Mr. Bungle
Template:Short description Template:About Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox musical artist
Mr. Bungle is an American experimental rock band formed in Eureka, California, in 1985. Having gone through many incarnations throughout its career, the band is best known for its experimental rock period. During this time, it developed a highly eclectic style, cycling through several musical genres, often within the course of a single song, including heavy metal, avant-garde jazz, ska, disco, and funk, further enhanced by frontman Mike Patton's versatile singing style.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Huey" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> This period also saw the band utilizing unconventional song structures and samples; playing a wide array of instruments; obscuring the members' identities and dressing up in masks, jumpsuits, and other costumes; and performing a diverse selection of cover songs during live performances.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The band was founded as a death metal project while the members were in high school. It is named after a character in the 1960 children's educational film Beginning Responsibility: Lunchroom Manners, as featured in the 1981 HBO special The Pee-wee Herman Show.<ref name="MrBungleFAQ">Template:Cite web</ref> Mr. Bungle released four demo tapes in the mid-to-late 1980s. On the back of Patton's success as frontman of Faith No More, the band was signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1990 and released three studio albums between 1991 and 1999 in the eclectic, experimental style it became known for. The band toured in 1999 and 2000 to support its third album before going on an indefinite hiatus that was confirmed as a dissolution in 2004.<ref name="rollingstone">Template:Cite web</ref> It reunited as a thrash metal band for a series of shows in February 2020 to perform its 1986 demo album The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny with Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian and former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo.<ref name="reunion">Template:Cite web</ref> The band then returned to the studio to re-record the demo as a professional album, released in October of that year.
Mr. Bungle has gone through numerous lineup changes, with Patton, guitarist Trey Spruance, and bassist Trevor Dunn the sole consistent members. The band was based in San Francisco during its tenure with Warner Bros.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="smh">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="trey">Template:Cite web</ref> During much of the band's existence, it was in a public dispute with Red Hot Chili Peppers, particularly between Patton and Chili Peppers vocalist Anthony Kiedis.<ref name="2020book">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Kerrang! 292</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Archived at GhostarchiveTemplate:Cbignore and the Wayback MachineTemplate:Cbignore: Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref>
History
Formation (1985–1989)
Mr. Bungle emerged after its members were kicked out of their respective previous bands. "It was kinda like a merger between two bands," Mike Patton recalled. "One really horrible gothic metal band, which our guitarist and original drummer were in, and one really horrible metal band which did Metallica covers, which is the one Trevor and me came from."<ref name="Bungle Bungle Rock Jaega 1991">Bungle Bungle Rock Jaega, Trish (September 2, 1991). Sounds, Vancouver, United Kingdom.</ref> Mr. Bungle initially described themselves as a death metal band, but also dabbled in speed metal, thrash metal, and hardcore punk. The members came very close to naming the band Summer Breeze before settling on the name Mr. Bungle. The Mr. Bungle name was inspired by a 1950s propaganda film that they had seen as a segment of The Pee-wee Herman Show. The members previously used the name to refer to a classmate that they thought to be "a total goober" before adopting it as their band's name.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Within a year of formation, the band expanded their sound to include ska. Trevor Dunn noted in 1991: "After about a year we got tired of playing speed metal and wanted to do something a little more creative. So we just stopped and started writing our own style of music, which was influenced by bands like Camper Van Beethoven, Oingo Boingo, Bad Manners and kind of funky, ska-oriented stuff. Then we added a two-piece horn section and a new drummer, so now we don't really have any kind of limit on the music we play."<ref name="Bungle Bungle Rock Jaega 1991"/> Trey Spruance corroborated this: "When I was 15, I was in a death metal group," Spruance reminisced. "We had this idea that we were going to play a bunch of ska tunes for a bunch of metalheads. We just had this idea, you know: 'Okay, we're going to play this ska music, and that'll be amazing.' Half of the audience hated us, but there was definitely a joy in confronting that wall between styles."<ref>Freeform Mayhem Varty, Alexander (January 5, 2006). The Georgia Straight, Vancouver, British Columbia.</ref>
