archer Music Hall
May 7 – Brooklyn, NY – Warsaw
May 8 – Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club
May 10 – Pittsburgh, PA – Mr. Small’s
May 11 – Cleveland, OH – Globe Iron
May 12 – Detroit, MI – Saint Andrew’s Hall
May 13 – Grand Rapids, MI – The Intersection
May 15 – Cincinnati, OH – Bogart’s
May 16 – Louisville, KY – Mercury Ballroom
May 17 – Nashville, TN – Brooklyn Bowl Nashville
May 18 – St. Louis, MO – Red Flag
May 19 – Chicago, IL – Metro
May 20 – Milwaukee, WI – The Rave II
May 22 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
May 23 – Des Moines, IA – Wooly’s
May 24 – Kansas City, MO – Madrid Theatre
May 25 – Omaha, NE – The Waiting Room
May 27 – Denver, CO – Summit
May 29 – Salt Lake City, UT – Metro Music Hall
May 31 – Bozeman, MT – The ELM
June 1 – Spokane, WA – Knitting Factory
June 2 – Seattle, WA – The Showbox
June 3 – Portland, OR – Revolution Hall
June 4 – Eugene, OR – McDonald Theatre
June 6 – Reno, NV – Virginia Street Brewhouse
June 7 – Berkeley, CA – Cornerstone Berkeley
The Melvins never slow down, and 2025 is shaping up to be another relentless year for the band. Buckle up.
