米オルタナティヴ～ヘヴィ・ロックの先駆者にしてカリスマ的存在メルヴィンズ!初となる2枚組のニュー・アルバムをリリース!メルヴィンズの新しい楽曲が詰まったディスク""デス""と、ショートフィルムのサウンドトラックを収録した"ラヴ"の二枚組み!ピクシーズのギタリスト、ジョーイ・サンティアゴやテリー・ジェンダーベンダー(レ・ブチェレッツ)がゲスト参加!
米オルタナティヴ～ヘヴィ・ロックの先駆者にしてニルヴァーナのカート・コバーンも憧れたカリスマ的存在メルヴィンズ。2016年6月に豪華なベース・プレイヤー達をフィーチャーしたアルバム『ベーシズ・ローデッド』を発表し、その後アット・ザ・ドライヴ・インのオマー・ロドリゲス・ロペスとレ・ブチェレッツのテリー・ジェンダーベンダーらが参加したスーパー・バンド、クリスタル・フェアリーとしてデビュー・アルバムを発表し、型にはまらない楽曲制作を続けている。常にアイディアに溢れ活動的な彼らが今回バンドを結成して初めとなるダブル・アルバム『ア・ウォーク・ウィズ・ラヴ・アンド・デス』を7月にリリース事を発表!本作のディスク"デス"は、彼らにとっていわゆる「通常」のメルヴィンズのアルバムで、もう1枚のディスク"ラヴ"は、2017年公開されるショートフィルム「ア・ウォーク・ウイズ・ラヴ・アンド・デス」のサウンドトラックだ。ジェシー・ニーミネン監督が手掛けた映画にはメルヴィンズがプロデューサーとして参加している。そして、本作にはレジェンドバンド、ピクシーズのギターのジョーイ・サンティアゴやクリスタル・フェアリーでもバンドを組んだレ・ブチェレッツのテリー・ジェンダーベンダーが参加している。

発売・販売元 提供資料 （2017/04/28）

Paste - "All nine songs of DEATH don't tout the traditional song structure, but they have a poetic feel that makes them music. They're fun, they're heavy, they're strange and they're music." Mojo - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[This] double from Buzzo and pals has two distinct personalities."

Rovi

Given the Melvins' long history, and their devotion to the tar-pit heaviness of '70s hard rock (in particular Black Sabbath), it seems odd that they've waited so long to deliver one of the standard benchmarks of a veteran rock band -- the thematically ambitious two-disc set. Billed as the first double album in the Melvins' three-plus-decade history, 2017's A Walk with Love & Death isn't so much an album long enough to require two discs as it is two albums that have been presented in one package, each with a very distinct aural personality. The first nine tracks of this package have been given the subtitle Death, and they sound very much like the Melvins, with plenty of crunchy downbeat guitar figures from King Buzzo, sharp and muscular drumming from Dale Crover, and thick, powerful basslines from Steven McDonald (who has adjusted well to full-time status after his part-time role with the band on 2016's Basses Loaded). "Black Heath" and "Sober-delic" are subtle by Melvins standards (with cleaner tones taking the place of the traditional fuzz), and "Christ Hammer" and "What's Wrong with You" suggest McDonald has brought a bit of Redd Kross' pop sensibility to these sessions. But "Euthanasia," "Cactus Party," and "Flaming Creature" leave no doubt that this band still has a firm command of all things heavy, and ultimately this is immediately recognizable as the Melvins. That is not at all the case with the 14 tracks under the subheading Love, which were created for an experimental film directed by Jesse Nieminen. Though the track "Give It to Me" features some rudimentary bashing from the group, the remainder of Love consists of non-melodic noise soundscapes, with random noodling combined with found sounds, unidentified ranting, sound effects, and electronic distortion. Without having seen the film, it's impossible to say how these pieces work in their original intended context, but on their own, they have a playfully sinister energy but remain effective for only so long, and as a complement for the Death half of the album, they wear out their welcome long before the last track is over. There's a very good Melvins album leading off A Walk with Love & Death, but the rest of it is only going to agree with a tiny numbers of fans, though it could make an effective musical backdrop for your next Halloween spook house. ~ Mark Deming|

Rovi