Alright people, before we embark this tour, i would advice you to put on your seat-belts, for this is going to be one strange and hairy ride.
First of all though, to gain a deeper understanding of this tour, let's get a bit of background info first, shall we?
Mr. Bungle first started in 1985 by Mike Patton and some high school friends. Doomed to remained unrecognised for playing unique but obscure music, they only managed to gain the recognition they did when Mike Patton was chosen as the new singer for Faith no More.
But is it recognition well deserved?
Hell yeah!
Mr Bungle create's music that blends many genres together into a whole melting pot, mixing them into something that's entirely, but not quite, unlike tea. It's a tea made of rock'n'roll, surf music, metal, carnival music, hawaiian music, heavy metal, noir music, noise, tribal chants, children techno, all with just a hint of lemon. All in all it's an acquired taste, but once your taste buds get used to the bitterness of it, you will experience the sweet and delicious aftertaste that makes it all worthwhile.
So let's all get on with the tour before you all die from boredom, and venture into the strange country that is California.
Right now you all might have heard some seagulls calling. We have arrived to a beach called Sweet Charity. Filled with a sort of hawaiian and surf rock vibe, the resident madman Mike Patton starts singing about charity's that are sweet and drinking poison from cups. A worthwhile place to visit, but all in all one of the less interesting sites to visit.9/10
We have arrived to a place so hard to define i won't even try. None of them knew they were robots is a strange place to say the least. An upbeat little ditty, the best i could describe this is surf-jazz. A definite highlight of this tour, it's filled with great saxophone lines, crazy singing, glass breaking and cameras? be sure to check this place for it will blow your mind.10/10
Now we have managed to get away from the chaotic but fun mess that is None of them knew they were robots, we reached the mellower track that is retrovertigo. Based on synths, a nice keyboard lines and a continued strumming of a guitar chord, the vocals are definitely the highlight here. Here Mike Patton shows us his clean singing skills. Great track to chill out to.8/10
We have yet arrived to another beach (alot of beaches in California you see), though this is probably one of the weirdest beaches around. s The air conditioned nightmare starts of with some synths and Mike singing about asteriods, it soons breaks out into a energetic surf bonanza, with the first bits of heavy metal breaking out in the chorus. It then turns into a flurry of drums, mellows out, went back to the flurry of drums again, and it comes to a full circle, with patton finally finding his halo. Great upbeat song considering that it's about suicide. 10/10
No, people, don't worry, we are still in California. Though Ars Moriendi's middle-eastern sound may make you think otherwise, it soons mellows out to some noir violins, but it goes straight to a really fast and upbeat middle-eastern sounding surf thingy. It's a bad description i know, but it's the best i could do. Heavy metal guitars come in once in awhile, but it's not really the main sound. great song. 10/10
Next we reach the deep, dark, teatime of the soul called Pink Cigarrete. A kind of mellow middle-eastern tune, it manages to be simultaneously upbeat and depressing. This song is a touching and accurate description of a relationship that broke a man down so much he's driven to suicide. The life-beeper thingy (dunno what it's called) at the end is also a nice touch.
Now here's a place where the kids are bound to enjoy. Golem II: the bionic vapour boy is probably the funnest (don't blame me for vocab, george bush started it) song here. With a sort of stop start motion, you will be reduced to a fit of giggles when you listen to this song. The best description i could come up with is children techno, which is a pretty crap description actually. 9/10
Next we're going to a more serious place called the holy filament. It's a song that is full of ambience and a repeated piano line, Mike's voice dominates the song here. Not a bad song, it just doesn't stand out at all. 7/10
The next place is sort of like a funeral at a beach. It's like a jazz-fusion(not sure what it's fused with though) with a bit of funeral organ in the middle. It soons goes back to the jazz-fusion thing though with a little bit of a freak-out at the end of the song. 9/10
We are nearing the end of the tour, and we have saved the best for the last. Goodbye Sober Day is pssibly the best thing Mr Bungle has ever created. With a jangley (you'll understand when you hear it) beat at the beginning, it goes to the surf -jazz of None of them knew they were Robots (though not quite). It mellows out soon though, with Mike saying goodbye to his sober days. then it goes to a noise kinda thing, then goes back to the mellow part again, except now saying hello to the Milky way. It alls turns into some Arabic monk chanting, which then turns into the most headbangable tribal chanting ever.
It all returns to a full circle, and ends with a whole blast of static . Awesome, and all of that pack into a mere 4 mins! I'm cranking this rating all the way up to 11. 11/10
So now we have reached the end of the tour, and i hope your trip to California is a deeply confusing yet rewarding one.
Overall album rating: 10/10
Recommended tracks:
Goodbye Sober Day
None of them knew they were robots
The air conditioned nightmare
Pink cigarette
This album gets an Antihippy tick of approval.
This Message Edited On 04.06.07
