THE RAGING WRATH OF THE EASTER BUNNY (DEMO)

Mr. Bungle's first demo shows the band at the very beginning, when they were a death metal outfit. One listen to this demo and you'll be amazed that this band morphed into the same avant-garde entity that unleashed Disco Volante. The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny sounds like early Death with saxophone and humor. Sadly, the saxophone isn't used nearly as effectively as it is on later releases. Here, it barely has a role. The production is awful, which is understandable, but even Trevor Dunn's usually prominent bass is barely heard in the mix. It sounds like the boys adhered to the belief system of extreme metalheads: production value = sellout.

Mr. Bungle sounds extremely raw with this release, but none of the craziness that makes them stand out is evident yet. Even the saxophone doesn't make this stand out from early death metal. This is only for big fans of Mr. Bungle, and even then you might consider saving your money. This is little more than a din, and not in the deliberate, genius way that much of Patton's work is a din. This is simply sloppy, to the the point that even inexperience isn't a valid excuse. Things will get much better from here, and a good thing too.

Grade: F