Mr. Bungle

Not unlike most ‘80s thrash metal bands, Mr. Bungle was formed in an impoverished lumber & fishing town by a trio of curious, volatile teenagers. Trey Spruance, Mike Patton & Trevor Dunn beget the amorphous “band” in 1985 up in Humboldt County, CA, 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, 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.

Though Bungle regularly amended and modified their orchestrations — incorporating such exotic instruments as the saxophone, synthesizer, or even timpani (!!!) — they maintained footing in the mosh pit of their youth and
continued to reference metal in one way or another.