M.E.L.T. – Innervate/ Obliterate

by Mark 'Yeti' Richard · October 30, 2025

M.E.L.T. is a stoner/ fuzz rock trio from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The band consists of Joey Troupe on guitar and vocals, James May on bass and vocals, and J.J. Young on drums, vocals, percussion, and theremin. They have released 2021’s Self Titled, 2023’s Replica of Man, and their latest, 2025’s Innervate / Obliterate. They also put out a slew of singles in between albums. Innervate / Obliterate was released on October 3rd 2025 and contains eleven tracks at forty five minutes long.

The title track opener “Innervate/ Obliterate” is a spaced out/ atmospheric intro of cosmic tones and psychedelic fuzz . M.E.L.T. has a nice tribal jam element happening that has swirls of synth and trippy vocals progressing into an eruption heavy riffing. It leads nicely into the second track “Ride”. They have a retro-fuzz rock sound on this one with clunky and rhythmic bass tones. The vocals are varied and unique with a cool range of dynamics. The song has a nice catchy chorus with a punk driven tempo. The gritty guitar sound and the overall production is nice and raw throughout. The song sets the stage for the rest of the album.

“Chemical Warrior” strikes next and carries out some metallic riffing and scores of vintage rock. The band ignites more spacey tones and wavering vocals. It’s another excellent song that has a stoner doom vibe and twists of heavy psych. The track fades into the hard rocking blitz of “Cut It Up”. This song storms down the hard rock highway and splices in some excellent accents of heavy groove in the middle. M.E.L.T. are very talented musicians and proficient songwriters who transition from mid paced rhythms into fuzzed out doom riffs.

The fifth track begins with the heavy bass leading into a doom heavy Sabbath riff. Entitled “Tranquilized”, the song is a cosmic head trip of hypnotizing vocals and a barn burner of riffs. The over-driven bass sound is viscous in conjunction to the fuzzy guitars and hard pounding drumming. They dive into some Iron Maiden-esc segments that falls back into the sludgy rhythms. The band are big on the changes in tempo that makes for a very interesting listening experience. “2000 Years” has a quirky twist in the vocals with a bass-centric pummeling. It has a cool spoken part towards the end and works beautifully with the feel and message of the song. “Empire Of The Swine” ignites a speedy rhythm of hardcore rage with punchy drumming and “The Spire” has a chuggy metal crunch starting things off. The song gallops along in heavy rocking fashion and executes a fury of fuzz in its path.

Innervate / Obliterate is a record that I have been drawn to listen to quite a lot since first hearing it. The band really mixes things up with the songs and they all have a compelling sonic structure to them. Tracks like “Krakatoa” and “Mass Grave” are fantastic! The trio are dialed into their playing and together create some interesting rip roaring rock. The bass-centric growl of these songs blend exquisitely well with the tube tearing guitar sound and bombastic drumming throughout. The vocals are every bit of gripping, unusual, and entertaining in their delivery. Combined with the monolithic rhythms and rawness of the tones, I am really enjoying this record a lot.

The final score on Innervate / Obliterate is called “Gnomeskull”. It’s the longest cut on the record at almost seven minutes long and displays more pleasing audio aesthetics. Kat Polaski provides additional synth and organ on this one, along with the songs “Chemical Warrior” and “Cut It Up”. M.E.L.T. are a band that sounds very original yet familiar at the same time. They have a captivating sound that is really pleasing to my ears. The more times that I listen to this, the better it gets. They are a stand out band in a huge ocean of heavy underground rock.