Zorbas Crisol's debut EP, Criollo, is somewhat reminiscent of a mostly instrumental version of Mr. Bungle's debut album, but it doesn't feel the slightest bit derivative. The song structures are highly unpredictable but never random or directionless. For example, the first song begins sounding very reminiscent of The Mars Volta - if you had told me that Omar Rodriguez-Lopez played guitar in the first half of this song, I wouldn't have been surprised, and the similarities are cemented by prominent saxophones, soloistic bass playing and some very cool odd time grooves. Much of it feels very off kilter, which adds to the excitement.
Mr. Bungle
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 Trevor Dunn and Trey Spruance discuss the inspiration for Mr. Bungle on two recent episodes of the 5049 Records Podcast. |
 Hardcore ... Anal ... Hydrogen? Might as well name your band Djent Diarrhea Flagship or something like that! These musicians are mad as barking cats and they've created, without any doubt, the weirdest metal album I've heard this year. The moment this 22-minute-long album started, I had no choice to cover my face with both hands, shake my head in shame and disbelief, and control myself from falling into the abyss of insanity. What in all the gods' names is this music? The info sheet says experimental ethnic metal, and even though I'm not a fan of creating genres like ethnic metal out of thin air, I must say it's very close to what these guys play. |
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...and it is truly a spectacle to behold! Mr. Bungle's first and only music video was for 'Quote Unquote', the opening track from their 1991 self-titled debut album, produced by John Zorn. The song was originally titled 'Travolta', but it was changed to avoid legal retribution. The new title, 'Quote Unquote', is the title of Bob McCabe's unauthorized biography of John Travolta. The song is disturbed on its own, but the video takes it to a whole new level: |
