CREDIT: PRIMUS
Primus' take on the classic film's soundtrack is dark and profound, but lacks replay value.

Primus has been around for 30 years now, and in that time the band has been called everything from funk-rock to psychedelic polka.

These dark-humoured rockers have been so difficult to classify over the decades that a new genre was created in their honour and simply named Primus.

After listening to a couple of the band’s albums, I fully agree that it can only be summed up as brilliant one-of-a-kind madness.

Its latest album, Primus & The Chocolate Factory with the Fungi Ensemble was released on October 21, just in time to satisfy the sweet tooth of those indulging in some of the more sugary festivities this year.

As the title suggests, this latest production is a cover album of the original Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory soundtrack, but with a distinctly darker twist that conjures up hazy images of blundering through sinister Halloween carnivals.

Primus’ rendition of the classic film makes even Tim Burton’s 2005 remake seem like nothing more than a Saturday morning cartoon.

The addition of mallet, string and percussive instruments to this record gives Primus a much broader and eccentric sound that allows the band to capture the same essence of big-budget Hollywood orchestral arrangements.

The marimba and cello in “Semi-Wondrous Boat Ride” take the darkest scene of this movie and add an astonishing amount of chaos that causes the listener to feel the same tension as the children in the boat. In other songs the ensemble helps to convey the sense of wonder that resides in the factory, even if it’s steeped in cynical overtones as it is in “Pure Imagination.”

As a whole, most of our memories from the original Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory consist of the ill-fated demise of several children, circumvented by cheery musical arrangements.

What Primus has done with this album is extend our dark recollection of a classic film into the musical component in hopes of superseding the fantastical and lively melodies of the original. In this respect the album has been an incredible success.

Burton should ask Primus for advice the next time he tries to give a classic film a dark reconstruction.

Unfortunately this record falls short in its replay value.

Primus is so dedicated to painting this dark carnival image that the songs end up lacking the diversity needed to put an album on repeat all day. Even though some of the tracks have more of an orchestral or psychedelic influence, they all embody the same morbid cynicism prevalent throughout the piece. The four Oompa Loompa songs, although highly enjoyable, are nearly carbon copies of each other, which reinforce the lack of versatility needed for an album to really thrive.

If you don’t mind the original songs and the cover songs being different lengths, substituting this album for the original soundtrack while watching this classic film will create a wonderful Halloween mood for anyone who isn’t quite ready to get into the winter spirit.