Mr. Bungle's a hard band to categorize, as their music traversed multiple genres, often within a single song. And that's another thing: many of their "songs" aren't so much songs as sonic montages overlaid with maniacal vocal performances, particularly on their second release, Disco Volante. One genre that can definitely be applied, although it's a broad one applicable to about any style, is "experimental". Probably the next most appropriate tag is "alternative", followed by "metal". So that's what we'll call them, experimental alternative metal, although you'll hear everything from techno to contemporary classical to ska, punk, lounge and jazz in their music too. Mr. Bungle cultivated a schizophrenic sound that mixed eerily and coherently with their irreverent and satirical performance style, creepy and ironic lyrics, and evil-clown stage personas.
I'm going to share with you a track off of my favorite of Mr. Bungle's three equally compelling yet disparate albums, their self titled debut from 1991. I like it because it's the most song-oriented, the most metal and consistently uses a two saxophone horn section, something not often heard in rock music, particularly of the heavy variety. I think this album was the beginning of vocalist Mike Patton's long collaborative relationship with avant-garde composer and saxophonist John Zorn, and his contribution as producer may be part of what makes this album so interesting and enjoyable. But make no mistake, these guys are smoking musicians in their own right, and they pull off some amazingly complex and difficult music as though it's second nature. And this was before there was a whole lot of experimental metal around. Here's "Carousel" from Mr. Bungle's first and great album, followed by a live performance of "Stubb A Dub" from the same period so you can get a taste of their weird stage show.
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