{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2026}} {{lead too short|date=May 2026}} {{Infobox album | name = Fungus Amongus | type = studio | artist = Incubus | cover = Fungus amongus.jpg | alt = | released = {{start date|1995|11|1}} | recorded = <!--Recording date needs reliable reference.--> | studio = 4th Street Recording (Santa Monica, California) | genre = * Funk metal<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Cush|first=Andy|url=https://www.spin.com/2017/04/incubus-skrillex-science-20-years/|title=Incubus Talk 20 Years of S.C.I.E.N.C.E. and Collaborating with Skrillex on New Album 8|magazine=Spin|date=April 25, 2017|access-date=May 24, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Hlavaty|first=Craig|url=https://www.houstonpress.com/music/incubus-brandon-boyd-the-shit-weve-been-screwing-around-with-has-been-really-exciting-6518353|title=Incubus' Brandon Boyd: "The Shit We've Been Screwing Around with Has Been Really Exciting"|newspaper=Houston Press|date=August 21, 2009|access-date=May 24, 2021}}</ref> * nu metal<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.kerrang.com/instead-of-falling-into-some-subgenre-of-rock-we-created-our-own-an-oral-history-of-incubus-make-yourself | title=An oral history of Incubus' Make Yourself: "Instead of falling into some subgenre of rock, we created our own" | date=October 26, 2022 | website=Kerrang!}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=They Found Nu Metal 'Horrible' but Their Early Work Defined the Genre: 30 Years Later, Does It Deserve the Hate? (Fans Love It) |url=https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/articles/features/they-found-nu-metal-horrible-but-their-early-work-defined-the-genre-30-years-later-does-it-deserve-the-hate-fans-love-it-182648 |website=Ultimate Guitar|first=Jorge |last=Martins|date=November 3, 2025 |access-date=April 11, 2026}}</ref> * alternative metal<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Tingen|first=Paul|url=https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/tom-syrowski-recording-incubus-adolescents?amp|title=Tom Syrowski: Recording Incubus' 'Adolescents'|magazine=Sound on Sound|date=November 2011|access-date=May 24, 2021}}</ref> | length = 38:08 | label = Chillum | producer = {{hlist|Jim Wirt|Incubus {{small|({{abbr|co.|co-producer}})}}}} | prev_title = Let Me Tell Ya 'Bout Root Beer | prev_year = 1995 | next_title = Enjoy Incubus | next_year = 1997 }}
'''''Fungus Amongus''''' is the debut studio album by American rock band Incubus, released on November 1, 1995, by Chillum Records, Incubus' own independent label. It was later re-released under Epic and Immortal Records on November 7, 2000, after popular demand.
==Background== Incubus formed in 1991, while its members were still in high school, and recorded several demos over the next few years. In 2017, drummer José Pasillas described ''Fungus Amongus'' as "our first concerted effort at putting a group of songs together on an LP".<ref name="JoseBest">{{cite web |last1=Chamberlain |first1=Rich |title=6 of the best: José Pasillas |url=https://www.musicradar.com/news/6-of-the-best-jose-pasillas |website=MusicRadar |access-date=May 27, 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170714024948/https://www.musicradar.com/news/6-of-the-best-jose-pasillas |archive-date=July 14, 2017 |date=July 8, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> However, guitarist Mike Einziger has said that he views it as a compilation of demos they had recorded while in high school, rather than as a cohesive studio album.<ref name="chorus">{{Cite web|url=https://chorus.fm/features/interviews/mike-einziger-on-26-years-of-incubus-and-how-8-reenergized-the-band/|title=Mike Einziger on 26 Years of Incubus and How '8' Reenergized the Band|date=April 20, 2017|website=chorus.fm}}</ref> He stated in 2017, "making recordings back then was really challenging, especially for a bunch of high school kids. We didn't have access to anything. We didn't have money to make recordings. We didn't have a studio. We didn't have any equipment. We didn't know how to use the equipment. But we slowly began to meet certain people. We ended up working with a producer who owned a recording studio."<ref name="chorus" /> Einziger also claimed in 2011 that the writing process was different to later records, since the band hadn't done any touring yet at that time. He said, "it's definitely different when you're in kind of a closed environment and writing music for your friends, which is what I think we were doing in our pre-''S.C.I.E.N.C.E.'' days."