Look, the world is completely in garbage mode at the moment, but would new music from one Mike Patton make waking up less dreadful? How about Patton fronting a Thrash metal act? Sweetens the deal up a bit, right? Fortunately for all of us Mike Patton has reactivated Mr. Bungle, recruited a couple of talented newcomers in Scott Ian and Dave Lombardo, and decided to re-record the 1986 demo The Raging Wrath of The Easter Bunny (Ipecac).
For a reunited band with a couple of new members, this iteration of Mr. Bungle is air-tight and sounds like they’ve been playing in unison for years if not decades. According to the press materials, this fresh and revamped version The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny Demo was recorded in just ten days which is baffling to me. And yes, I’m aware that the band had some reunion shows before the world shutdown, but to sound as locked in and composed as they do on numbers like ‘Sudden Death’ and ‘Mathematics’ indicates more than just some pre-tour rehearsals. Some of the playing here puts current thrash bands to shame.
Speaking of thrash as a whole, how come no one bothered to tell me of the lead guitar prowess of one Trey Spruance? Stop whatever it is you’re doing – don’t care if you’re feeding your kids or walking the dog – and check out the leads and solos on ‘Raping Your Mind’ and ‘Eracist’ right now. All done? Good, now how do we go about giving him the cover of Guitar World magazine for about a year straight and some endorsements to go along with it? And for all my rhythm guitar inclined folks know that Ian is as good as he has been in Anthrax’s later and excellent releases. Also, as a nod to Ian’s days in Stormtroopers of Death, you should pay attention to ‘Hypocrites / Habla Español O Muere.’
I was excited to see another Patton project get the green light, but I wasn’t expecting this total shot of adrenaline.
Buy the album here: https://mrbungle.bandcamp.com/album/the-raging-wrath-of-the-easter-bunny-demo
HANS LOPEZ