There were no interruptions this time around as the iconic grunge stalwarts kicked off with the thrillingly sluggish grind of Hag Me, a combination of downtuned bass, thundering riffs and Osborne's pained wail.
It set the tone for the night, as the searingly loud speed metal riffage of War on Wisdom bled into the deliciously sprawling Lizzy and A Growing Disgust, which saw Osborne delivering a searing solo that inspired crowd surfing and stage diving amongst those in the front rows.
Despite the obvious charm of a band still grinding away underground after a 30-year career, you can see why The Melvins never made it as big as their '90s counterparts like Nirvana and Soundgarden.
Their sludgemaking racket never holds onto a rhythm for more than a few seconds before moving onto another one, and songs like Your Blessed come laced with so much fuzzed out feedback they can be hard to love.
And this would have been a show better suited to a smaller, more intimate venue - one where you could see the white's of Osborne's eyes as the perpetually petulant front man eyed the crowd while delivering those muck-raking riffs of his.
But it all came together on Let It All Be as they slowed their riffage down to a simple, head nodding groove that, just like Osborne's hair, became the wild and woolly highlight of the night.
The Melvins
Where: The Powerstation, Auckland
When: Wednesday, December 4
