Primus 'A Handful Of Nuggs' Review: A Weird Little EP With a Real Lineup Test
Primus have released A Handful Of Nuggs, a four-song EP that is available digitally now. A special-edition 12-inch vinyl version is due July 22. The release includes one new studio track from the current lineup, a Dio cover sung by Puddles Pity Party, a Puscifer feature, and a live cut from Philadelphia.
That is a very Primus way to package a small release. Les Claypool, Larry LaLonde, and Hoffman are not treating this like a standard single rollout. They are giving fans a quick look at the current lineup while putting the Dio cover and the Puscifer connection right in the middle of the conversation.
What Is On Primus' A Handful Of Nuggs EP?
The EP opens with “The Ol' Grizz,” one of the first new studio recordings from the band with drummer John Hoffman. The track gives fans the clearest reason to care beyond the novelty of the cover songs: it shows how the current lineup sounds in the studio. Claypool still drives the song from the bass, LaLonde keeps the guitar parts off-center, and Hoffman gets a quick chance to show how he fits.
The full tracklist is short, but it is not empty filler:
“The Ol' Grizz”
“Holy Diver” feat. Puddles Pity Party
“Little Lord Fentanyl” feat. Puscifer
“Duchess (And The Proverbial Mind Spread)” live from the Mann Music Center in Philadelphia
That “Holy Diver” cover is the track people are going to argue about. Ronnie James Dio’s original is sacred ground, and most bands should leave it alone unless they have a real angle. Primus at least have one. Bringing in Puddles Pity Party — Michael Geier’s giant sad-clown vocal persona — makes it clear this is not meant to be a straight tribute.
That does not automatically make the cover good. It does make it harder to dismiss as a lazy nostalgia grab.
John Hoffman Is The Bigger Story Under The Gag
The Dio cover will get the headline, but Hoffman is the bigger long-term story. He joined Primus in 2025 after the band’s Interstellar Drum Derby audition search, which reportedly pulled in more than 6,100 applicants. That is an absurd way to find a drummer, but it also fits Primus.
“The Ol' Grizz” matters because it gives fans a studio snapshot of Hoffman with Claypool and LaLonde. Primus drummers do not just keep time. Tim Alexander and Bryan Mantia both left major fingerprints on different eras of the band, so any new drummer walks into a job where personality counts as much as precision.
For fans tracking 2026 release activity, this lands in the same crowded window as the latest New Metal This Friday pileup. Primus are not competing on heaviness alone. They are competing on whether the current lineup still feels like Primus instead of a legacy version of Primus.
Vinyl, Claypool Gold Tour, And The Larger Claypool Sprawl
The digital EP is out now, while the 12-inch vinyl edition is scheduled for July 22 through the official Club Bastardo store. If you want the physical copy, start with the official Primus vinyl preorder or use this Amazon search for Primus A Handful Of Nuggs if wider retail listings surface.
The timing also lines up with a busy Les Claypool stretch. The Claypool Lennon Delirium have The Great Parrot-Ox And The Golden Egg Of Empathy moving through physical formats, and Les Claypool’s Fearless Flying Frog Brigade have Return Of The Live Frogs: Volume 1 due May 22. Then the Claypool Gold Tour puts Primus, The Claypool Lennon Delirium, and the Frog Brigade under one full-evening banner.
That context matters because A Handful Of Nuggs is not landing by itself. It is part of a bigger Claypool year: one project moving through physical formats, another live release coming, and Primus still sitting at the center of it.
The Maynard/Puscifer connection also gives the EP another reason to matter outside the usual Primus lane. Metal Mantra covered Keenan recently in Maynard James Keenan's live-hearing comments, and his name showing up here will pull some heavier-adjacent listeners toward the release.
Primus do not need to prove they are metal. They never did. But a new studio track, a new drummer, a Dio cover, and a Puscifer feature are enough to make A Handful Of Nuggs more than a throwaway EP.
