The Patton Parade
So, after sending off their first demo, and receiving no reply, the band continued to tour. They were slowly building up a following in Northern California. At some point around the time of this recording, the band replaced drummer Jed Watts with Hans Wagner. The rest of the lineup went relatively unchanged, with the only exception being Luke Miller, a trumpeter who was added to accommodate the band's new sound.
Mr. Bungle - Bowel of Chiley
And new it was! The death metal of the band's past had now taken a backstage to a variety of ska-inspired tracks, which gives the music a sharp visual of 90s California. In that regard, the band were some big time innovators. Dunn developed a slap bass style that he would maintain throughout the band's career. Spruance's solos and riffs became increasingly erratic and unconventional. Patton's vocals became a shouted, rapping, maniacal stream of wild proportions.
This new album retains the low quality of the previous album, but obviously represents a more advanced and perhaps more popular band. Besides perhaps Primus, there was nothing like them around at the time. Because this is a demo tape, one of the songs off of the tape, Carousel, made it on to their first LP in a much less streamlined form. This one is still pretty heavy, but the newly found ska influences will appreciate fans of that scene as well as Bungle fans in general.
In all honesty, this is not a perfect tape, but as a measurement of the band's advancement as artists, it's really great.
Patton-O-Meter says:
