“If you don’t want to play Eruption by Van Halen, don’t practice it. There’s no reason to do it. You want to practice what you want to do”: Buzz Osborne on how he forged a unique voice in heavy guitar playing – and why new guitars are better than vintage

Buzz Osborne.

Buzz Osborne holds nothing back – not musically or anywhere else in his life. He never has, and probably never will. One listen to Melvins’ latest record Tarantula Heart will tell you as much.

Osborne and company are out for blood via music. But don’t dare try and box them in. Even if you tried, Osborne would sidestep you, spin around, come up grinning, and bludgeon you with his aluminium guitar. That’s just how it is in the land of Buzz. “I walk out there, and I feel I’ve got the best rig in the whole world,” he says. “Nobody has this, just me. I love it.”