Bit of a heartbreaker, this one.

After being displayed at a pair of Seattle record stores for Record Store Day on April 12th, the Melvins' former tour van, dubbed "The Beast," will be broken down into parts and auctioned off. You can witness the "Mel-Van" at Easy Street Records from 7-10 a.m. and Silver Platters from 2-4 p.m. on the 12th.

Julien's Auctions will handle the dissemination of the 1972 Dodge Sportsman Royal, which is covered in artwork and various graffiti, for its "Music Icons" auction. The "van-dalism" (pardon the second pun in as many paragraphs) includes a mural of KISS sketched in Sharpie by none other than Kurt Cobain.

The van's former owner, Ben Berg, also claims that Cobain's name is carved somewhere inside, along with those of Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic and Melvins drummer Dale Crover. (Music nerds will point out that Crover was, ever-so-briefly, also in Nirvana.)

While it's a shame that the Dodge is facing destruction, Berg says the odometer has an "off the charts" reading and that the van "hasn't been started for years." The auction will take place on May 30th and 31st at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York City. And don't worry – the KISS mural will remain intact.

By the way, the Melvins are on the road with Napalm Death for a co-headlining tour... probably in a nicer set of wheels than this one. Get tickets here.