What do you get if you include Suicidal Tendencies alums Mike Muir and Robert Trujillo, drummer Stephen Perkins (Janes Addiction, Porno for Pyros, guest vocals from Ozzy Osbourne, and a whole mess of fun minded individuals on a quest to play a form of energetic and exciting funk-metal-punk? The answer of course is Infectious Grooves and their album title is very much the mission statement from this side project turned main project turned back burner project (thanks to the lubricous nature of Mike Muir during the 90s). The Plague indeed was one of the most infectious albums to turn up in 1991 and showed the excitement that only the rarest of side projects can ever achieve.

The album was essentially based on Muir's vocals and the exceptional bass playing of Robert Trujillo. Fused with the energy of thrash and punk, songs like "Punk It Up", "Monster Mash" and the silly "You Lie, and Yo Breath Stank" are guaranteed to induce singing along, wildly thrashing about and a general good time. The songs cover the gamut of hard and heavy music, with many side detours into pseudo-swamp blues ("Infectious Blues"), Suicidal Tendencies styled metal ("I'm Gonna Be My King") and more. Even better is the between song arguments between Muir (pretending to be a security guard at the studio) and the Lizard Sarsippius, who is absolutely hilarious. On a whole, this is probably one of the best party albums I've ever heard and more fun than a barrel of lizards. Unfortunately Muir tried to make it a bit more than a side project afterwards and a lot of the initial chemistry dissolved on subsequent releases. However, the debut will always remain a classic in my book.

Review by John Chedsey

Review date: 05/1999

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