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.guitarworld.com/features/interview-incubus-guitarist-mike-einziger-talks-if-not-now-when|title=Interview: Incubus Guitarist Mike Einziger Talks 'If Not Now, When?'|author1=Josh Hart|date=July 13, 2011|website=guitarworld}}</ref> Incubus had trouble attracting the interest of major labels during their early years, which led to them releasing ''Fungus Amongus'' independently in 1995.<ref name="spin01" /> The band printed 1,000 copies and sold all of them.<ref name="atwood" /> Vocalist Brandon Boyd remembered in 2020, "It was a win for us, but let me tell you like selling 1,000 copies was hard. When we did get to work with a major label, it was definitely exciting."<ref name="atwood">{{cite web|last=Mosk|first=Mitch|url=https://atwoodmagazine.com/incubus-interview-2020-trust-fall-side-b-music/|title=Interview with Incubus: Flying by the Seat of Their Pants|website=Atwood Magazine|date=April 22, 2020|access-date=November 18, 2023}}</ref>
The album cover image is of a fly agaric mushroom. Many of the names given under "Personnel" are actually pseudonyms for the band members. "Fabio" is Mike Einziger; "Dirk Lance" is bassist Alex Katunich, who later adopted the moniker as his stage name; "Brandy Flower" is an actual Sony employee; and "Happy Knappy" is Brandon Boyd. "Bett" and "Brett Spivery" refer to Brett Spivey, longtime 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)".<ref>''Fungus Amongus'' liner notes</ref>
"Hilikus", "Shaft!", "Take Me to Your Leader", and "You Will Be a Hot Dancer" were all re-recorded for the 1997 ''Enjoy Incubus'' EP, which was the band's first release after signing to Epic/Immortal Records in 1996. The EP also included additional material, such as a new song called "Version". The re-recordings of the ''Fungus Amongus'' tracks featured added DJ scratches by DJ Lyfe, who joined Incubus in late 1995, after ''Fungus Amongus'' had been released. The re-recording of "Hilikus" had a new, untitled hidden track, which plays after several minutes of silence.<ref name="rough" /><ref name="allmusicenjoy">{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/enjoy-incubus-mw0000086208|title=Enjoy Incubus – Incubus|website=AllMusic|access-date=November 17, 2023}}</ref> On this release, some of the band members were given new pseudonyms; Einziger's was "Dynamike", Boyd's was "Brandon of the Jungle", and DJ Lyfe's was "Kid Lyfe". On ''S.C.I.E.N.C.E.'' the band continued to create new pseudonyms, before abandoning this concept on later releases.<ref>''Enjoy Incubus'' liner notes.</ref>
===Music and lyrics=== Stylistically, ''Fungus Amongus'' shows strong influences of funk metal bands such as Faith No More, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Primus, and Mr. Bungle,<ref>{{cite news|last=Law|first=John|url=https://www.niagarafallsreview.ca/entertainment/music/incubus-to-play-olg-stage-at-fallsview-casino/article_261ff1dc-e9cd-55ac-af4f-03f49e2d8d60.html|title=Incubus to play OLG Stage at Fallsview Casino|newspaper=Niagara Falls Review|date=April 4, 2023|access-date=October 12, 2023}}</ref> most of whom are mentioned in the liner notes of the 2000 reissue. In subsequent interviews, Boyd has cited all of these artists as influences on the band<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/incubus_frontman_says_being_labeled_nu_metal_hurt_his_feelings_reveals_what_touring_with_korn_was_like.html|title=Incubus Frontman Says Being Labeled Nu Metal 'Hurt His Feelings', Reveals What Touring with Korn Was Like|website=Ultimate Guitar|date=October 7, 2022|access-date=November 17, 2023}}</ref> and has mentioned his enjoyment at later having Incubus perform alongside them, including with Mr. Bungle at the 2000 SnoCore Tour and with Faith No More at the 2015 Soundwave Festival in Australia.<ref>{{cite web|last=Ozturk|first=Serra|url=https://rockcelebrities.net/incubus-brandon-boyd-on-mike-pattons-impossible-transition-from-screaming-to-opera/|title=Incubus' Brandon Boyd on Mike Patton's Impossible Transition from Screaming to Opera|website=Rock Celebrities|date=June 8, 2023|access-date=November 18, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|last=Baltin|first=Steve|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevebaltin/2018/08/08/part-2-incubus-brandon-boyd-and-system-of-a-downs-serj-tankian-on-life-on-the-road/?sh=22e42ceb1e6c|title=Part 2: Incubus' Brandon Boyd and System of a Down's Serj Tankian on Life on the Road|magazine=Forbes|date=August 8, 2018|access-date=November 17, 2023}}</ref> In a 1995 review of an Incubus concert, Traci Esslinger of ''Music Connection'' magazine described their sound as "funk-thrash" , noting that the "vast majority of songs begin with oozing funk grooves".<ref>https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Music-Connection/90/1995/Music-Connection-1995-03-06.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=July 2025}}</ref> The group also presents a quasi-rap style on ''Fungus Amongus'', which continued onto 1997's ''S.C.I.E.N.C.E.'', showing Boyd rapping on songs such as "Psychopsilocybin", "Trouble in 421", "Speak Free", and "Take Me to Your Leader".<ref name="loud" />
