Fungus Amongus

Fungus Amongus is the debut studio album produced by American rock band Incubus, released November 1, 1995 on Stopuglynailfungus Music On Chillum, Incubus' own independent label. It was later re-released under Epic/Immortal on November 7, 2000 after popular demand.

Fungus Amongus
Studio album by Incubus
Released	November 1, 1995
Recorded	September 1995
Studio	4th Street Recording, Santa Monica, California
Genre	Funk metal[1][2] alternative metal[3]
Length	38:13
Label	Stopuglynailfungus, Epic/Immortal
Producer	Jim Wirt
Incubus chronology
Fungus Amongus (1995) S.C.I.E.N.C.E. (1997)
Singles from Fungus Amongus
"Take Me to Your Leader" Released: August 13, 1996

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[4]

Album information

Many of the names given under 'Personnel' are actually pseudonyms for the Incubus 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, long-time 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 (Amanita muscaria).

Stylistically, the album shows strong influences from funk metal bands such as Red Hot Chili Peppers, Primus and Mr. Bungle, 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.[5] 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".[4] Tim Grierson of About.com observed "At this early stage, Incubus just sounded like a tired rehash of Rage Against the Machine and Red Hot Chili Peppers."[6]

When looking back on Incubus's discography in a 2017 interview with Kerrang!, Brandon 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."[7]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Incubus.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"You Will Be a Hot Dancer"	3:47
2.	"Shaft!"	3:14
3.	"Trouble in 421"	4:41
4.	"Take Me to Your Leader"	4:27
5.	"Medium"	3:12
6.	"Speak Free"	4:55
7.	"The Answer"	3:02
8.	"Psychopsilocybin"	4:20
9.	"Sink Beneath the Line"	3:15
10.	"Hilikus"	3:15
Total length:		38:13

Personnel

• Brandon Boyd (credited as "Happy Knappy") – vocals, djembe
• Mike Einziger ("Fabio") – guitars
• Alex Katunich ("Dirk Lance") – bass guitar
• Jose Pasillas ("Salsa") – drums

References

1. "Incubus Talk 20 Years of S.C.I.E.N.C.E. and Collaborating With Skrillex on New Album 8". Spin. April 25, 2017.
2. Hlavaty, Craig (August 21, 2009). "Incubus' Brandon Boyd: "The Shit We've Been Screwing Around With Has Been Really Exciting"". Houston Press.
3. "Tom Syrowski: Recording Incubus' 'Adolescents'". www.soundonsound.com.
4. Fungus Amongus Allmusic Review Allmusic
5. Fungus Amongus Chart History Billboard.com
6. Incubus Biography and Profile About.com
7. "PressReader.com - Your favorite newspapers and magazines". www.pressreader.com.