Mr. Bungle

Mr. Bungle is an American experimental rock band. They formed in Eureka, California, in 1985. The band is known for their eclectic style, spanning many genres, often within the course of a single song. This includes heavy metal, avant-garde jazz, ska, disco, and funk, further enhanced by frontman Mike Patton's versatile  voice. They also utilize unconventional song structures and samples, play a wide array of instruments hide their identities with costumes; and play a diverse set of cover songs during live performances.

The band was founded as a death metal project while the members were in high school. They got their name from a character in the 1960 children's educational film Beginning Responsibility: Lunchroom Manners. 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. They released three studio albums of mostly experimental rock between 1991 and 1999. The band toured in 1999 and 2000 to support its third album before going on an indefinite hiatus. It was confirmed as a disbandment in 2004. It reunited as a thrash metal band for a series of shows in February 2020. They performed the 1986 demo album The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny with Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian and former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo. The band then returned to the studio to re-record the demo as a studio album. It was released in October of that year.

Mr. Bungle has gone through many lineup changes. Patton, guitarist Trey Spruance, and bassist Trevor Dunn are the sole consistent members. The band was based in San Francisco during its tenure with Warner Bros. 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.Kerrang! 292Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: 

 Artistry 

 Musical style 
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". Initially a death metal band, and later a thrash metal group, Mr. Bungle changed their style in the early 1990s to a funk metal sound. It showed the influence of ska, disco and avant-garde jazz. 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."

CBS News said that the band's music was a "anarchic mix of metal, ska, experimental jazz, punk and soundtrack music". The Sydney Morning Herald described Mr. Bungle as "experimental rockers". 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".  Pioneers of avant-garde metal, the band was also categorized as alternative metal by Kerrang! and The Quietus.

 Stage shows and image 
Mr. Bungle were known for their  unconventional stage shows. The band members dressed up in costumes and masks. The 1999–2000 shows in support of the California album usually featured had dressed as a blonde girl resembling Goldilocks or The St. Pauli Girl. However, the other members this period often did not wear costumes. This was because of the increased demands of the music. Occasionally, the band would simply appear in black suits with white dress shirts. They would also dress up in chef costumes, cowboy suits or as the Village People.

Legacy
Korn have utilized what they have dubbed the "Mr. Bungle chord" (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".

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
ImageNameYears activeInstrumentsRelease contributionsMike Pattonall releasesTrey SpruanceTrevor DunnScott Ian 2019–presentDave Lombardo 

Former members
ImageNameYears activeInstrumentsRelease contributionsTheo Lengyel1985–1996all releases from The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny (1986) to Disco Volante (1995)Jed Watts1985–1987 The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny (1986)Hans Wagner 1987–1989 drums Scott Fritz1987trumpet Bowel Of Chiley (1987)Luke Miller 1987–1989Goddammit I Love America!!!$ɫ!! (1988)Danny Heifetz1989–2000all releases from OU818 (1989) to California (1999)Clinton "Bär" McKinnon

 Touring members 
ImageNameYears activeInstrumentsRelease contributionsWilliam Winant1995–2000percussion Ches Smith1999noneJeff Attridgekeyboards James Rotondi1999–2000

 Timeline 

Discography
Studio albums
 Year Album details Peak chart positionsSales US USHeat AUS N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart. UK 1991 Mr. Bungle
 Released: August 13, 1991
 Label: Warner Bros.
 Format: CD, CS, LP — — 134 57US: 232,706 1995 Disco Volante
 Released: October 10, 1995
 Label: Warner Bros.
 Format: CD, CS, LP, DI 113 4 40 —US: 92,302 1999 California
 Released: July 13, 1999 
 Label: Warner Bros.
 Format: CD, CS 144 7 134 —US: 72,381 2020 The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny Demo
 Released: October 30, 2020 
 Label: Ipecac
 Format: Digital, CD, 2xLP, Cassette 30 — 6 53

Live albums
 Year Album details Peak chart positions AUS 2021 The Night They Came Home
 Released: June 11, 2021
 Label: Ipecac
 Format: CD, LP, digital download, streaming 46

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"  1995 "Platypus" Disco Volante  2020 "USA"  "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

References

Other websites
 Official website


Category:1985 establishments in California
Category:Musical groups established in 1985
Category:Musical groups disestablished in 2000