Faith No More: Midlife Crisis

It hasn't happened yet...I've just always really dug this song. Here's the video for "Midlife Crisis" from Faith No More's "Angel Dust". "Go on and ring my neck/like when a rag gets wet..."

VENOM

Here's some early 1980's devil music...unrelenting Satanic biker death metal at it's finest. I give to you Venom's "Buried Alive" and "Angel Dust. This band really had this genre down. Their early albums "Black Metal" and "Welcome to Hell" are true metal masterpieces...give them a listen.

FAITH NO MORE: ANGEL DUST

"Angel Dust" (1992) is the strongest and most frighteningly adventurous of all of Faith No More's works. They take the twisted pop sensibility of their previous album "The Real Thing" and distort it to no end. It's still accessible, but it is the audio equivalent of being stuck in a macabre house of mirrors from which you cannot escape. I love it. Vocalist Mike Patton definitely combines his knack for the strange, morbid and unexpected from his other band Mr.Bungle with the exceptional musicianship already present in Faith No More to create a disturbing masterpiece of metal/country/funk/soul/noise/call it what you will. So without further ado, let's make our away into the warped world of "Angel Dust".

First of all this album is visually about opposites and conflicting emotions. On the front cover we have a beautiful picture of a heron...but on the inside artwork we have gruesome and gory images from a slaughterhouse. This conflicting feeling of beauty and ugliness ties in perfectly with the music. We have Mike Patton's smooth as silk vocals and some beautiful keyboards giving an illusion of serene beauty. But what lies underneath? The guitar work is ugly and gritty and the production is very thick and overwhelming. Also, Patton's vocals tend to explode without notice, offering extreme unexpected, psychotic mood swings. This leaves you uncomfortable and on edge, as you do not know what to expect next. The lyrics are depressive, twisted, ironic slices of reality. Cynical and macabre...at first glance they seem joyful but they really reach into the depths of despair, loneliness, and madness.

Let's look at some of the songs. "Angel Dust" opens with the optimistic infomercial-esque 'Land of Sunshine' but you quickly discover there is something awry. Gorgeous keyboards conflict with distorted guitars. Soon your fears are realized with "Caffeine', as the sound grows heavier, more discordant, and uglier by the second. Then there's 'Midlife Crisis' a simultaneously upbeat and depressive song with some cool scratching effects. The song really brings to life the deep dark abyss and conflicting emotions of a real 'Midlife Crisis'...possibly the band's greatest song. Then there's the sucidal country song 'RV'...

"Angel Dust" just keeps geting better. It continues with plenty of first rate ugly pop gems such as 'Kindergarten'. The last half of the album is especially disturbing. 'Malpractice' is a face removing nightmarish blast of noise..then there's the snotty, 1970's funk chant 'Be Aggressive'.
I love the ending of this album. It starts with the extremely hellish 'Jizzlobber' that will make you want to come to Jesus, followed by the serene, beautiful and completely serious cover of the theme from 'Midnight Cowboy'. Breathtaking and shuddering at the same time.

I highly recommend "Angel Dust". As I said, it is Faith No More's strongest work. It is a work of beautiful ugliness powered by opposites...it is the stuff nightmares and dreams are made of. This disc never seizes to amaze.

Coming Attractions...

Coming soon...
Movie reviews: John Ford's beautiful 1956 western "The Searchers" and Russ Meyer's "Mudhoney".
Music reviews: Bauhaus' "The Sky's Gone Out" and Faith No More's "Angel Dust".
Stay tuned.

FAITH NO MORE: THE REAL THING

Faith No More's 'The Real Thing"(1989) was one of the first metal/alternative crossover albums I ever heard, and one of my favorites of the time next to Soundgarden's "Louder Than Love" and Jane's Addiction's "Nothing's Shocking". What I really love about "The Real Thing" is the way Faith No More seamlessly blends elements of Black Sabbath, thrash metal, hardcore punk, funk, and soul into one cohesive and addictive whole. Mike Patton's vocals are deceptively silky-smoothe and soulful, becoming vicious only when they need to be with unsettling results. They are the perfect blend of snottiness and pure alienation. All of the musicianship is incredible here: Roddy Bottum on keyboards, Jim Martin on guitar, Mike Bordin on drums, and Billy Gould on bass.

An interesting fact about this record. Mike Patton took the place of original vocalist Chuck Moseley, who was kicked out of the band after all of the songs were already written. Strangely enough, Patton's vocals fit all of the songs perfectly. I personally prefer his vocals over Chuck Moseley's (heard on their previous album "Introduce Yourself"). Patton would only agree to sign the contract if he could continue to record and perform with his other band, the highly experimental and adventurous Mr. Bungle. I will cover them another day. So Warner Brothers agreed to let Mike Patton do both and signed Mr. Bungle as well. Patton would add an adventurous, uglier, and darker side to Faith No More's music once he began to contribute to the song writing. Listen to their follow up album from 1992 "Angel Dust" (also to be reviewed later) and you will hear the difference.

Anyway, back to the subject at hand, "The Real Thing". It is full of hooks, a bit on the pop side at times, but it maintains it's heaviness and sincerity. A song I'm sure all of you know off of this one is "Epic". It was a huge hit, but there are several other knockout tracks. "Falling to Pieces", "From Out of Nowhere", and "Underwater Love" are some of my favorites. Give this album a listen. It's not as deep as their later efforts, but it's still well worth your time and money.

Here's "From Out of Nowhere"...



..and here's a live version of "Falling to Pieces". Enjoy.