Mike & The Melvins

A partnership between Mike & the Melvins had been simmering for years, linking two outfits long committed to all things heavy. When the minimalist heavy rock duo Godheadsilo split in 1999, bassist and lead singer Mike Kunka began considering his options. He soon joined the Melvins on tour, and the like-minded musicians exchanged song ideas during the run. By the time the dates concluded, Kunka and the band were already planning a joint recording, with Sub Pop—Godheadsilo’s former label—agreeing to fund the project. Before the year closed, Kunka and the 1999 lineup of the Melvins—Buzz Osborne, Dale Crover, and Kevin Rutmanis—entered the studio with engineer Tim Green to lay down the tracks. For reasons that remain unclear to everyone involved, the album was left unfinished. In 2015 Kunka revisited the idea with the Melvins, and engineer Toshi Kasai completed the final overdubs and mixing. Released under the name Mike & the Melvins, the resulting album Three Men and a Baby reached listeners in April 2016.