Given that the band's background was exclusively in heavy music at that point, some band members experienced difficulties expanding their sound early on. In particular, Spruance noted that Mike Patton had to teach him to play the ska stroke for a performance at their high school talent show. Spruance later explained, "Oh, what I remember was... this was our first... like, we had only done, uh, death metal up to that point. And so this was our first time trying to ever play ska. And I'd never played... on guitar, like, I'd never played... I didn't know how to do that skanking guitar shit at all. But Patton could do, like with one finger on the thread mark, he could do the, the rhythmic part of it pretty well. Like, he could... he taught me how to do it. So, I just sort of awkwardly... I would fill in and make the chord and he actually played guitar, but would just kind of use it percussively. And we played these Camper Van Beethoven songs, and I don't... I dunno if we played The Specials, but that's what we were listening to."<ref name="culturecreature.com">Template:Cite web</ref>
Mr. Bungle played their first show in November 1985 at the Bayside Grange Hall in Bayside, California.<ref name="trey"/> The band's first demo, The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny, was recorded during Easter of 1986. It featured a fast, lo-fi death/thrash metal sound, with touches of ska.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Instruments utilized on the album included a train whistle, saxophone, bongos and a kazoo. The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny was followed in 1987 by the Bowel of Chiley demo; it featured a much greater ska presence, as well as the sounds of jazz, swing and funk. Bradley Torreano noted at AllMusic that the recording was "essentially the sound of some very talented teenagers trying to make their love of jazz and ska come together in whatever way they can."<ref name="Torreano">Template:Cite web</ref> In 1988, Mike Patton became the lead vocalist for Faith No More, getting the job after the band heard him on the first Mr. Bungle demo.<ref name=FNM>Template:Cite web</ref> Patton continued to be a member of both bands simultaneously and Mr. Bungle released its third demo, Goddammit I Love America!, later in 1988, which was musically similar to Bowel of Chiley. Mike Patton described its style as "funkadelic, thrashing, circus, ska."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> OU818, their final demo tape, was recorded in June 1989. OU818, was the first release to feature both tenor sax player Clinton "Bär" McKinnon and drummer Danny Heifetz. At the time of this release, Mike Patton described Mr. Bungle as a "weirdo funk band".<ref>Archived at GhostarchiveTemplate:Cbignore and the Wayback MachineTemplate:Cbignore: Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref>
Mr. Bungle (1990–1993)
During 1990, the band members left Eureka for San Francisco in search of greater musical opportunities. Trey Spruance said the change in location influenced the band's style, remarking "[we were interested in] Slayer and Mercyful Fate. Later it was The Specials and Fishbone. Then we moved to San Francisco and got all sophisticated. Now we are improv snobs who rule the avant-garde universe by night, and poor, fucked-up hipsters by day."<ref name="trey"/> Having established a following in Northern California, Mr. Bungle was signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1990, with the label releasing all three of their studio albums during the 1990s.<ref name="allmusic.com">Template:Cite web</ref> It has been speculated that Patton's success as frontman of Faith No More was the primary reason Warner Bros. signed the band.<ref name="latimes91">Template:Cite news</ref> The Los Angeles Times stated in a 1991 article that "Under normal circumstances, you'd have to describe Mr. Bungle's chances of landing a major label deal as... a long shot."<ref name="latimes91"/>
Their debut album, Mr. Bungle, was produced by jazz experimentalist John Zorn and was released on August 13, 1991. The cover featured artwork by Dan Sweetman, originally published in the story "A Cotton Candy Autopsy" in the DC Comics/Piranha Press imprint title Beautiful Stories for Ugly Children. The record mixed metal, funk, ska, carnival music and free jazz, but was normally described as funk metal by music critics.<ref name=bunglefever>Template:Cite web</ref> It received mostly positive reviews, with journalist Bill Pahnelas calling it "an incredible musical tour de force".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On the style of the album, critic Steve Huey wrote in AllMusic: "Mr. Bungle is a dizzying, disconcerting, schizophrenic tour through just about any rock style the group can think of, hopping from genre to genre without any apparent rhyme or reason, and sometimes doing so several times in the same song."<ref name=Huey2>Template:Cite web</ref>
The album's first track and sole single was originally titled "Travolta". At Warner Brothers' encouragement, it was renamed "Quote Unquote" in later pressings, due to fears regarding a potential lawsuit by John Travolta.<ref name=MrBungleFAQ/> The band created a music video for the song, directed by Kevin Kerslake.<ref name=KevinKerslakeDirectorCredits>Template:Cite web</ref> However, MTV refused to air the video because of images of bodies dangling on meat hooks.<ref name=McGaughey>Template:Cite web</ref> The album sold well despite MTV refusing to air their video and a lack of radio airplay.<ref name=McGaughey/> Almost all the members went by obscure aliases in the album credits.<ref name=MBAC>Template:Cite book</ref> To promote the album in some stores, a Mr. Bungle bubble bath was given away with copies of the record sold.<ref name=MrBungleFAQ/> Following the release of the album, the band toured North America.<ref name=allmusic.com/><ref name=McGaughey/>
Disco Volante (1994–1997)
