ATO

For those of us who were first turned onto the music of Primus in late 1989, hearing that unique tapestry of metal, funk and Tom Waits emanating from the instruments of drummer Tim “Herb” Alexander, guitarist Larry “Ler” LaLonde and their enigmatic leader, frontman/bassist Les Claypool on their 1989 debut Suck On This was indeed a game changer in ways that went even beyond the likes of Faith No More, Fishbone and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. This strange live recording, mixed on a VHS tape, funded by Claypool’s dad (thanked in the liner notes for “kicking down the corn”) and rife with weird ditties about outcast fishermen, philandering felines and the story of a guy named Harold who went with Les to a Schooly D concert, was literally unlike anything anyone had ever heard before. It was raw, primal, progressive and rooted in a groove that owed as much to Rush, Robert Fripp and Frank Zappa as it did The Residents, The Minutemen and Metallica.

That rawness in the trio’s sound remained prevalent over the course of the two records that succeeded Suck on This, 1990’s Frizzle Fry and their 1991 major label breakthrough Sailing The Seas of Cheese. But, quite arguably, from Pork Soda on forward, it appeared as though that edge got lost, swallowed up by the growing prevalence of cartoony shtick and over-the-top theatrics that would soon unfortunately define them as a band. The latter half of the 90s proved to be a harrowing time for the group, as Herb jumped ship in 1996 and his replacement, Praxis drummer Brian “Brain” Manita, failed to properly fill his foot pedals behind the kit. The rewired trio of Claypool, LaLonde and Brain continued to drift further and further away from the sound that gave Primus such a cult following in the halcyon days, coming to a head in 1999 with the painfully ill advised Antipop, a collaborative heavy album that was bad for more reasons than the inexplicable cameo from Fred Durst. It barely sounded like Primus at all, that record, and by 2001, the trio went on an indefinite hiatus that was lifted two years later upon the return of Alexander into the fold and the release of a retrospective DVD/EP collection, Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People, and subsequent tour. However, all hopes of a full-on return to the studio with the Herb man were dashed when he parted ways with Claypool and LaLonde for a second time shortly after a string of Primus gigs in 2008-09.

Then, as if from out of nowhere, it was announced in early 2010 that drummer Jay Lane, who played in an earlier incarnation of Primus shortly before the classic Claypool-LaLonde-Alexander lineup was solidified and recorded one amazing album with Claypool and original Primus guitarist Todd Huth in 1994 under the name Sausage before becoming a superstar on the jamband circuit as a member of the post-Grateful Dead supergroups RatDog and Furthur, was rejoining the trio for a tour later that summer. Lane, who also appeared on Claypool’s recordings with his side band The Fearless Flying Frog Brigade, has established the chops that not only match but also slightly exceed that of the man who took over for him in Primus over the last quarter century. And the amazing performances this new Super Primus displayed in concert over the course of a year since his return to the ranks gave the trio’s legions of fans hope that this reunion would indeed be a more permanent one—a notion duly confirmed with the release of Green Naugahyde.

Their seventh title and first proper full-length since the aforementioned Antipop, Naugahyde is a return to form in every sense of the clichéd term. And the fact that Jay is once again in the mix is only a fraction of the throwback vibe that emanates throughout the bloodstream of this record. The serious concentration of material from Frizzle Fry and Seas of Cheese on that last Primus tour boded mighty heavily on the creative hand of these thirteen cuts, produced by Les in the comfort of his personal studio Rancho Relaxo in the heart of Northern California. “Last Salmon Man” could have easily fit handsomely into the Seas song cycle, right down to the hardcore angler angle and a rhythmic drive pulled directly from the rib of “Here Come The Bastards”, while “Tragedy’s a Comin’” and “Jilly’s On Smack” channel the expansive, improvisational nature of the group’s deep spelunk into granola territory through Frizzle’s frenetic thrash funk. Other tracks, like “Lee Van Cleef” and “Extinction Dust” hark back to Lane and Claypool’s sole Sausage classic, 1994’s Riddles Are Abound Tonight, albeit with Ler on the git instead of original Primus guitarist Todd Huth. On the other end of the old flywheel, the flinging around of ideas between this particular trio has also brought about some sounds Primus has never tinkered with before, such as DEVO-esque new wave on “Moron TV” and pure, unadulterated deep crate psychedelia on “Green Ranger”.

With a nostalgic eye and a futuristic foot forward, Green Naugahyde is what old school Primus heads have been waiting on for a good twenty years now. They might be a little older and wiser in the 21st century, but their penchant and hunger for creating the absolute apex of their halibut headbanging ways is back with a vengeance. Now and forever, PRIMUS SUCKS.