Mr. Bungle recently announced the physical and digital release of their acclaimed livestream concert The Night They Came Home, and now they’ve debuted the full cover of the Van Halen song Loss of Control” from the performance.
The livestream show aired on Halloween, just a few weeks after the death of Eddie Van Halen in early October. Mr. Bungle singer Mike Patton told us he was a big fan of Van Halen in an interview shortly after the legendary guitarist’s passing. “[Eddie is] right at the top,” said Patton. “That guy’s on the mountain of rock guitarists. And his level of musicianship was off the charts. … We’re gonna miss him.”
Regarding the cover of “Loss of Control”, Mr. Bungle guitarist Trey Spruance stated, “Mr. Bungle tried to play this song in the ’90s and we scrapped it because we sucked at it. I think it worked this time for a lot of reasons. My own is that, thanks to the new Raging Wrath era, I’ve had to re-approach the guitar like I did when I was 13 and 14. It was all about Eddie Van Halen for me back then, so circling back at this moment felt really natural. Those riffs and lead parts at least are super fun! I’m just glad Scott took the palm-mute breaks. Jesus!”
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Anthrax’s Scott Ian, who is part of Mr. Bungle’s reunited lineup, added, “I generally don’t get nervous about learning someone else’s riffs. When it’s an EVH riff it’s a whole different story! I was terrified! With ‘Loss of Control’ I did my best to just hold on and go for the ride. What a riff!!! As a fan I’d have to say it’s a PERFECT SONG for Mr. Bungle to cover. I hope you enjoy listening as much as I did getting to play it.”
Mr. Bungle reunited after a 20-year absence to play a string of live shows and release a re-recorded version of their ’80s demo The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny. Along with Scott Ian, they also welcomed former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo to the lineup. So far, the band’s only 2021 date is a gig at Chicago’s Riot Fest, where Patton will also perform with Faith No More.
With the digital and physical editions of The Night They Came Home set to arrive on June 11th, Mr. Bungle have unveiled the full video performance of “Loss of Control”. Watch it below, and pre-order The Night They Came Home on Blu-ray or DVD.