Due to artwork delays and the band members' many side-projects, it was four years before Disco Volante was released, in October 1995.<ref name=bunglefever/> The new album displayed musical development and a shift in tone from their earlier recordings.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> While the self-titled album was described as "funk metal", with Disco Volante this label was replaced with "avant-garde" or "experimental".<ref name=McGaughey/>
The music was complex and unpredictable, with the band continuing with their shifts of musical style. Some of the tracks were in foreign languages and would radically change genres mid-song. Featuring lyrics about death, suicide and child abuse,<ref name=Macdonald>Template:Cite news</ref> along with children's songs and a Middle Eastern techno number, music critic Greg Prato described the album as having "a totally original and new musical style that sounds like nothing that currently exists".<ref name="DV Rev">Template:Cite web</ref> Not all critics were impressed with the album, with The Washington Post describing it as "an album of cheesy synthesizers, mangled disco beats, virtuosic playing and juvenile noises", calling it "self-indulgent" and adding that "Mr. Bungle's musicians like to show off their classical, jazz and world-beat influences in fast, difficult passages which are technically impressive but never seem to go anywhere".<ref name=himes>Template:Cite news</ref> Additionally, writer Scott McGaughey described it as "difficult", and was critical of its "lack of actual songs".<ref name=McGaughey/> Disco Volante included influences from contemporary classical music, avant-garde jazz, electronic music pioneer Pierre Henry, Edgar Allan Poe, John Zorn, Krzysztof Penderecki, and European film music of the 1960s and 1970s, such as those composed by Ennio Morricone and Peter Thomas.<ref name=McGaughey/><ref name="DV Rev"/><ref name="CMJ-NMR REV"/><ref name="Eichler DV Rev">Template:Cite web</ref> The album notes also contained an invitation to participate in an "unusual scam" – if $2 was sent to the band's address, participants would receive additional artwork, lyrics to the songs "Ma Meeshka Mow Skwoz" and "Chemical Marriage" and some stickers.<ref name=bunglefever/> The vinyl release of this album shipped with a 7" by the then-unknown Secret Chiefs 3.<ref name=MrBungleFAQ/>
Mr. Bungle supported Disco Volante with their first world tour, performing across North America, Europe and Australia during 1995 and 1996.<ref name=allmusic.com/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> After this tour, founding member and original saxophone player and keyboardist Theo Lengyel left the band due to creative differences.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=CBS-arrest>Template:Cite news</ref>
In early 1997, the band began work on a covers album, but it was put on indefinite hold due to Patton's touring commitments with Faith No More.<ref name=allmusic.com/> Later in 1997, the Seattle-based Rastacore Records started distributing CDs of Bowel of Chiley (incorrectly labelled Bowl of Chiley on the Rastacore release). This was done without official authorization from Mr. Bungle or Warner Bros., and as such production was halted, with only a limited number of CDs surviving.<ref name="Torreano"/><ref name=MrBungleFAQ/>
California (1998–2000)
After a two-year break, which saw Faith No More split, Mr. Bungle reconvened in 1998 to record new material. The band's third album, California, was released on July 13, 1999. Ground and Sky reviews have described California as Mr. Bungle's most accessible<ref name=Eichler>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=Wu>Template:Cite web</ref> and, while the band's signature genre shifts are still present,<ref name=AMG>Template:Cite web</ref> they are less frequent, with succinct song formats resulting in an album that the Associated Press called "surprisingly linear".<ref name=CNN>Template:Cite web</ref> AllMusic called the record "their most concise album to date; and while the song structures are far from traditional, they're edging more in that direction, and that greatly helps the listener in making sense of the often random-sounding juxtapositions of musical genres".<ref name=Huey/> Of the different style of this album, Patton said that to the band "the record is pop-y", before adding "...but to some fucking No Doubt fan in Ohio, they're not going to swallow that."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The album was generally well-received, with music critic Robert Everett-Green writing, "The band's newest and greatest album does not reveal itself quickly, but once the bug bites, there is no cure. The best disc of the year, by a length."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The recording process for California was more complex than for the band's previous records. It chose to record the album to analog tape rather than digitally<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and some songs required several 24-track machines, utilizing over 50 tracks.<ref name="CNN"/> As a result, each song contains layers of original samples, keyboards, percussion and melodies.<ref name="McGaughey"/> The album displays influences from Burt Bacharach and The Beach Boys, while blending lounge, pop, doo-wop, jazz, funk, exotica, thrash metal, Hawaiian, Middle Eastern, alternative metal, surf music, kecak, and avant-garde music.<ref name=Eichler/><ref name=Wu/><ref name=AMG/><ref name=Huey>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=Paluzzi>Template:Cite web</ref>
