The few dark horses on Primus & the Chocolate Factory with the Fungi Ensemble are some of the best, like the band’s rendition of “Cheer Up Charlie”, whose more uplifting tempo and lyrics are the closest Primus has ever come to a full-on ballad. These darker tracks harken back to another covers album by Primus, Miscellaneous Debris, which was one of the creepiest albums Primus ever released. It makes for a very creepy vibe, and the inclusion of Mike Dillon and Sam Bass (The Fungi Ensemble) brings out Claypool’s blatant love for The Residents, with nimble xylophones and clanging percussion. Krinkle” from Pork Soda and “Jilly’s on Smack” from Green Naugahyde. Les Claypool lays off the electric bass for a large portion of the LP, sticking to the haunting upright bass, commonly used in eerier Primus tracks like “Mr. When it comes to continuing that ridiculous trip, Primus succeed. Primus have made no effort to distance themselves from the weirder side of things, and with the band even making its own kinds of candy in the same vein as Willy Wonka himself, this isn’t something that feels out of place. Primus performing the soundtrack to Mel Stuart’s 1971 adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory actually makes a lot of sense. So with Primus’ most legendary form revitalized, Primus’ 2014 trip to the chocolate factory is one of wonky, weird, candy-coated bliss, but it’s also an unnecessarily grounded album from a band that should be anything but. But once word got out that the next LP would be a Primus-spun rendition of the soundtrack to the film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, I know I wasn’t alone in being skeptical. Primus & the Chocolate Factory with the Fungi Ensemble marks the first LP from the band to feature drummer Tim “Herb” Alexander since 1995’s Tales from the Punchbowl, so anticipation was high. So after seven LP’s spanning more than two decades, Primus were finally ready to get their own black magic back by giving us the lineup we’ve wanted since the mid-90’s. Ruthlessly weird, they were avant-garde art rockers in a metal world, but they successfully earned an audience, despite doing everything they could to be the “antipop” of their time.
Primus have come a long way since their humble, proggy start in the late 80’s.
Review Summary: XIV: Primus’ 2014 trip to the chocolate factory is one of wonky, weird, candy-coated bliss, but it’s also an unnecessarily grounded album from a band that should be anything but.
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