The Raging Wrath Of The Easter Bunny Demo＜Colored Vinyl＞

In 1986 a fledgling Mr. Bungle issued a cassette demo called Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny, a blistering slab of gnarly lo-fi/NoCal thrash metal that sounded like it was extracted from the toothy side of a wood chipper. The tape impressed fellow freak-metallers Faith No More enough to ask frontman Mike Patton to take up the mic and join their cause, which he did, but on the condition that he would also continue fronting Mr. Bungle. Far removed from the nightmarish circus-funk-metal/avant-garde jazz stylings of the bands eponymous 1991 full-length debut and subsequent full-length efforts, Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny was unapologetically metal. The band takes that into account on this savage 2020 re-recording -- there first since 1999s California -- which sees original members Mike Patton, Trey Spruance, and Trevor Dunn joined by Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian and ex-Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo. Commencing with the liquid instrumental Grizzly Addams, RWOTEB officially lifts off with the searing Anarchy Up Your Anus, a punk-metal bruiser that sets a relentless pace, with Lombardos blunt-force kit work and Ians punchy and indelible riffage leading the charge. All of the songs bear the sonic watermarks of the era in which they were written -- hearing them with the fidelity cranked up to eleven is a real thrill -- with Bungle Grind and the lurid Raping Your Mind echoing classic West Coast thrash and the white-knuckle closer Sudden Death evoking early 80s crossover and hardcore. A pair of unreleased cuts, the addled punk-metal gems Methamatics and Eracist, and a blazing rendition of Corrosion of Conformitys Loss For Words fit seamlessly into the taut, eleven-track set. Whats best is that Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny doesnt sound like it was brought into the 21st-century kicking and screaming. It does all that and more, but theres so much mad joy at the helm -- this is a band that would close their shows with a faithful cover of the Alan Parsons Project ballad Time while masked and covered in blood -- that the material feels bracing, vital, and rooted in the present. ~ James Christopher Monger