Funded with a $3,000 loan from Les Claypool’s father, Primus’ independently released debut was recorded live in Berkeley, Calif., in February and March of 1989. At the time, the band’s self-styled fusion of metal, prog, and funk was just starting to make waves on the college-radio circuit alongside The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Jane's Addiction. Almost all the tracks on Suck on This would reappear on Primus' three subsequent studio albums—Frizzle Fry, Sailing the Seas of Cheese, and Pork Soda—but this live program shows that its technique was absolutely not the product of recording wizardry but rather physical dexterity and creative chemistry. Weaned on the whiplash funk of Larry Graham and Stanley Clarke, Claypool’s bass coaxes the band into the tumultuous but completely captivating grooves of “Heckler,” “Pudding Time," and “Harold of the Rocks.” On fan favorites “John the Fisherman” and “Tommy the Cat,” Larry LaLonde’s guitar forms an unpredictable and often-noisy counterpart to Claypool, while drummer Tim Alexander manages to pin the tent in what's often a maelstrom of rhythm and texture.