Mr. Bungle - The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny (1986)
This ain't ya grandpappy's death metal, this ain't ya papa's death metal, and this probably isn't your death metal, but you know whose death metal it is? Your friend's weird little brother who tries way too damn hard to be weird! In fact, that's likely to be the only death metal album on his Zune that he still keeps around because "the interface, dude" and just to be quirky. The little shit probably owns an Invader Zim shirt, so be sure to search his closet for that and some oregano in a ziplock that the poor bastard was sold.
Mr. Bungle's first demo tape often finds them trying to be both Death and Slayer at the same time, with vocalist Mike Patton often doing his best Chuck Schuldiner impersonation while guitarist Trey Spruance does his best Slayer impersonations. This is especially shown in the track "Spreading the Thighs of Death" in which you'll think "I need to call my mom because I don't know which 1980s metal band I'm listening to!" but even she won't know because it's such an obscure release that went under the radar for many people at the time of the release, and by "many people" I mean "pretty much everyone who wasn't in the band" and ain't that a damn shame, because there are moments on here of promise, even if they sometimes shoot themselves in the foot in the process.
Just listen to the creepy intro track "Grizzly Adams" and wait for the distorted electric guitar to come in just to violently shit diarrhea all over the track with its enlarged, inflamed asshole of mediocrity. Interestingly enough, from what I've been told, guitarist Trey Spruance stole the microphone away from vocalist Mike Patton for a song called "Hypocrites" on here that has a cover of "La Cucaracha" in the middle of it, and isn't that just the whackiest thing you've ever heard? These kids!! These kids and their DEATH FUKN METAL!! Another whacky tune is "Evil Satan" towards the end that breaks away from the death metal mold completely to have a funk-rock song, with a terrible Anthony Kiedis impersonation over it. That's right: I'll just say it, as a Patton fanboy, that song is Anthony Kiedis with a cold. No use in even trying to deny that shit when it's that obvious.
"Life's a fucking joke. Do the Bungle Grind!!" vocalist Mike Patton screams at the listener on "Bungle Grind", but I'd really rather not grind on anyone's bungle unless chicken nuggets are involved. At least six pieces because I'm not that much of a cheap slut. Don't get me wrong: I am a TOTAL slut for chicken nuggets but if you wanna be my lover, you gotta get the twenty piece, my nathan. Live by nuggies, die by nuggies. My dad told me I was born with a nugget in my mouth. A nugget of what? Now THAT'S some gross shit!
I remember when I was a teenager getting into Mike Patton's work and heard that his very first album (this one, of course) was death metal, I hadn't even heard it but I thought "this must be the ONE death metal album worth owning!!" and years later, I can honestly say NO death metal albums are worth owning outside of the classic Of Mice & Men records. Get "AUSTIN CARLILE OR DIE" on my tombstone. Hell, just come to my funeral so my mom isn't too bored!!
6/10
