''Fungus Amongus'' is the debut studio album by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Incubus An incubus is a demon in male form in folklore that seeks to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women; the corresponding spirit in female form is called a succubus. In medieval Europe, union with an incubus was supposed by some to result in t ...

, released November 1, 1995, on Stopuglynailfungus Music on Chillum, Incubus' own independent label. It was later re-released under Epic/

Immortal Immortality is the ability to live forever, or eternal life. Immortal or Immortality may also refer to: Film * ''The Immortals'' (1995 film), an American crime film * ''Immortality'', an alternate title for the 1998 British film ''The Wisdom of ...

on November 7, 2000, after popular demand.

Album information

Many of the names given under 'Personnel' are actually pseudonyms for the band members. 'Fabio' is guitarist Mike Einziger; 'Dirk Lance' is bassist Alex Katunich, who later adopted 'Dirk Lance' as his stage name; 'Brandy Flower' is an actual Sony employee; and 'Happy Knappy' is vocalist Brandon Boyd. 'Brett' and 'Brett Spivery' refer to Brett Spivey, longtime friend of the band, who went on to make their first two DVDs, and the videos for "I Miss You" and "Summer Romance (Anti-Gravity Love Song)". The album cover image is of a fly agaric mushroom. Stylistically, the album shows strong influences by

funk metal Funk metal (also known as thrash-funk or punk-funk) is a subgenre of funk rock and alternative metal that infuses heavy metal music (often thrash metal) with elements of funk and punk rock. Funk metal was part of the alternative metal movement, ...

bands such as

Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates elements of alternative rock, funk ...

, Primus, and

Mr. Bungle Mr. Bungle is an American experimental rock band formed in Eureka, California in 1985. Having gone through many incarnations throughout their career, the band is best known for music created during their most experimental era. During this time, ...

, all of whom are mentioned in the liner notes of the album. Also, the group presents a quasi-rap style, which continued onto '' S.C.I.E.N.C.E.'', showing Brandon rapping on songs such as "Psychopsilocybin", "Trouble in 421", "Speak Free", and "Take Me to Your Leader".

Reception

Upon initial release, the album failed to chart; however, when re-released in 2000 by Epic/Immortal records, it managed to peak at number 116 on the ''Billboard'' 200. The album received generally negative reviews from critics. Dean Carlson of AllMusic wrote, "Incubus' independent debut is an unremarkable take on suburban MTV funk." He also criticized frontman Brandon Boyd, writing, "there's much to dislike, notably frontman Brandon Boyd, who growls like he wants the voice of anybody but himself". Tim Grierson of About.com observed, "At this early stage, Incubus just sounded like a tired rehash of

Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to simply Rage) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commer ...

and Red Hot Chili Peppers." When looking back on Incubus's discography in a 2017 interview with ''

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...

'', Boyd observed, " 'Fungus Amongus''was super-fun to make, but we didn't know what we were doing. I guess that's why a lot of our fans love that record, but for me when I hear it I truly cringe. I would just as soon bury it forever." In 2020,

Ultimate Guitar Ultimate Guitar (Ultimate Guitar USA LLC), which is also known as Ultimate-Guitar.com or simply UG, is an online platform for guitarists and musicians. Its website and mobile application provides guitar tablature catalogues and chord sheets. U ...

included it on their list of the "Top 8 Iconic Funk Metal Albums".

Chart

Track listing

Personnel

Brandon Boyd Brandon Charles Boyd (born February 15, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, author and visual artist. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the American rock band Incubus, with whom he has recorded eight studio albums. In a ...

(credited as "Happy Knappy") – vocals, djembe *

Mike Einziger Michael Aaron Einziger (born June 21, 1976) is an American musician, songwriter and producer. He is best known for being co-founder and guitarist of the rock band Incubus, and has also co-written, produced and collaborated with a wide array of a ...

("Fabio") – guitars *

Alex Katunich George Alex Katunich (born August 18, 1976) is an American musician. He is best known as the former bassist of Incubus. Since high school, Katunich has used the stage name of Dirk Lance, which was apparently taken from the credits of a pornogra ...

("Dirk Lance") – bass guitar * José Pasillas ("Salsa") – drums

References

{{Authority control 1995 debut albums Epic Records albums Funk metal albums Incubus (band) albums