Melvin’s frontman and founder King Buzzo, aka Buzz Osbourne, has a cameo in the new Xbox one game Sunset Overdrive.
According to Sterogum, Roger Ozzborne (AKA King Buzzo), who is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter for rock band Melvins, is being featured in the new Xbox One video game Sunset Overdrive.
The game, which was released in October, features a contaminating energy drink that “transforms the population into a multitude of toxic mutants.” King Buzzo cameos in one part of the game where the character recruits him to play in a benefit concert. The scene starts with the player saying, “Holy shit, you’re King Buzzo from the Melvins!” To which King Buzzo, adorned in his legendary wild mop of hair, coolly responds, “In the flesh, so to speak.”
After agreeing to play in the benefit concert, Buzzo shuts the door in the face of the player with one stroke of his guitar, followed by a comment from Buzzo to the star-struck player, “Are you still standing there?”
Buzz Osborne reached his legendary status by founding the punk band Melvins, which influenced the sound of iconic 90s bands like Nirvana, Tool, and Soundgarden.
Earlier in the year, Buzz released his first solo album, which was entirely acoustic, titled This Machine Kills Artists. Most recently, Melvins released their latest album Hold It In on October 14th, with the lineup including Buzz Osborne, Dale Crover, and Butthole Surfers members Paul Leary and Jeff Pinkus. One single off the album, “Seseme Street Meat,” was released as the first single off the new album.
In a recent review of the new album by Pitchfork, Zoe Camp said, “So it goes with Melvins—they’re the musical equivalent of that endearingly wacky uncle who believe in ghosts, conspiracy theories, and punk rock. They can be a bit one-note sometimes, but that doesn’t make them any less beloved; without their ribaldness, the world of heavy music just wouldn’t be as fun.”
Their new album is a classic Melvins record, great, but not a standout from the rest of their huge discography, and it features a strong Butthole Surfers influence.
In a recent interview with Punknews, Buzz Osborne said about people trying to categorize Melvins,
“They’ll listen to one album and say, “Oh, they sound like this.” That’s typical for most bands, but that’s not typical for us. We have a lot of records…I think the proof is in the work. Look at our massive body of work.”
The band is also working on a documentary of their history called “Colossus of Destiny,” which will be an extensive look at their 31 year history as a band. Melvins are also currently on tour promoting their new album Hold It In.
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