Experimental metal band MR. BUNGLE kick off their Australian dates on March 6 as part of The Raging Wrath of Australia & New Zealand Tour with fellow pop stars Melvins.
Back in all of their teenage-angst glory, Mr Bungle kicked off the tour at Auckland’s Town Hall earlier this week before heading to Melbourne’s Festival Hall, Adelaide’s Hindley St Music Hall, Sydney’s Hordern Pavillion, Brisbane’s Fortitude Music Hall and concluding at Perth’s Metro City.
Not unlike most ‘80s thrash metal bands, Mr. Bungle was formed in an impoverished lumber & fishing town by a trio of curious, volatile teenagers. Trey Spruance, Mike Patton & Trevor Dunn created the amorphous “band” in 1985 up in Humboldt County, California, sifting through a variety of members until around 1989 when they settled on a line-up that managed to get signed to Warner Bros Records. Up until 2000 they released three albums, toured a good portion of the Western hemisphere and avoided any sort of critical acclaim. Some argue that the band subsequently broke up, but there is also no proof of this.
What is true is that they took 20 years off from performing under said moniker while they pursued various other music that, in contrast, paid the rent. In 2020, a different iteration of Mr. Bungle emerged, pairing the original trio of Dunn, Patton and Spruance with Anthrax’s Scott Ian and former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo for a proper release of the Eureka-bred band’s unreleased demo, The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny.
Joining them on all dates will be fellow pop stars Melvins, who over their storied career have blended punk and metal influences, profoundly impacting grunge icons like Tad and Soundgarden. Despite their cult status, they inspired Nirvana and others, shaping the ’90s musical landscape. The band have already had an eventful 40th anniversary year, recently wrapping up outings in North America and Europe, and are planning to release new music in the coming year.
Riccardo from Wrecking Ball Media was on hand at the Auckland show and managed to capture covers of Spandau Ballet‘s True, Hopelessly Devoted from Grease and Sepultura‘s Territory. Tickets still available but moving fast.
For complete tour and ticket information, visit livenation.com.au