Boyd reflected in a 2012 interview that ''Fungus Amongus'' was "a very accurate statement of where we were at that time. We were teenagers and had little to no knowledge or understanding of the world. We were learning how to write songs and be a band and had no concept or idea that those recordings would stick. It was almost outsider art. I think ''Fungus Amongus'' and ''S.C.I.E.N.C.E.'' were Incubus still finding our distinctive voice. So those albums are schizoid amalgamations of many of the bands we were obsessing over in the early to mid-nineties."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/interviews/brandon_boyd_incubus_still_finding_our_distinctive_voice.html|title=Brandon Boyd: 'Incubus Still Finding Our Distinctive Voice'|website=Ultimate Guitar|date=October 17, 2012|access-date=November 17, 2023}}</ref>
==Reception and legacy== {{Music ratings | rev1 = AllMusic | rev1score = {{Rating|2|5}}<ref name="Allmusic">{{cite web|last=Carlson|first=Dean|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/fungus-amongus-mw0000621259|title=Fungus Amongus – Incubus {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits|website=AllMusic|access-date=April 14, 2021}}</ref> | rev2 = ''Kerrang!'' | rev2score = {{Rating|2|5}}<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Bird |first=Ashley |date=January 27, 2001 |title=Albums |magazine=Kerrang! |publisher=EMAP |issue=837 |page=45}}</ref> | rev3 = ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'' | rev3score = {{Rating|1|5}}<ref name="rs">{{cite book |chapter=Incubus |last=Kemp |first=Rob |title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide |title-link=The Rolling Stone Album Guide |editor1-last=Brackett |editor1-first=Nathan |editor2-last=Hoard |editor2-first=Christian |publisher=Simon & Schuster |edition=4th |year=2004 |isbn=0-7432-0169-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/403 403–04]}}</ref> }}
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.<ref name="bb" /> 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".<ref name="Allmusic" /> 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."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://rock.about.com/od/incubus/p/Incubus.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170222194221/https://rock.about.com/od/incubus/p/Incubus.htm|last=Grierson|first=Tim|title=Incubus Biography and Profile|website=About.com|access-date=May 24, 2021|archive-date=February 22, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2001, ''Spin'' labeled the album as "goofy" and "Primus-obsessed."<ref name="spin01">''Spin'', November 2001</ref>
''The New Rolling Stone Album Guide'' (2004) gave the album one star out of five. The review states, "although it may only be vaguely recalled, the great funk metal scare occurred at the dawn of the 90s, between the waning of hair metal and the waxing of grunge." It adds that "Incubus was a latecomer to a boomlet of shirtless suburban funkateers who were greatly inspired by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Primus and Faith No More" and that "''Fungus Amongus'', a compendium of slapped bass and forced wackiness, seemed hopelessly dated in 1995."<ref name="rs" /> The 2003 book ''The Rough Guide to Rock'' describes the album as "a rough-and-ready amalgam of funk, rock, metal and wilful weirdness that merely hinted at what Incubus would go on to produce."<ref name="rough">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7ctjc6UWCm4C&dq=%22incubus%22+%22science%22+boyd&pg=PA518|isbn=9781843531050|title=The Rough Guide to Rock|year=2003|publisher=Rough Guides}}</ref> Frank Guan of ''Vulture'' stated in 2017 that it was "a sincere and skilled pastiche of their funk-drunk idols" and characterized its lyrical content as having "references to 4/20, space aliens, and psilocybin mushrooms."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vulture.com/2017/04/on-their-new-album-8-incubus-goes-back-to-high-school.html|last=Guan|first=Frank|title=Incubus Goes Back to High School on Their New Album, 8|website=Vulture|date=April 20, 2017|access-date=November 14, 2023}}</ref>