The band toured North America, Australia and Europe to support the record.<ref name=bunglefever/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> They also appeared on the 2000 edition of the SnoCore Tour, performing alongside alternative metal acts it had influenced, such as Incubus and System of a Down.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> According to Dunn, Mr. Bungle was "completely out of place" on the SnoCore Tour.<ref name="toma"/> He said: "We were sort of the grandpas of the tour, so we started really messing with the audiences. We dressed up like the Village People and acted super gay which really pissed off the metal kids."<ref name="toma">Template:Cite web</ref>
Mr. Bungle played its last concert in nearly 20 years on September 9, 2000, in Nottingham, England.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Better source needed Following the California tour, the members again went their separate ways to pursue their various side projects. During the early 2000s, Patton was primarily touring and recording with his metal project Fantômas (which also featured Dunn) and the newly formed supergroup Tomahawk. Mr. Bungle was assumed to be in another period of "hibernation",<ref name="MrBungleFAQ"/> with Patton telling Kerrang! in October 2001 that "it's gotta take a rest. There's a few of us that aren't even ready to face it again for a while. We'll put it on the shelf for now and see what happens to it and hopefully revisit it again."<ref>Kerrang!, Issue 876 (October 13, 2001)</ref> However, Patton announced in a 2004 interview with Rolling Stone that the group had disbanded.<ref name="rollingstone"/>
Post-breakup events (2000–2019)
After the dissolution of Mr. Bungle, the members went on to numerous different projects. Patton co-founded the record label Ipecac Recordings<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and is involved with several other ventures, including various works with composer John Zorn and the bands Fantômas,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Tomahawk,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Peeping Tom.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2004, Björk called upon him to provide vocal work on her album Medúlla. He acted in the motion picture Firecracker,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> narrated the film Bunraku, and did voice work in the movie I Am Legend, performing the screams and howls of the infected humans.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He also did zombie and other character voices in the game Left 4 Dead (as well as the growls for the anger core in the game Portal). In 2009 and 2010, Patton embarked on a world tour with Faith No More after it reunited.<ref name=FNM/> Spruance is involved with various bands, including Secret Chiefs 3 and Faxed Head. Dunn joined Patton in Fantômas and Tomahawk, and formed a jazz band, Trevor Dunn's Trio Convulsant; he also occasionally played bass with Secret Chiefs 3.<ref name=McGaughey/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Heifetz's projects included playing with Secret Chiefs 3 and in the country/punk band Dieselhed;<ref name=McGaughey/> he now resides in Sydney, and plays in outfits such as The Exiles, The Tango Saloon and The Fantastic Terrific Munkle.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> McKinnon also played with Secret Chiefs 3. In 2002, he moved to Melbourne, Australia, after getting into a relationship with an Australian woman he met at a 2000 Mr. Bungle concert in Sydney.<ref name="swin">Template:Cite news</ref> Following his move to Melbourne, he went on to play with The Ribbon Device<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Umläut.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Spruance joined Patton and Faith No More onstage for the first time to perform King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime in its entirety in Santiago in November 2011.<ref name="culturecreature.com"/> Patton sang on the Secret Chiefs 3 song "La Chanson de Jacky" in 2012, provoking further speculation by fans about a reunion. But in a February 2013 interview with SF Weekly, Dunn said there would be no Mr. Bungle reunion: "I've heard the faintest murmurings about it, but honestly I don't think anyone is interested. It's nothing personal, either. We all feel like that band said what it needed to say. It would feel weird and awkward to play that music again. It would take a pant-load of money to make it happen, and honestly, I don't want to do it for that reason. I would prefer to let go of it, respectfully."<ref>"Tomahawk's Trevor Dunn on Why There Won't Be a Mr. Bungle Reunion". SF Weekly. February 12, 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2013.</ref> When asked about Mr. Bungle reuniting in an interview published in February 2014, Patton responded! "Who knows? It certainly doesn't seem like it's on the tip of anyone's lips, but I could have said the same thing—and in fact, I did say the same thing—about Faith No More, and that happened. And I think it happened for the better."<ref>"Tomahawk's Trevor Dunn on Why There Won't Be a Mr. Bungle Reunion". Alarm Magazine. Issue 41 February 2014. Retrieved November 1, 2014.</ref> Around this time, the book The Faith No More & Mr. Bungle Companion was released, which covered both bands' histories.<ref>Prato, Greg (2013). The Faith No More & Mr. Bungle Companion Template:ISBN</ref>
Reunion and The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny Demo (2019–present)
