MR. BUNGLE - The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny Demo (Review)

Written by: The Voiceless Apparitio

Where do I even begin? Only in 2020--one of the most trying times in human history--would Mr. Bungle come back to release "new" music. Granted, it's a re-recording of their first demo, but still, it's freshly recorded material from them. I, of course, am beyond stoked to see this happen. I'm a strong admirer of Mr. Bungle, and, for that matter, most of Mike Patton's projects. This album features the original trio of Mike Patton, Trey Spruance, and Trevor Dunn, and this time they are joined by Scott Ian from Anthrax on rhythm guitars and Dave Lombardo, formerly of Slayer, Fantomas, and various other bands on drums. A stellar lineup of musicians.

So now it's time: The Easter Bunny is pissed off and out for blood. Can you survive its WRATH?

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The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny Demo begins on a creepy note with the oddly eerie instrumental "Grizzly Adams." The clean melodies are very unnerving, giving off a feeling of dread. But then they burst into the same melody, albeit played with such triumphant joy. A grand start to the album. Followup track "Anarchy Up Your Anus" slaps you upside the face immediately. For a mere two minutes and fifteen seconds, this song is just a feral beast.

"Raping Your Mind" is one of the many highlights on the album. This is a jagged, technical, and riffy monster of a song. I'm loving Mike Patton's vocal gymnastics per usual. The biggest thing to take away from this album is the band's performances: they are far tighter and more mature as a band. Don't get me wrong, the original demo is great, albeit a little bit sloppy and terribly produced, but that's what makes it special. This time around, the band has more confidence than ever before.

"Hypocrites/Habla Espanol O Muere" is one of the more straightforward hardcore-leaning song on the album. The reason why I wanted to pinpoint this song was because of how it transitions into a timely cover of S.O.D.'s "Speak English or Die," with a nice Spanish twist to it. It definitely made me chuckle, but in a great way. If there's one thing you can say about this album is it is RELENTLESS. For the 56 minute runtime, there's no real breaks. Just aggressive, hardcore and death metal-leaning thrash. You could make the argument that this isn't a groundbreaking masterpiece like "Disco Volane," but this is still a great album. The Bungle guys play with such an energy that you can tell that they are having fun, and that's all that matters. The last song I'm going to talk about on the album is "Eracist". I have to mention this because A. that song title is fucking hilarious and clever, and B. this is one of the few songs where things slow down a little bit, but not completely, of course. The main riff to this song is still stuck in my head, I love the simplicity of it and how hook-laden it is. An absolutely infectious riff and song.
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Only Mr. Bungle. Only Mr. Bungle would come back after a fucking 20 year break, and just exclusively play songs off of the first demo live, which probably confused a lot of people. Then to top it off, they decide to re-record the demo just to piss people off. When this album was announced, I knew it would be divisive, but that's why I love it. Mr. Bungle were always one of those bands you expect the unexpected from, and with this effort, they certainly pulled it off. I find it absolutely hilarious that there are people out there who are disappointed that they made this album. You should be thankful that we were even alive to see a Mr. Bungle reunion, let alone being gifted freshly recorded music.

Thank you, Mr. Bungle, for being the ultimate trolls. You are masters and I love you. If this is the only material release that they put out, I'll be happy. But if this is the start of more activity with Mr. Bungle, thrash metal or not, I will be ecstatic as well. The Easter Bunny's bloodlust is satiated.

Mr. Bungle - The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny Demo was released Oct. 30th, 2020 from Ipecac Records

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