In 2020, Ultimate Guitar included it on their list of "Top 8 Iconic Funk Metal Albums".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/articles/features/top_8_iconic_funk_metal_albums-112199|title=Top 8 Iconic 'Funk Metal' Albums|website=Ultimate Guitar}}</ref> ''Loudwire'' added it to a list titled "26 Bands Who Sound Nothing Like Their First Album". They stated, "taking cues from Faith No More, Primus and hip-hop, the funk-first rap/rock of ''Fungus Amongus'' was a snapshot of heavy music in 1995."<ref name="loud">{{cite web|last=DiVita|first=Joe|url=https://loudwire.com/bands-sound-nothing-like-first-album/|title=26 Bands Who Sound Nothing Like Their First Album|website=Loudwire|date=September 18, 2020|access-date=October 21, 2023}}</ref>
When looking back on Incubus's discography in a 2017 interview with ''Kerrang!'', 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."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pressreader.com/uk/kerrang-uk/20170503/282299615071767|title=The Soundtrack of My Life|website=Kerrang!|via=PressReader|date=May 3, 2017|access-date=May 24, 2021}}</ref> In a 2022 ''Louder Sound'' article, Boyd placed it last in his ranking of the eight Incubus studio albums. He said, "it doesn't feel like a studio album. It was barely mixed and recorded — ''S.C.I.E.N.C.E.'' was the first time we had a recording budget."<ref>{{cite web|last=Hill|first=Stephen|url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/every-incubus-album-ranked-from-worst-to-best-by-vocalist-brandon-boyd|title=Every Incubus album ranked from worst to best, by vocalist Brandon Boyd|website=Louder|date=October 25, 2022|access-date=November 14, 2023}}</ref> When ranking the band's eight studio albums in 2020, ''Kerrang!'' placed ''Fungus Amongus'' seventh, ahead of only their 2011 album, ''If Not Now, When?''<ref>{{cite web|last=Hickie|first=James|url=https://www.kerrang.com/incubus-every-album-ranked-from-worst-to-best|title=Incubus: Every album ranked from worst to best|website=Kerrang!|date=May 5, 2020|access-date=November 12, 2023}}</ref> In 2023, ''Alternative Press'' placed it fifth in their ranking, saying that "while the band could surely play, nothing was polished or breakthrough quite yet."<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Hellerbach|first=Miki|url=https://www.altpress.com/incubus-albums-ranked/|title=Every Incubus album ranked: From worst to best|magazine=Alternative Press|date=April 10, 2023|access-date=November 16, 2023}}</ref>
==Live performance== The band has not performed any songs from ''Fungus Amongus'' or ''Enjoy Incubus'' since 2004. That year, they performed "Take Me to Your Leader" nine times on their ''A Crow Left of the Murder...'' tour, having then not played it since 1998. Their last performances of any of the other ''Fungus Amongus'' songs were in 2000. The intro to "Trouble in 421" was briefly played at a July 2011 show in Los Angeles, which was recorded as part of their ''Incubus HQ Live'' release. While Incubus still regularly performs certain songs from ''S.C.I.E.N.C.E.'', Boyd asserted in 2012 that the band has no intention of performing tracks from ''Fungus Amongus'' again. He remarked, "what's funny is people are still asking for a lot of those songs. We're very happy that they exist, but we just as soon let them exist in recordings. I don't even know if we'd know how to play them."<ref>{{cite web|last=Erickson|first=Anne|url=https://audioinkradio.com/2012/08/incubus-brandon-boyd-band-wont-play-fungus-amongus-tour/|title=Incubus' Brandon Boyd Says Band Won't Play 'Fungus Amongus' on Tour|website=Audio Ink Radio|date=August 27, 2012|access-date=November 18, 2023}}</ref>
==Track listing== {{Track listing | all_writing = Incubus | title1 = You Will Be a Hot Dancer | length1 = 3:47 | title2 = Shaft! | length2 = 3:14 | title3 = Trouble in 421 | length3 = 4:41 | title4 = Take Me to Your Leader | length4 = 4:27 | title5 = Medium | length5 = 3:12 | title6 = Speak Free | length6 = 4:55 | title7 = The Answer | length7 = 3:02 | title8 = Psychopsilocybin | length8 = 4:20 | title9 = Sink Beneath the Line | length9 = 3:15 | title10 = Hilikus | length10 = 3:15 | total_length = 38:08 }}
==Personnel== '''Incubus''' * Happy Knappy – vocals, djembe * Fabio – guitars * Dirk Lance – bass * Salsa – drums
'''Technical personnel''' * Jim Wirt – producer, engineer, mixing * Incubus – co-producers
==Charts== {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" !Chart (2000) !Peak<br />position |- {{album chart|Billboard200|116|artist=Incubus|rowheader=true|access-date=April 14, 2021|refname="bb"}} |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Incubus (band)}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:1995 debut albums Category:Incubus (band) albums Category:Epic Records albums