On August 13, 2019, it was announced that Mr. Bungle would reunite in February 2020 for three shows in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Brooklyn. The reunion was promoted as featuring Patton, Spruance and Dunn, as well as guitarist Scott Ian and drummer Dave Lombardo, performing The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny in its entirety. On August 15, after a strong demand for tickets for all three shows, the band added an additional show to each city. A third L.A. show was added on August 21, bringing the total number of reunion shows to seven. The band wrote on its Facebook page that it would not perform any songs from its Warner Bros. albums.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
During the reunion shows, Mr. Bungle covered songs of various metal and hardcore punk bands such as Slayer, Corrosion of Conformity, Circle Jerks, Crumbsuckers and Cro-Mags in addition to performing three previously unreleased songs written during the era of The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny: "Glutton For Punishment", "Methamatics", and "Eracist". Although the entire recording was promoted as being performed, non-metal songs from the demo (such as "Grizzly Adams" and "Evil Satan") were absent from the performances. The only exception was "Hypocrites", albeit with the ska sections eliminated.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The choice of songs received a mixed reaction from certain portions of the band's fanbase. In their review of the Los Angeles gig, Revolver wrote "One of the most quietly influential bands in metal reunited last night in Los Angeles ... to play zero of the songs that made them influential."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Mr. Bungle collaborated with several guests during the shows including the comedian Eric Andre, who introduced the band at the beginning of their show at February 7,<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref> and Jed Watts, the original drummer of Mr. Bungle.<ref>Archived at GhostarchiveTemplate:Cbignore and the Wayback MachineTemplate:Cbignore: Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref>
In the weeks following the February 2020 shows, Mr. Bungle posted without comment on their Twitter account pictures taken in a recording studio, hinting at an upcoming recording.<ref>Template:Cite tweet</ref><ref>Template:Cite tweet</ref> On March 23 and 24, Revolver magazine published a two-part press release and interview with Spruance formally announcing that the band, joined by Scott Ian and Dave Lombardo, were currently re-recording The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny in addition to the previously unreleased songs and covers performed during the reunion shows, with an expected release on Patton's label Ipecac Recordings in the fall of 2020.<ref name="auto1">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On June 5, Mr. Bungle released a cover of "U.S.A." by The Exploited, featuring a hardcore punk sound. "Doesn't matter what part of the political spectrum you are on, everyone at some point has said, 'Fuck the USA,'" Spruance commented. "The closest thing we have to a universal sentiment."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
On August 13, the band officially announced that the album, now titled The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny Demo, would be released on October 30. Alongside the announcement, they released an animated music video for the single "Raping Your Mind" directed by Eric Livingston. Dunn described re-recording their earliest material with Lombardo and Ian as "we were finally utilizing our Ph.Ds in Thrash Metal. All we had to do was go back to our original professors for some additional guidance and talk them into joining us. Turns out we were A+ students... We were haunted for 35 years by the fact that this music wasn't given it's [sic] due respect. Now we can die."<ref name="auto2">Template:Cite web</ref>
In December 2023, Theo Lengyel was named as a person of interest in the disappearance of his girlfriend, Alice "Alyx" Kamakaokalani Herrmann.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On January 2, 2024, he was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.<ref name=CBS-arrest/><ref name=foundingcharge>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=arrest>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On October 11, 2024, he was found guilty of killing Herrmann.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On November 8, he was given a sentence of life imprisonment with a minimum term of 25 years.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Style and influence
According to Invisible Oranges, Mr. Bungle "cultivated their own complex universe whose parts, embracing both regimen and disorder, inspired awe with increasing perspective and closer examination".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Initially a death metal band,<ref name="allmusic.com"/> and later a thrash metal group,<ref name="gum">Template:Cite web</ref> Mr. Bungle changed their style in the '90s to a funk metal sound<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> that showed the influence of ska, disco and avant-garde jazz.<ref name="allmusic.com"/> In a 2021 interview, Spruance claimed that, "there's never been a time in Mr. Bungle’s existence where it wasn't a metal band. There was always metal in there somewhere, and when we think ‘metal’; metal isn't just riffs and drums playing like a machine; it's a whole psychology. The psychology of metal is there, even in that funk metal era; it's everywhere."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
