365 Days of Mike Patton: “The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny,” Mr. Bungle (1986)

You might know this by now but I’m a pretty big Mike Patton fan. I’m certainly not the biggest Patton-phile in the world, but I’ve listened to more of his career catalog than, say, 99.8 percent of the people in the world.

That said, as we’ve seen a few times on the 365 Days of Mike Patton series, there are songs and albums I’ve never heard. There are songs and albums I’ve never heard of. I have holes in my Patton knowledge, and that’s one reason why the 365 has given me unintended joy: Listening to old songs from my musical hero for the first time.

That includes Mr. Bungle’s 1986 demo, Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny. Never heard it. Never really cared to hear it. I figured it was juvenile and sophomoric, and the early Faith No More and Mr. Bungle work feature Patton’s voice at its most nasally, and that’s just not the era I enjoy the most.

But now that Mr. Bungle—along with members of Anthrax (guitarist Scott Ian) and Slayer (drummer Dave Lombardo)—has temporarily reformed to play a handful of U.S. dates in which they’re performing most of The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny, I figured I should listen to at least two songs from that 34-year-old product.

I chose “Anarchy Up Your Anus” and “Spreading the Thighs of Death,” and before this moment, I’d never heard them before. Patton is certainly not nasally here.

Hey, I love metal, so the music hits me in the right spot. But the vocals (and the quality of the sounds of the recording overall) is pretty rough. It basically sounds like a bunch of teenagers making a demo.

Or as Patton told the Sydney Morning Herald, “Most of the fans who know Mr. Bungle have not even heard this stuff. It’s all very much pretty nasty thrash metal stuff.”

That’s what Mr. Bungle sounded like in 1986. This is what Mr. Bungle sounded like playing those same songs (with an intro of “Won’t You Be My Neighbor,” Fred Rogers style) in 2020.

When I realized Mr. Bungle wouldn’t be making its way to Texas for its reunion this year, I was bummed. But I’d be more bummed if they were playing those Bungle songs I actually love. So, I guess I’m OK that I won’t be seeing this show.

Or as Revolver wrote, “In a move at once inspired and antagonistic, one of the most quietly influential bands in metal reunited last night in Los Angeles … to play zero of the songs that made them influential.”

And just for the heck of it, here’s Mr. Bungle covering Seals and Croft’s soft rock classic, “Summer Breeze” live at the show on Wednesday.

To follow along on the 365 days of Patton, click here for a list of each day’s post.