California is not only the most accessible record in Mr.Bungle's discography but also their best record. It is zany, surfy, jazzy, heavy, and chaotic all wrapped up in a bundle and executed so tastefully that even the casual listener can listen to it without being taken aback. Every song in this record is loaded with every kind of music theory mindfuck and they require several listens to digest, but it is a journey in every listen.
Nothing more can describe how much I love this record. I ... read more
"Feet Don't Fail Me" is one of the best album openers as well as one of Queens' best songs. Unfortunately, the rest of the record is marred by questionable production choices of having a dance pop producer and only one song (maybe two songs) fitting the dance bill. The drums lack any full bodiness despite being compressed to hell, the guitars are too tinny, and the songwriting in the majority of the songs are boring as hell. Nonetheless "Feet Don't Fail Me" and "The ... read more
Put the best of Red Fang and Failure into a blender and you've got Heavy Pendulum. It is probably one of my favorite metal records as of late.
The songs that hit do so with incredible force, but much of this record is a blue-baller. Time & Place has an interesting threesome riff composition that begs to explode but never does. They continue to jam and overlay more instruments as the song goes, but it fizzles out after it wears its welcome too thin. Made to Parade is way too zany and cartoonish, making it feel very out of place with the rest of the tracklist.
"Sicily" and "What the Peephole Say" are good in my ... read more