I find it strange that Mr. Bungle and Meshuggah are being so closely related. I don't know if its just me, but I wouldn't even try to classify Mr. Bungle's sound, much less pigeonhole them into a Metal category. Maybe it was their Metal beginnings with their first few EPs. It just seems like nobody knew what else to make of them. And all a band really needs to do is use unorthodox instruments in relation to their respective genres in order to be termed "Avant-Garde".
...Or maybe I'm just sounding too much like a prick...
But it's like trying to classify Tom Waits.. It's just not gonna happen. Because they (Mr. Bungle) mastered what I like to call "genre-hopping". Metal now, funk next, jazz later, and bring it home with Beach music - hopping from genre to genre, but making it sound good.
That being said, California is easily my favorite album by Bungle. Maybe its because it was their swan song, and I didn't really discover them until after they had broken up, although I did see them when I was 13.
But something else I like about Mr. Bungle is how each of their three LPs stand on their own merits, but sound absolutely nothing alike.
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