Album Review: ‘The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny Demo by Mr. Bungle
By Poleth Aranda
The expectations of finding more of the experimental funk metal — to say the least — style that Mr. Bungle has been delivered in the past three albums, flew straight out of the window as I was listening to “The Raging Wrath Of The Easter Bunny Demo”. The album is 99% flipping-tables hard core, thrash metal. The kind of album I would enjoy with a big mug of dark beer sitting in a comfortable safe spot while watching some fellas having a lovely time giving themselves some bruises in the mosh.
Putting on the table the individual projects of these five virtuous, lead guitarist Trey Spruance (Secret Chiefs 3), drummer Dave Lombardo (Slayer and Fantomas), rhythm guitarist Scott Ian (Anthrax), bassist Trevor Dunn (Fantomas, The Melvins, Secret Chiefs 3, etc.) and singer Mike Patton (Faith No More, Fantomas, Dead Cross, etc.) is not crazy to find this raw metal sounds orchestration from start to end.
The bunglers went back to their roots, this album is a re-recording of the original demo, back in the day when they were a local trash band in Eureka, CA. Recorded in 1986 on cassette tape, this baby never saw the day of light. According to Patton, they sent the demo to several record levels but nobody liked them, apparently, the metal scene wasn’t prepared for their hard-core mental goofiness.
The album is 99% flipping-tables hard core, thrash metal. (Buzz Osborne)
Patton said in an interview that the album was recorded in a little four-track, and even though Spruance did a great job still sounded “like it’s coming out of a vacuum cleaner".
This time, they are giving the album recording redemption, with some fair modifications, three fresh new songs, “Methematics”, “Glutton For Punishment”, “Eracist” and a S.O.D’s cover “Speak English or Die” renamed “Hypocrites/Habla Español O Muere” (Speak Spanish or Die).
The album opens with a mysterious movie like soundtrack intro, for a second there I thought it was the usual Mr.Bungle eccentric twist happening, but instead, a dense dark riff opens and the trash starts, never stopping. This is a 56 min and 30 seconds of double kicks, high-speed thick riffs, crying wicked guitar solos and Patton's broad range of “throaty” singing.
Lyrically sarcastic and socially confrontative with “Hypocrites/Habla Español O Muere” in the forefront — perhaps my personal highlight — channeling vibes of the Mexican grind core/death metal band Brujeria. Followed by “Eracist”, coming along with a hectic, bizarre Mr. Bungle style video and ‘Sudden Death’ as the last stop.
It’s not a surprise that the execution turned impeccable and powerful, but it was certainly unexpected after 20 years of the last recorded album “California” in 1998, described at the time by Patton himself as a "pop-y album", to come up with an undiluted trash metal creation. I must say it’s quite delightful to witness these middle age musicians rocking hardcore music with such an eager spirit like buttering bread, it gives me life.
If you are looking to match a particular hater mood with something that boosts the trash, or just to party with your metal-head buddies, “The Raging Wrath Of The Easter Bunny Demo” is the one.
Poleth is a culture writer for La Tonique
