(MVD, 93 Minutes)

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Once Pacific Northwest-based acts like Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Alice In Chains found success, there was a rush to sign second tier acts like the Melvins, Hammerbox and Mudhoney. When lightning refused to strike twice, they were summarily dropped. Tad was among the bands plucked from obscurity only to sink back into it. The band had a particularly ill-fated history: their last Sub Pop album (and accompanying EP) spawned o lawsuits over cover art, and they went on to be dropped by two major labels. This film amply demonstrates why the claim that Tad was “the heaviest band ever” wasn’t just hype. Tad’s music was particularly bludgeoning, and singer-guitarist Tad Doyle’s size provided an obvious focal point. Vintage footage offers an inside look at the Seattle scene before anybody cared, and further insight is offered from the band, Krist Novoselic, Kim Thayil, Sub Pop co-founders Bruce Pavitt and Jon Poneman, and the Seattle scene’s own raconteur extraordinaire, producer Jack Endino, among others.

Special features: Truncated videos for “Leafy Incline,” “Grease Box,” “Plague Years,” “Stumblin’ Man,” “Woodgoblins.” GILLIAN G. GAAR