Intellectual Hooliganism, the fifth album by Murfreesboro rock quartet Flummox, finds the band exploring some interesting musical terrain. Imagine Les Claypool’s giddily artsy Flying Frog Brigade meeting Tool on one of their darker days. Throw in some snippets of faux-poppy Zappa from his We’re Only in It for the Money era, sew it all up surgically tight à la King Crimson, and you’re about there.

Recorded at Studio D in Tullahoma, Flummox’s Intellectual Hooliganism is an intriguing listen. Progressive metal is the point of departure as well as the album’s common denominator. Though there are some enticing, straightforward metal moments, Flummox is at its most inspired when turning away from its metal roots and exploring quirkier and less well-trodden musical territory.

Though the feverishly fast guitars and near semi-automatic drumming common to most metal are never far, Flummox spends a good deal of time mining more idiosyncratic musical veins. And we can be thankful for that, for it is in these veins that Flummox most often strikes gold. And there’s quite a lot of gold to be had on Intellectual Hooliganism.

“What Are You Up To?” is a masterclass in off-kilter pop arrangement topped with lyrics as sardonically delicious as any Frank Zappa ever penned: I think you look like someone who lives on the blunt side of life . . . I’m speaking about what you’re bringing to the world by your way of life. The darkly-menacing bounce of “Alligator People” is wonderfully infectious, as are the jauntily buoyant verses on “A Bundle of Styx.”

In a world of 3-minute pop songs on Top 40 radio, Flummox’s mid-song pivots and near-manic musical shapeshifting might, as its name suggests, perplex some listeners. Of course, many others will find such eclecticism refreshing. Fans of progressive metal should be especially pleased.

Buy or stream the album at flummoxed.bandcamp.com.