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Review Summary: Decent Genre mashing eclecticism, The Desert Search for Techno Allah is the best song Disco Volante is the second album by Mr Bungle, a crazy group led by the one and only master of the bizarre Mike Patton. He fuses music with a crazy agenda, all his albums coming out like the result of a DJ mix session but with, y'know, stranger results as he uses more traditional genres as well as the weirder ones like obscure classical etc.
There is a truly sick sense of humour throughout, with song titles like Everyone I Knew In Highschool Is Dead (a warped excursion into oddly timed noise, an odd opener to even more odd contextually album), Violenza Domestica (reminds me of the Godfather, a sort of Italian parody with that kind of "swing" to it which has Patton speaking in Italian throughout) and The Desert Search for Techno Allah (a sort of "mutant disco", sort of like what would be playing in a nightclub in the highest peaks of hell) you know that you in for one truly mindwarping trip. Carry Stress In The Jaw fuses metal with jazz, a true standout, the blasting thrash riffs leading from the "jazzy" section at the beginning is a real knockout of a moment. Patton's grandpa simpsons parody at the end is truly a winner, it's got this vegas vibe to it which is decadent and sinful.
Unfortunately I think the album falls short a little later, tracks like After School Special and Phlegmatics are quite weak, leaving me with a bad taste in my mouth after the truly awesome and post-modern sounds of the first half of the album. Ma Meeshka Ma Skwoz redeems the album somewhat, it's got that perfect evil circus music thing going on (think ICP). The Bends is a poor, lengthy track which is just noise, Backstrokin' is alright I suppose but I don't like it as much as the more circusy songs on here and other Bungle albums like the Self Titled. Platypus reminds me of Slipknots early work, sort of a pre-cursor to death metal meets jazz (I believe some of the earlier bootlegs of Bungle were in this realm so this is perhaps a throwback). The least said about Merry Go Bye Bye the better.
Disco Volante is awesome for about 55% of it's running time, tolerable for 20% and mediocre for the rest. I recommend it to anyone who likes "crazy" or "trippy" sort of stuff, the musicianship is really good and where it works it works incredibly well. Not to mention awesome samples thrown in here and there.
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I hope Desert Search isn't the best, but a pretty good review but the conclusion is a bit abrupt
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
Mike Patton's not the leader of the group, not even the principal songwriter.
Desert Search is great but not the best.This Message Edited On 03.23.09This Message Edited On 03.23.09
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
If this wasn't your second review there would be some definite negging going on. First, this isn't an album that can be thrown on and given a few half-assed listens in order for everything to click. Second, you have Slipknot and ICP comparisons where there shouldn't be any. Third, the entire paragraph on the negatives contains almost no actual substance. Fourth, the conclusion... what conclusion?
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
Willy hit this review right on the head. It is also obvious that you have not given this the required amount of listens just by reading that you site "Desert Search" as the best track on here. Hint, it's the most instantaneous track on an album that is easily one of the most avant-garde available. The comparisons you mentioned were also blasphemous. Essentially your complaints are in the same vain as "a rapper can't sing", that really isn't the point now is it?
P.S Merry Go Bye Bye is awesome! This Message Edited On 03.23.09
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
album is nuts
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
Carry Stress in the Jaw ftw.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
I don't understand when people say this about "giving albums time". If I listen to an album and it's doesn't sound good the first few times, how is it going to aesthetically rearrange on me the seventh? It seems like a waste of time when I could be listening to albums I know are good because they sounded good the first time I listened to them. This right here proves that you don't even have the right mentality to really judge this type of band. The tracks I mentioned seem to emulate this somewhat but this is the end of the comparison here. The tone of Platypus has stuff in common with Slipknot's early work, death metal + jazz The tracks do not "emulate" ICP in the least. They might have a similar influence in circus music, but neither band is "emulating" the other in the least. The same basic premise applies to any Slipknot/Bungle reference... and death metal & Jazz & Slipknot... what?With the negatives paragraph, I pointed at what I didn't like and why, I don't understand the issue. OK...Unfortunately I think the album falls short a little later, tracks like After School Special and Phlegmatics are quite weak, leaving me with a bad taste in my mouth So you don't like the later tracks because they make your mouth feel yucky. Got it... The Bends is a poor, lengthy track which is just noise, Could you slap a larger generalization on this song please?Backstrokin' is alright I suppose but I don't like it as much as the more circusy songs on here So, you don't like that song because it's not as good as the other circus songs... got it.The least said about Merry Go Bye Bye the better. Ok, so you don't like this song.... again, where did you actually point out any reasons why the latter half of the album is weak?
