In 1991, Faith No More was in full effect. What relavence that has to this is that they shared the same front man, vocal genius Mike Patton. FNM was on MTV (the fish!) and on the radio.
As all that FNM commotion was taking place, this little gem was obscurely released. This self-titled album was their first LP, basically an amalgamation of all their music from their EP's in the 80's. Not wanting the same bogging success to be placed on his first band (they all knew each other in HS and thats when Mr Bungle was formed.), everyone went under a clever type psuedonym.
A smart move indeed, I barely discovered Mr. Bungle two years ago, this being my first record.
This is not a concept album as their last released album just so happens to be. A wide variety of genres are played on this album, from almost death metal to elevator music, you name it... they can play it (well except rap)
Trey Spruance is a clever guitarist who transcended genres with his playing. It's such a shame that they're no longer together.
A teensy problem may be some of the ends of the songs, which are samples and one of them (EGG...) is the band members supposedly hopping a train. A bunch of weird stuff, so if you are into experimental, Mr Bungle is the way to go.
Pros: - Chances are, you're probably expecting another Faith No More. Not the case here. Patton delivers with full brevity and insanity.
- Abundant time signature changes
- Frank Zappa-esqe
-ORIGINAL!
- Love is a FIST!
Cons: -As it's original, a lot of conventional music fans with be turned off by the weirdness
-Some other people may find the lyrical content a little ostentatious and too profane (not a problem for me)
Go and freaking buy this amazing genre-breaking album first, and THEN their other records, as they transcend normality on the other two and this one is closer to home. Get it now or else...