CBS News said that the band's music was a "anarchic mix of metal, ska, experimental jazz, punk and soundtrack music".<ref name="cbs">Template:Cite web</ref> The Sydney Morning Herald described Mr. Bungle as "experimental rockers".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> AllMusic described the band as "free-form rock radicals" and said that "Mr. Bungle's sound and approach are a unique mix of the experimental, the abstract, and the absurd".<ref name="allmusic.com"/> Pioneers of avant-garde metal,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the band was also categorized as alternative metal by Kerrang!<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and The Quietus.<ref name=nu>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Prior to the release of their first album in 1991, the Los Angeles Times stated that the band "performs oddball music one critic has described as Bugs Bunny-type jazz."<ref name="latimes91"/> Variety referred to the band as "Zappa-esque Bay Area pranksters" in 2000.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Allmusic's Greg Prato described Mr. Bungle's music as a "unique mix of the experimental, the abstract, and the absurd",<ref name=allmusic.com/> while Patrick Macdonald of The Seattle Times characterized their music as "harsh, grating, unstructured, blasting, squeaky, speedy, slow, eerie and strangely compelling".<ref name=Macdonald/> Distinctive features of the music were the use of numerous different instruments, unusual vocals, and the use of unpredictable song formats along with a number of different musical genres. Greg Prato stated they "may be the most talented rock instrumentalists today, as they skip musical genres effortlessly, while Mike Patton illustrates why many consider him to be the best singer in rock".<ref name="DV Rev"/> Not all have agreed, with one reviewer calling the band the "most ridiculously terrible piece of festering offal ever scraped off the floor of a slaughterhouse".<ref name=GRP/> Journalist Geoffrey Himes criticized the band by stating "the vocals are so deeply buried in the music that the words are virtually indecipherable" and described the music as "aural montages rather than songs, for short sections erupt and suddenly disappear, replaced by another passage with little connection to what preceded it".<ref name=himes/>
Mr. Bungle frequently incorporated unconventional instruments into their music, including jaw harp, cimbalom, xylophone, glockenspiel, ocarina, bongos, and woodblocks.<ref name="CMJ-NMR REV">Template:Cite web</ref> Journalist John Serba commented that the band's instrumentation "sounded kind of like drunken jazz punctuated with Italian accordions and the occasional Bavarian march, giant power chord, or feedback noise thrown in".<ref name="GRP" /> Mike Patton's vocals often employed extended techniques such as death metal growls, crooning, rapping, screeching, gurgling, or whispering. The arrangement of their songs was also idiosyncratic, often lacking a structured song format and rotating through different genres ranging from slow melodies to thrash metal.<ref name=CNN/> New York Times journalist Jon Pareles described the band's music as "leap[ing] from tempo to tempo, key to key, style to style, all without warning".<ref name=Pareles>Template:Cite news</ref> Similarly, critic Patrick Macdonald commented, "In the middle of hard-to-follow, indecipherable noise, a relatively normal, funky jazz organ solo will suddenly drift in".<ref name=Macdonald/>
The majority of the band's music and lyrics were written by Patton, Dunn, and Spruance, with McKinnon and Heifetz occasionally contributing.<ref name=MBAC/><ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref> Regarding their creative process, McKinnon stated in a 2000 interview that "This band is kind of like a cruel boys club in a way. You bring some ideas and if you're not 100 percent firm about bringing a certain idea to this group, you can watch it get kicked aside and die really quickly."<ref>Archived at GhostarchiveTemplate:Cbignore and the Wayback MachineTemplate:Cbignore: Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref>
It has been noted that the band were given an unusual amount of artistic freedom during their tenure with the major label Warner Bros. Records. In a 2016 interview, Trevor Dunn reflected: Template:Cquote
Trey Spruance claimed that Warner Bros. cared so little about the band that they once considered delivering an entire album's worth of static noise to the label, expecting them not to listen to it. "Then we realized – actually it doesn't matter to them; that would seem like a big statement but they would just shrug. They don't care about that shit."<ref name="culturecreature.com"/>
Legacy
Korn have utilized what they have dubbed the "Mr. Bungle chord"<ref name=rollingstone/> (A flat fifth chord or "tritone"). James "Munky" Shaffer, one of Korn's guitarists, stated in a 2015 interview that Mr. Bungle's self-titled debut "set the tone for us and what we went on to do creatively".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Stage shows and image
Mr. Bungle were known for their characteristically unconventional stage shows, where the band members would dress up in costumes and masks. The 1999–2000 shows in support of the California album usually featured Dunn dressed as a blonde girl resembling Goldilocks or The St. Pauli Girl,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> although for the other members this period was largely devoid of masks and outfits due to the increased demands of the music.<ref name=CNN/> Occasionally, the band would simply appear in black suits with white dress shirts or dress up in chef costumes, cowboy suits or as the Village People.<ref name=GRP>Template:Cite news</ref>
Members
All of the members of the 'classic' lineup of Mr. Bungle are multi-instrumentalists. The timeline below reflects only their main roles. Members of the band were known to switch instruments mid-performance.
