Primus is an American band that has helped pioneer the alternative rock/metal subgenre. Coming out of El Sobrante, California, Les Claypool formed Primus after hopping from band to band in his life after high school, and even having early ties with Kirk Hammlet of Metallica. Claypool, Todd Huth and Jay Lane made up the early roster of Primus in 1984. Later Huth and Lane would leave and be replaced by Tim Alexander as drummer and Larry Lalonde as Lead Guitar.
Primus shocked the audiences when they debuted their live album, “Suck On This,” in 1989. The album was an amalgamation of funky baselines, strange lyrics, heavy guitar, fast drumming and unheard-of vocals for the time. In 1990, Primus signed to Caroline Records and released their first studio album, “Frizzle Fry.” After “Frizzle Fry’s” release, the band shot into the mainstream and kept the fame going when they published “Sailing the Seas of Cheese” through Interscope Records in 1991. They produced two more albums, “Tales From the Punchbowl” and “Pork Soda,” under Interscope Records.
These albums sound ridiculous with songs titled “Bob,” “Jerry The Racecar Driver,” “Too Many Puppies,” and “Tommy the Cat.” The band went on to make it to the top ten of Billboard 200. In 1997, their third studio album, “Pork Soda” was certified Gold and Platinum.
Toward the late 1990s and the early 2000s, the heavy metal scene was simmering down to a halt and Nu Metal took its place with bands such as Korn, Slipknot, Limp Bizkit and Deftones entering the mainstream. A large majority of Nu Metal bands took inspiration from Primus and Claypool’s solo work. Claypool’s otherworldly baselines and nonsensical vocals were so unique and different from older heavy metal bands in the 1980s and 1990s such as Metalica, Megadeath, Guns N’ Roses or Black Sabbath.
Johnathan Davis, lead singer, and frontman of Korn, credited Primus’s “Too Many Puppies” as the main inspiration for Korn’s hit song “Blind.” The two songs were so similar that younger fans assumed that Primus were the ones to take inspiration from Korn, the much larger band at the time.
Claypool also has ties with Adult Swim and Comedy Central. His work is very underlooked, especially for creating and performing the intros for “South Park” and “Robot Chicken.” Primus was also seen in the infamous Sci-Fi Comedy, “Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey.”
It is crazy to think that Primus made the notorious “South Park” and “Robot Chicken” intros, inspired the entire Nu Metal genre and other bands such as The Red Hot Chilli Peppers and The Smashing Pumpkins, yet it’s so hard to find people who know or talk about them.
