Mike Muir's
Infectious Grooves
side project allowed him to relax and display his fun, non-political side, and also provided
Suicidal Tendencies
bassist
Robert Trujillo
an opportunity to turn loose his formidable funk chops. The resulting debut album,
The Plague That Makes Your Booty Move...It's the Infectious Grooves
, mixes hyperactive
Chili Pepper
funk with traditional metal (including an appearance by
Ozzy Osbourne
on
"Therapy"
) and
Suicidal's
skatepunk thrash.
The Plague That Makes Your Booty Move
was an unabashed good-time party record, with songs like "You Lie...And Yo Breath Stank" and between-song sketches featuring a jive-talking, funk-singing reptile named Sarsippius. Not as schizophrenically eclectic as
Faith No More
, nor as arty as
Jane's Addiction
,
the Grooves'
funk-metal is good-humored and full of attitude, without seeming smug or macho; their output was fairly consistent and similar, although this album contains mild MTV hits like "Punk It Up" and is therefore the best first purchase. ~ Steve Huey