MR BUNGLE is an American Fusion/Experimental/Death Thrash Metal band from Eureka, California. This is the main side project of FAITH NO MORE mastermind Mike Patton and was reactivated in 2020 after a long dormant 20 years. They decided to re-record the 1986 demo with a renewed band lineup. They added legendary SLAYER drummer Dave Lombardo and ANTHRAX main axe-man Scott Ian to the fold. This is an album that caught people off guard, and they weren't prepared for and it pretty much came from out of nowhere (pun intended).

No one was expecting the release of a re-recording of something that was released back in 1986. This album title might the most bizarre I ever heard of in my entire 39 years on earth! You do not want a pissed off Easter Bunny going crazy and murdering people! I am also quite stoked that they added such legendary musicians to the fold and those guys were in bands that influenced MR BUNGLE back in their infancy. MR BUNGLE changed so much styles throughout the years but they started as a Crossover Thrash Metal band and ANTHRAX and SLAYER were bands that forged their sound.

You obviously can tell from the live show they did at the end of 2020 to celebrate the release of the album that these guys are having the time of their life. The fun is contagious and Mike Patton is front and center having fun and smiling, screaming his head off. He definitely has not something to prove anymore after almost 40 years of genius work. He has so much other bands and projects, to see him in this context is awesome. He is having fun and he always did things his own way and the 1986 demo was pretty much forgotten forever honestly.

The production is better but it feels mechanical at times and a bit overproduced. I was expecting a bit more but it still sounds great. The song titles and lyrics are infantile, hell juvenile actually. They were young when they recorded this and they obviously didn't take themselves too seriously and FAITH NO MORE did the same thing as well. They were the most experimental band out there and they had no filter, MR BUNGLE is the same thing. It's overly aggressive, I was not prepared for this at all. I was expecting something more experimental, but this is in Death-Thrash Metal territory. Well surprises can be good or bad but this one far exceeded my expectations. The two cover songs are also a nice departure from the rest and are mostly an ode to bands that had an influence on the infancy of the band and it was great to hear something different and new obviously.

This is S.O.D. meets SLAYER meets the Frankenstein monster. The lyrical context is juvenile like previously noted but musically, this was way more complex than previously thought. It's energetic, frantic and all over the place. I had some flashbacks from early KILLING JOKE albums. It has inklings of Post-Punk elements at times and has that angst and frenzy from that music genre. It's frenetic pace and aggression will leave you breathless but it's such a release of anger and energy. This is the type of album you need during these tough times, it's going to knock your socks off and let you get off steam. Aggressive, complex yet magical, such a uncompromising bunch of songs.