Melvins are an American band that formed in Montesano, Washington in 1982. In the early days of their career their dark, heavy, oppressively slow sound made them innovators of genres like sludge, grunge, and doom metal. Melvins' music is influenced by Flipper, Black Flag's My War-era hardcore punk and Black Sabbath-style heavy metal, but their idiosyncratic approach, bizarre sense of humor, and experimentation make neat categorization difficult.