Despite my love of the first Adrenalin O.D. full length, The Wacky Hi-Jinks of Adrenalin O.D. (1984), I somehow never got around to digging into its follow up Humungousfungusamongus (1986). In this case, it was definitely better late than never. As they did with Wacky Hi-Jinks, Beer City Skateboards and Records have reissued Humungous in a definitive, Millennium Edition. It shares its two main traits with Wacky Hi-Jinks: it’s fast as hell and funny as hell.

If anything, Humungous was the next logical step beyond Wacky Hi-Jinks. There was somehow even more humor and more speed. Like its predecessor, the record opened with an instrumental. A sequel even. “A.O.D. vs. Son of Godzilla” set the stage for the goofiness and intensity that would follow. Songs like “Office Buildings”, “Yuppie”, “Pope on a Rope”, “Bugs”, “Survive”, “Crowd Control” and “Fuck the Neighbors” are insanely fast and mostly seem to lampoon suburban life.

“Pizza-N-Beer” never picks up any speed, but delivers some comedy relief. The fake jingles on “Commercial Cuts” are among the album’s catchiest tunes. “Untitled” is either a short skit or a studio outtake. “Surfin’ Jew” incorporates “The Hora”, the familiar Hebrew wedding dance song. “Masterpiece” goes one step further and is actually a punk/hardcore version of “Fanfare-Rondeau”, the theme song from the long running PBS program Masterpiece Theatre. The best songs on Humungous are among Adrenalin O.D.’s finest work. “Youth Blimp”, “Velvet Elvis” and “Bruce’s Lament” all fall into this category.

While Humungous shares the most prominent traits of Wacky Hi-Jinks, it doesn’t quite capture the same magic. That’s not to say that it’s not good. It is. Really good. Great even. The two are like 1 and 1A. If you haven’t yet discovered Adrenalin O.D., you should probably start with The Wacky Hi-Jinks of Adrenalin O.D.. Chances are good that you’ll love it and want to hear Humungousfungusamongus too. I’m sure that like it was for me, it will be better late than never. Best of all, as of now, Adrenalin O.D. is an active band once again. You might actually get to hear them rip through some of these songs live.