This February saw Mr. Bungle reform for a series of reunion shows, at which they performed their first-ever release The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny in its entirety. Now, the band have confirmed that they are extending the reunion to the studio to re-record the complete 1986 demo.
A new profile in Revolver reveals that Mr. Bungle are at work on re-recording the aforementioned effort, along with cover songs and three previously unrecorded original songs. The outfit are expected to release the material through Ipecac Recordings this fall.
"The music from The Raging Wrath, which we wrote when we were 15 and 17 years old, continued to be relevant to us," bassist Trevor Dunn told the publication. "But the original demo was never fully realized. It was a DIY four-track tape recording fully self-produced by our naive and wandering minds whilst still learning how to play our instruments and understand songwriting at its most basic level. Not to mention I'm pretty sure we were all virgins at the time — high-strung, bored teenagers with only a limited number of options [for] where to direct our energy in an impoverished, isolated town."
Revolver also confirms the in-studio involvement of Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian and former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo, who had joined Mr. Bungle for the reunion shows.
"Holy crap — the songs sound so great!" Ian said of the sessions. "Every day at the studio is like Christmas morning for me — each song we finish another present. I don't know if I'm more excited about this record as a fan of Mr. Bungle or as a member of Mr. Bungle. Either way, I can't wait for the world to hear it."
When asked by Revolver whether plans to re-record The Raging Wrath had already been laid out before the reunion shows, Dunn recalled, "We didn't really have solid plans for the future. In fact, when the idea first came up, we weren't even sure we were gonna call the band Mr. Bungle. We thought we should call it The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny. But then, over time, we all realized that when bands do reunion tours and go back to their roots, it usually means playing some blues or something. For us, this is really Mr. Bungle. This is our beginnings. This is the heart and soul of the band."
Dunn added: "Even the arrangement philosophy hasn't changed that much. The style and presentation and elaborate orchestration — all of that changed. But if you listen to the logic of the songs, it's all there in that first demo. The way we arrange music is right there in the beginning."
Mr. Bungle's final album was 1999's California. Read Dunn's conversation with Revolver here.
A new profile in Revolver reveals that Mr. Bungle are at work on re-recording the aforementioned effort, along with cover songs and three previously unrecorded original songs. The outfit are expected to release the material through Ipecac Recordings this fall.
"The music from The Raging Wrath, which we wrote when we were 15 and 17 years old, continued to be relevant to us," bassist Trevor Dunn told the publication. "But the original demo was never fully realized. It was a DIY four-track tape recording fully self-produced by our naive and wandering minds whilst still learning how to play our instruments and understand songwriting at its most basic level. Not to mention I'm pretty sure we were all virgins at the time — high-strung, bored teenagers with only a limited number of options [for] where to direct our energy in an impoverished, isolated town."
Revolver also confirms the in-studio involvement of Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian and former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo, who had joined Mr. Bungle for the reunion shows.
"Holy crap — the songs sound so great!" Ian said of the sessions. "Every day at the studio is like Christmas morning for me — each song we finish another present. I don't know if I'm more excited about this record as a fan of Mr. Bungle or as a member of Mr. Bungle. Either way, I can't wait for the world to hear it."
When asked by Revolver whether plans to re-record The Raging Wrath had already been laid out before the reunion shows, Dunn recalled, "We didn't really have solid plans for the future. In fact, when the idea first came up, we weren't even sure we were gonna call the band Mr. Bungle. We thought we should call it The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny. But then, over time, we all realized that when bands do reunion tours and go back to their roots, it usually means playing some blues or something. For us, this is really Mr. Bungle. This is our beginnings. This is the heart and soul of the band."
Dunn added: "Even the arrangement philosophy hasn't changed that much. The style and presentation and elaborate orchestration — all of that changed. But if you listen to the logic of the songs, it's all there in that first demo. The way we arrange music is right there in the beginning."
Mr. Bungle's final album was 1999's California. Read Dunn's conversation with Revolver here.