This Message Edited On 03.23.09
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everything Willie said is true. The review has got zero flow, sentences are very weird, descriptions suck, I don't like your writing style at all and and you have showed no proggress from your first review, probably because you don't take constructive criticism too well. So this time i'm going to neg you! I hope you get better at writing but so far there has been no progress whatsoeverThis Message Edited On 03.23.09
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I'm sure most Bungle fans would agree
Don't assume. I like this more than the S/T half of the time.
that's my reason.
Not a valid one when you're comparing two different albums.
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Review is pretty bad.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
I'm listening to it, I can hear what it is. You only continue to prove my point.Yes they do. Forget it. And your continued insistence on baselessly trying to make a connection between them and bands such as Slipknot and ICP only further ruins the credibilty of the review.Because I don't like it as much as the first, I'm sure most Bungle fans would agree it's not as good and that's my reason. That's a great reason when you're bullshitting with your friends at the mall, and it's not a reason at all for a review. Specifically, why don't you like it as much as the first. No where is there any actual answer to that question in the review.
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Regarding Slipknot, they only did the death metal + jazz thing on ONE track. Plus, Disco Volante precedes MFKR by a year. Mr. Bungle precedes ICP by four years.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Ok, this is my last post because it's like talking to a wall. It's not baseless, there is a similarity in the sound. It may be vague, but I believe it's there if you listen hard enough. With that kind of thought process it would be fairly easy to name-drop just about any band I wanted in relation to another band... the point should be relevance not just mentioning them because they're the closest thing you can think of in your limited experiences. I don't like it because it doesn't sound good to me Again, this is a review not a bullshitting session with your buddies and that doesn't really cut it. Substance, man. Where once did I make any statement that link me to believing ICP or Slipknot influenced Bungle The tracks I mentioned seem to emulate this somewhat but this is the end of the comparison here. Look up the word emulate and you'll have an answer.
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This review isn't very good.
Album is a classic.
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This is the track I am comparing. Where once did I make any statement that link me to believing ICP or Slipknot influenced Bungle, I am aware of the dates all these albums were released I just said they sound the same.
People generally avoid comparing one track with another for a reason. Using your philosophy, you could name drop any band on the slightest of similarities. e.g. The doof doof of "Desert Search for Techno Allah" is similar to [insert countless electronic dance acts].
Generally if you want to put down some bands that sound similar, you'll mention their predecessors, rather than music that you are personally familiar with, e.g. you wouldn't say that Beethoven was similar to Nightwish, because they both use classical string instruments. This Message Edited On 03.24.09
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I'm assuming you're badtaste?
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
actually this review isn't as bad as it would become neg-worthy, but it isn't anything special either. like everyone said, it definitely seems as though you didn't really give it the right amount of listens. I would never ever say this is "easily one of the most avant-garde available" or such bullshit but if you believe that music that doesn't click on the first few listens isn't worth listening to, you're definitely in the wrong place here.
i don't know why people have blown it this far out of proportion
that's an easy one: you mentioned the S-word in a Mr. Bungle review, why are you wondering everyone's bitching around?
But comparing classical music to a power metal group is silly
yeah it is. and comparing a generic Nu Metal band to an experimental multi-genre group doesn't seem much more appropriate to me.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
oh, btw - this might actually be their best album. I'm not 100% sure yet though.
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Damn Mendigo, you stole my reply just as I was about to post.
Anyway, to Smell the Cheese: the thing is (and being a Slipknot fan), you've compared a Mr. Bungle track to something non-representative of Slipknot. That death metal and jazz mash-up that they did was a one off thing. If Slipknot did that sound 24/7, then your drawing of comparisons would perhaps be slightly more valid. And even then, the Slipknot of MFKR is utterly different to the Slipknot that we know today, so no one's going to make that connection anyway.
Another point I was trying to make is that you ought to include information that will make your review more useful, more reliable, more effective. Sure, maybe you weren't out to point out influences, rather just similar sounds. Well, in that case, I question why? As I said before, there isn't much point in namedropping what sounds similar. You want to to tie it in with meaningfulness. This Message Edited On 03.25.09This Message Edited On 03.25.09
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
It is not going to sound different the second time. It doesn't. It is exactly the same, there is no change.
oh god. of course it "isn't" different, but the experience is a different one. If you can detect all details and twists and turns and progressions and movements and sound effecs and production tricks and instruments and lyrics and playful vocals and all that at once in one listen, I will call you Jesus from now on. and if you can do that in two listens I will still call you Moses.
honestly, if you hold the opinion that music has to be understood at first listen, you can now stop listening to music in general.
hell, there are albums that took me half a year until I "got" them.
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