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STARING AT THE SUN Melvins extend a warm welcome to two newbies.

Photograph: Kevin Willis

To fans of the notoriously protean avant-metal act Melvins, personnel change is no big whoop. But when singer-guitarist Buzz Osborne and drummer Dale Crover recently parted ways with their umpteenth bassist, they devised an exceedingly strange way of filling the vacancy: Instead of drafting another four-stringer, the pair invited an entire band—the punishing bass-drums duo Big Business—to join their ranks. “Jared [Warren, Big Business singer-bassist] and Dale grew up near each other, and my old band toured with the Melvins,” explains Big Business drummer Coady Willis, calling between tour stops at which his duo is opening for his quartet. “So when they lost their last bassist, Dale called Jared and asked if we wanted to try the two-drummer thing.” For the 31-year-old Willis, who recalls being blown away by a Melvins show at age 15, this was a thrilling prospect. “It was as intimidating as it was exciting, but those guys are really supportive,” he says. “They just said, ‘We’ll see what happens.’ ”

You can hear the results on (A) Senile Animal, the now-quartet’s new CD and one of the most consistently engaging releases of the Melvins’ career. The already strong songs get an extra kick courtesy of double-drum arrangements that are muscular yet complex. “Dale and I try to stay out of each other’s way,” Willis explains. “Like, if we were playing guitar and bass, we wouldn’t try to do two solos at the same time. It’s not a free-form jam.”

Still, the format presents unique challenges. At a recent gig, Willis learned just how much he was relying on eye contact with Crover. “In Chicago, the lights blacked out for two seconds and I was like, Oh my God!” he recalls. Willis points out that there’s a visual element at play for the audience, as well. “I’m left-handed and Dale’s right-handed, so we’ve made a mirror-image kit. We started out thinking we were going to be sharing floor toms, but that ended up being too crowded—it’s still a total Rorschach-test thing, though.”

Willis reports that audiences have been generally enthusiastic about the new incarnation, but some confusion has resulted. “People have been thinking that Jared is Buzz,” says the drummer, laughing. “Someone will come up with an old Melvins record for him to sign, and he’ll be like, ‘Okaaaay—you know I’m not on this, righ?’ ”

Melvins and Big Business play Warsaw Tuesday 17. (A) Senile Animal is out now on Ipecac.