Scott Ian On The Most Challenging Song Of Mike Patton’s Mr. Bungle

Anthrax’s Scott Ian recently joined Mxdwn for an interview and revealed the song which challenged him the most during his tenure in Mike Patton’s band Mr. Bungle.

Although Mike Patton is best known as the frontman of Faith No More, he is also the co-founder and lead singer of the band Mr. Bungle. Formed in 1985, Mr. Bungle rose to prominence with its experimental approach, shifting through various genres and crossing the boundaries of traditional song structures.

After releasing three studio albums between 1991 and 1999, Mr. Bungle toured to support their third album ‘California.’ Following that, they went on a hiatus and split. However, in February 2020, the band reunited as a thrash metal band with Anthrax’s Scott Ian and Slayer’s Dave Lombardo.

Together, the new lineup performed 1986’s demo ‘The Raging Wrath Of The Easter Bunny’ and entered the studio to re-record it as a professional album. They then released the singles titled ‘Raping Your Mind,’ ‘Eracist,’ and ‘Sudden Death.’ Released on October 30, 2020, this record was Mr. Bungle’s first effort in over 20 years.

Speaking to Mxdwn, Scott Ian revealed the challenges of playing ‘Sudden Death.’ According to the guitarist, the song is around eight minutes with no repeating parts. So, he wasn’t sure he could remember it entirely. However, Patton gave him courage and told him to take it a minute and a half at a time. This apparently reminded Ian of the time Fantomas played a 45-minute song.

In the interview with Mxdwn, Scott Ian said the following about playing the song ‘Sudden Death’:

“It’s close to eight minutes, and nothing repeats. Maybe when I was in my 20s, I could’ve, but I have a child now. I can’t; it’s hard enough keeping up with him. I said, ‘How am I ever going to remember this live? I can’t have f*cking pieces of paper on the ground.’ He goes, ‘You’ll see. There’s a rhyme and a reason to it. And it actually all makes sense as you…’

And he starts talking modes and scales. I said, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ He goes, ‘You don’t have to. My suggestion is to take it a minute and a half at a time.’ And then I remembered, years ago, I saw Fantomas at a festival in Europe. Buzz Osbourne was playing guitar. They played basically like a 45-minute song.”

You can listen to Mr. Bungle’s ‘Sudden Death’ below.