Mr. Bungle, who a year ago today announced their first live outings in two decades, have announced the release of The Raging Wrath Of The Easter Bunny Demo on Oct. 30 via Ipecac Recordings.
As was the case with the live performances, original Mr. Bungle members Trevor Dunn, Mike Patton, and Trey Spruance are joined by Scott Ian (Anthrax, S.O.D.) and Dave Lombardo (Dead Cross, Slayer, Suicidal Tendencies).
The 11-song release features tracks written by the Eureka, Calif.-born band for their 1986 cassette only demo as well as a reimagined cover of the S.O.D. classic “Hypocrites / Habla Español O Muere” (a.k.a. “Speak English or Die”) and Corrosion of Conformity’s “Loss For Words.” A video for “Raping Your Mind” is available now (https://youtu.be/3U5ZKKxqUzY). The album was produced by Mr. Bungle, recorded by Husky Höskulds at Studio 606, and mixed by Jay Ruston. Rhea Perlman narrates “Anarchy Up Your Anus.”
“Recording THIS music with THESE guys was an enormous head-rush of virtuosity and surprises every day in the studio,” explains Patton. “Trey’s video game-esque solos, Scott’s bionic right hand and cyborg-like precision, Dave’s caveman-meets-Bobby Brady-like drum fills, Trevor’s solid foundation and laser-focus to detail. There is nothing sweeter than getting your ass kicked by true comrades…where everyone has a singular drive and mission.”
Trevor Dunn adds: “Recording this record felt like 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 even went for extra credit by revisiting some tunes that we’d given up on back in the day. It was less like a trip of nostalgia and more like the refining of an original, worthy document. We were haunted for 35 years by the fact that this music wasn’t given it’s due respect. Now we can die.”
The Raging Wrath Of The Easter Bunny Demo pre-orders are available now (https://lnk.to/MBWrath), with the release available as a standard digipak CD and digitally as well as a collection of limited edition offerings:
CD Yearbook – 5000
Cassette Webstore Exclusive – 500
2LP Translucent Ruby Red Vinyl – 6500
2LP Webstore Exclusive Clear with Black Splatter Vinyl – 1000
2LP US Webstore Exclusive Silver with Red/Black Splatter Vinyl – 1000
2LP US Retail Exclusive Clear with Blood Red Splatter Vinyl – 2000
2LP International Retail Exclusive Transparent Red Smoke Vinyl – 3500
The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny Demo track list:
- Grizzly Adams
- Anarchy Up Your Anus
- Raping Your Mind
- Hypocrites / Habla Español O Muere
- Bungle Grind
- Methematics
- Eracist
- Spreading The Thighs of Death
- Loss For Words
- Glutton For Punishment
- Sudden Death
Mr. Bungle was formed in an impoverished lumber and fishing town by a trio of curious, volatile teenagers. Trey Spruance, Mike Patton and Trevor Dunn beget the amorphous “band” in 1985 up in Humboldt County, Calif., sifting through a variety of members until around 1989 when they settled on a lineup that managed to get signed to Warner Bros. Records. No one really knows how this happened and it remains a complete mystery that even the algorithms of the internet can’t decode. Up until 2000 they released three albums (Mr. Bungle in 1991, Disco Volante in 1995 and California in 1999), toured a good portion of the Western hemisphere and avoided any sort of critical acclaim. Some argue that the band subsequently broke up but there is also no proof of this. What is true is that they took 20 years off from performing under said moniker while they pursued various other musics that, in contrast, paid the rent.