Current members
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:CSS image crop | Mike Patton | Template:Hlist | Template:Hlist | all releases |
| Template:CSS image crop | Trey Spruance | Template:Hlist | ||
| Template:CSS image crop | Trevor Dunn | Template:Hlist | ||
| Template:CSS image crop | Scott Ian | 2019–present | Template:Hlist | Template:Flatlist |
| Template:CSS image crop | Dave Lombardo | Template:Hlist |
Former members
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Theo Lengyel | 1985–1996 | Template:Hlist | all releases from The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny (1986) to Disco Volante (1995) | |
| Jed Watts | 1985–1987 Template:Small | Template:Hlist | The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny (1986) | |
| Hans Wagner | 1987–1989 Template:Small | drums | Template:Flatlist | |
| Scott Fritz | 1987 | trumpet | Bowel Of Chiley (1987) | |
| Luke Miller | 1987–1989 | Template:Hlist | Goddammit I Love America!!!$ɫ!! (1988) | |
| Template:CSS image crop | Danny Heifetz | 1989–2000 | Template:Hlist | all releases from OU818 (1989) to California (1999) |
| Template:CSS image crop | Clinton "Bär" McKinnon | Template:Hlist |
Touring members
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:CSS image crop | William Winant<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref> | 1995–2000 | percussion | Template:Flatlist |
| Template:CSS image crop | Ches Smith<ref name=":1" /> | 1999 | none | |
| Jeff Attridge<ref name=":2">Template:Cite web</ref> | keyboards | |||
| James Rotondi<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> | 1999–2000 | Template:Hlist |
Timeline
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id:vocals value:red legend:Lead_vocals,_samples id:vocals2 value:pink legend:Backing_vocals id:wind value:tan2 legend:Wind_instruments id:lguitar value:teal legend:Lead_guitar id:rguitar value:brightgreen legend:Rhythm_guitar id:keys value:purple legend:Keyboards id:bass value:blue legend:Bass id:drums value:orange legend:Drums id:perc value:claret legend:Percussion id:studio value:black legend:Studio_album id:demo value:purple legend:Demo_release id:nonal value:orange id:single value:blue id:live value:claret id:unknown value:teal id:bars value:gray(0.95) id:text value:black
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layer:back color:demo at:03/30/1986 at:06/01/1987 color:nonal at:06/01/1992 color:live at:06/11/2021 color:single at:10/10/1995 color:unknown at:04/01/1988 at:08/01/1988 at:06/28/1989 at:12/01/1989 at:06/01/1990 at:06/01/1994 color:studio at:08/13/1991 at:10/10/1995 at:07/13/1999 at:10/30/2020
BarData =
bar:Mike text:"Mike Patton" bar:Trey text:"Trey Spruance" bar:ScottI text:"Scott Ian" bar:Trevor text:"Trevor Dunn" bar:Theo text:"Theo Lengyel" bar:Scott text:"Scott Fritz" bar:Luke text:"Luke Miller" bar:Clinton text:"Clinton McKinnon" bar:Jed text:"Jed Watts" bar:Hans text:"Hans Wagner" bar:Danny text:"Danny Heifetz" bar:Dave text:"Dave Lombardo"
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width:11 bar:Mike from:01/01/1985 till:09/09/2000 color:vocals bar:Mike from:01/01/1985 till:09/09/2000 color:keys width:3 bar:Mike from:08/13/2019 till:end color:vocals bar:Mike from:08/13/2019 till:end color:keys width:3 bar:Trey from:01/01/1985 till:09/09/2000 color:lguitar bar:Trey from:01/01/1985 till:09/09/2000 color:rguitar width:7 bar:Trey from:01/01/1985 till:09/09/2000 color:keys width:5 bar:Trey from:01/01/1985 till:09/09/2000 color:vocals2 width:3 bar:Trey from:08/13/2019 till:end color:lguitar bar:Trey from:08/13/2019 till:end color:vocals2 width:3 bar:Trey from:08/19/2019 till:end color:keys width:7 bar:ScottI from:08/13/2019 till:end color:rguitar bar:ScottI from:08/13/2019 till:end color:vocals2 width:3 bar:Trevor