Mr. Bungle Goes Bye-Bye

There had been rumors Mr. Bungle was going to work on a new album soon, but those rumors are not true. In an interview with Rolling Stone, frontman Mike Patton revealed the adventurous, experimental band is over, claiming Bungle "was poisoned by one person's petty jealousy and insecurity, and it led us to a slow, unnatural death."

Mr. Bungle formed when it's principle band members were still in high school. Their Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny tape got Patton noticed by Faith No More guitarist Jim Martin when the band was looking for a new lead singer. After FNM hit with "Epic," off 1989's The Real Thing, Bungle was signed to Warner Bros. Records, releasing three albums: Mr. Bungle, Disco Volante and California, the last coming in 1999. The band's metal/ska/free jazz/freak-out recordings cultivated a dedicated fan base and influenced a long, long list of bands, some of whom have sold far more records.

Patton is now left with only Tomahawk, Fantomas, Peeping Tom, his collaboration with The X-ecutioners and likely a thousand other projects to keep him busy. The X-ecutioners album, General Patton vs. The X-ecutioners, is slated to be released January 25, 2005, on Patton's own Ipecac Recordings.

The full Rolling Stone article can be found here.