Mr. Bungle United States
"I expected a lot from this album after hearing Mr. Bungle's debut and the brilliant "Disco Volante". Sadly, my impression of this album was not up to pair with those two albums at all. This one is more mainstream and accessible, with a light and summer-ish feeling to it. It's like listening to a "Fath No More meets Secret Chiefs 3" album, only more experimental, of course. The band plays good through-out the album, and most of the songs are great. The opener for example, is a really catchy and great tune, IMO. But this isn't really a Bungle record in my opinion, even though it's the same musicians as on their two first, this haven't got that Bungle-ish feeling to it that is needed to makes this a true Bungle record!
But of course, if you are a fan of this band you should give it a try. You might like it... or not. Depends on your musical taste. Fans of Faith No More and Secret Chiefs should also check this one out. I'll rate it 7/10 - could have been better, but recommended to fans."
"nbsp;Now THIS is something you don’t hear everyday, very different from their debut too, Mike Patton takes Mr. Bungle to new heights with this one, this is simply one of the most unorthodox and downright bizarre RIO/Avant-Prog records ever made and definitely one of the highlight of modern progressive music. This is very inaccessible and needs a good dose of patience and open-mind ness, like most of Patton’s works, and you’ll see that this album really have some fantastic qualities. The most notable one being that this album transcends almost every musical genre ever recorded, including ambient, death metal, jazz and techno, without sounding unbalanced or unstructured. This is an extremely well made album actually, and I think this is one of the most original and weirdest Avant-Prog I’ve listened to so far.
The musicianship is incredible, better instrumentation on an album is hard to find. It’s really amazing to listen to; the musicians play this über-complex music with complete ease it seems. There are also loads with sound effects here and the album is extremely unpredictable too.
In overall, I have to say that this album impressed me to the maximal on the first couple of listens. While not perfect though, “The Bends” is a 10-minute avant-ambient track splitted up in several parts, it’s an interesting track and it’s not bad, but I don’t think it matches up with the rest of the album, same goes for “After School Special”, but otherwise, this album is more or less perfection to the most bizarre and unusual levels. It’s a really though nut for some, but if you like Avant-Prog in a “bit” more extreme way, this album is not to be missed!! Masterpiece!"
"Mr. Bungle's debut was quite different from their next album "Disco Volante". While "Disco Volante" was a insane mix of almost every possible music genres out there, including ambient and death metal, this one was more humorous and acessible. Still not for regular prog fans, but if you love stuff like Faith No More, Frank Zappa and Primus, this one should do it for you.
As for the music in general, it's a cross between funk-metal, avant-garde and experimental prog/hard rock. Mike Patton's vocals fits the album well and the musicianship is more or less flawless. The rather funny lyrics, however, is not always healthy for you. There is a reason that the "Parental Advisory" label is on the cover, if you know what I mean... Songs like "Girls of Porn" features very explicit material in the lyrics and may not suite the average prog listener well, hehe!
This album clocks in at 73-minutes. Most of the album is excellent, though some weaker moments also are present. I recommend this album to people who knows Patton's other projects too, because if you are a close-minded 70's Symphonic Prog fan, this album may scare you away from your CD player! Be open-minded when you are on your first liten at this one. If you not like it, listen to it more, then it will most likely grow on you. If you still don't like it, Bungle simply isn't for you. Personal rating: 9/10"
