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HAILING FROM the Pacific Northwest, the Melvins have been creating sludgy punk metal filled with quirky sarcasm for more than two decades. And though the band has never achieved mainstream success, they've been cited as a huge influence by artists including Nirvana, Tool, Mike Patton and Atlanta's own Mastodon. The band had a few major label releases during the height of the '90s grunge era (one of which was produced by onetime Melvins roadie, Kurt Cobain), but the Melvins have maintained a cult following for most of their career.

Touring in support of last month's "Nude With Boots," the Melvins are playing Atlanta and Athens. Singer/guitarist Buzz Osborne took a moment to talk about his music and infamously big hair.

Erin Broadley / Special (ENLARGE)
The enduring grunge band The Melvins is credited with influencing a generation of rockers including Nirvana's Kurt Cobain and Atlanta's Mastadon. The group plays metro Atlanta in support of its CD, 'Nude With Boots'.
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For a band whose sound is so hard to peg, do you usually try to outweird yourselves when you start working on a new album or does that just come naturally?

I'm not trying to outweird anything. That would make what we're doing perverse, and I'm not trying to be perverse, I'm trying to do stuff that I like. I'm writing songs all the time, so I weed through a bunch of stuff and try to figure out what I want to use and take it from there. There's really no set way of doing anything, and I do my songs all kinds of ways. I think you should just take it upon yourself as a songwriter to write songs.

The Melvins have influenced bands from Nirvana to local heroes Mastodon. How does it feel when so many bands that have gone on to bigger things cite your work as an influence?

I want their heads on a stake. I want to gut them like fish. I want to slow roast them over a fire. I want to cut their eyelids off and make them stare at the sun. I want to stick bamboo shoots underneath their fingernails. ... Nah, I don't want to do any of that stuff. Are you kidding? I'm such a nice guy. But having somebody like your stuff ... is always a compliment. Better us influencing them than somebody else.

You're known as much for your large hair as your guitar playing and singing. How often does Buzz Osborne get a haircut?

What are you talking about? I just had a haircut last year. I don't need a haircut, I look great.

THE 411: Melvins with Big Business. $15 in advance; $17 at the door. 8 p.m. Aug. 17. Drunken Unicorn, 736 Ponce de Leon Place, Midtown. 404-870-0575, www.thedrunkenunicorn.net.

ALSO: $14 in advance; $16 at the door. 9 p.m. Aug. 18. 40 Watt Club, 285 W. Washington St., Athens. 706-549-7871, www.40watt.com, www.melvins.com.