from:01/01/1985 till:09/09/2000 color:bass bar:Trevor from:01/01/1985 till:09/09/2000 color:vocals2 width:3 bar:Trevor from:08/13/2019 till:end color:bass bar:Trevor from:08/13/2019 till:end color:vocals2 width:3 bar:Theo from:01/01/1985 till:06/01/1996 color:keys width:3 bar:Theo from:01/01/1985 till:06/01/1996 color:wind bar:Scott from:04/01/1987 till:11/01/1987 color:wind bar:Luke from:11/01/1987 till:04/01/1989 color:wind bar:Clinton from:04/01/1989 till:09/09/2000 color:wind bar:Clinton from:04/01/1989 till:09/09/2000 color:keys width:7 bar:Clinton from:04/01/1989 till:09/09/2000 color:vocals2 width:3 bar:Clinton from:03/06/2024 till:03/06/2024 color:wind bar:Jed from:01/01/1985 till:03/01/1987 color:drums bar:Jed from:01/01/1985 till:03/01/1987 color:vocals2 width:3 bar:Jed from:02/08/2020 till:02/08/2020 color:drums bar:Hans from:03/01/1987 till:03/01/1989 color:drums bar:Hans from:05/21/2023 till:05/21/2023 color:drums bar:Danny from:03/01/1989 till:09/09/2000 color:drums bar:Danny from:03/01/1989 till:09/09/2000 color:perc width:3 bar:Danny from:03/06/2024 till:03/06/2024 color:drums bar:Dave from:08/13/2019 till:end color:drums bar:Dave from:08/13/2019 till:end color:perc width:3
</timeline>
Discography
Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> |
US Heat <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
AUS <ref name="ARIA Chart">Template:Cite web N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.</ref> |
UK <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |||
| 1991 | Mr. Bungle
|
— | — | 134 | 57 | US: 232,706<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 1995 | Disco Volante | 113 | 4 | 40 | — | US: 92,302<ref name=":0" /> |
| 1999 | California
|
144 | 7 | 134 | — | US: 72,381<ref name=":0" /> |
| 2020 | The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny Demo
|
30 | — | 6 | 53 | |
Live albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| AUS <ref name="AUS">Template:Cite web</ref> | ||
| 2021 | The Night They Came Home
|
46 <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
Demos
| Year | Demo | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny | Ladd-Frith |
| 1987 | Bowel Of Chiley | Self Released |
| 1988 | Goddammit I Love America!!!$ɫ!! | Self Released |
| 1989 | OU818 | Self Released |
Singles
| Year | Single | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | "Quote Unquote" | Mr. Bungle |
| 1992 | "Mi Stoke Il Cigaretto"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Template:N/A |
| 1995 | "Platypus"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Disco Volante |
| 2020 | "USA" | Template:N/A |
| "Raping Your Mind" | The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny Demo | |
| "Eracist" | ||
| "Sudden Death" |
Music videos
| Year | Video | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | "Quote Unquote" | Kevin Kerslake |
| "My Ass Is on Fire" | Steve Lederman | |
| 2020 | "Raping Your Mind" | Eric Livingston |
| "Eracist" | Derrick Scocchera | |
| "Sudden Death" | Derek Cianfrance |
Live video
| Year | Video | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Mr. Bungle: The Night They Came Home | Jack Bennett |
See also
- List of alternative metal artists
- List of avant-garde metal artists
- List of bands from the San Francisco Bay Area
- List of experimental musicians
- List of funk metal and funk rock bands
References
External links
- Pages with broken file links
- 1985 establishments in California
- American avant-garde metal musical groups
- American experimental rock groups
- American funk metal musical groups
- Masked musicians
- Musical groups established in 1985
- Musical groups disestablished in 2000
- Musical groups reestablished in 2019
- Surrealist groups
- Thrash metal musical groups from California
- Warner Records artists