''The Bootlicker'' is the eleventh studio album by the Melvins, released in 1999 through

Ipecac Recordings Ipecac Recordings is an independent record label based in California. It was founded on April 1, 1999 by Greg Werckman (ex-label manager of Alternative Tentacles, ex-lead singer of DUH, ex-employee of Mercury Records) and Mike Patton (Faith No ...

. The album is the second part of a trilogy preceded by ''

The Maggot ''The Maggot'' is the tenth studio album by American rock band Melvins, released in 1999 through Ipecac Recordings. It is the first part of a trilogy followed by ''The Bootlicker'' and '' The Crybaby''. The Trilogy was later released on vinyl by ...

'' and followed by ''

The Crybaby ''The Crybaby'' is the twelfth studio album by American rock band the Melvins, released in 2000 through Ipecac Recordings. It is the last part of a trilogy preceded by ''The Maggot'' and ''The Bootlicker''. The trilogy was later released on viny ...

''. The trilogy was later released on

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...

by Ipecac (''The Trilogy Vinyl'', IPC-011, November 27, 2000).

Production

''The Bootlicker'' was conceived as a more pop-oriented album; ''The Maggot'' was marked by a traditional Melvins metal sound, while ''The Crybaby'' featured many guest appearances.

Critical reception

The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' wrote: "While ''The Maggot'' offers more familiar-sounding, metal-tinged sludge, ''The Bootlicker'' is a musically richer collection with rock, funk and jazz underpinnings." The ''

Riverfront Times The ''Riverfront Times'' (''RFT'') is a free progressive weekly newspaper in St. Louis, in the U.S. state of Missouri, that consists of local politics, music, arts, and dining news in the print edition, and daily updates to blogs and photo gall ...

'' called ''The Bootlicker'' "one of the best rock albums of the year: truly beautiful and intelligently (but not pretentiously) presented." ''

Tucson Weekly The ''Tucson Weekly'' is an alternative newsweekly that was founded in 1984 by Douglas Biggers and Mark Goehring, and serves the Tucson, Arizona, metropolitan area of about 1,000,000 residents. The paper is a member of the Association of Alte ...

'' called it "subdued, dark and kind of pop-y sounding in spots."

Track listing

Personnel

* King Buzzo – vocals, guitar, noises * Dale Crover – drums,

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

, vocals *

Kevin Rutmanis Kevin Rutmanis (born October 17, 1958) is an American bass guitarist. He is of Latvian descent. Before getting into music, he was a student teacher. In late 1985, along with his younger brother Sandris Rutmanis, Thor Eisentrager, and then Jayh ...

– bass,

slide bass Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos tha ...

;with *Eric Peterson - piano (track 9)

Additional personnel

*Tim Green – producer *

Mackie Osborne Mackie Osborne is an American artist responsible for the design and illustrations of many music albums since the 1980s. She is a member of the band Fleabag and has contributed to many albums on packaging artwork, layout design and art direction. ...

– art

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bootlicker, The Bootlicker Bootlicker, The Bootlicker Sludge metal albums