FAITH NO MORE

PAGE UPDATED IN 2022

Reviewed:
- We Care a Lot (1985)
- Introduce Yourself (1987)
- The Real Thing (1989)

- Live at the Brixton Academy (1991, live album)
- Angel Dust (1992)
- King for a Day...Fool for a Lifetime (1995)
- Album of the Year (1997)
- The Platinum Collection (2005, compilation)
- Sol Invictus (2015)


WE CARE A LOT          1985          (Koolarrow Records)

- Standouts: 'We Care a Lot', 'The Jungle', 'Mark Bowen', 'Why Do You Bother', 'Greed', 'As the Worm Turns', 'Arabian Disco'

I remember not owning this debut album for years and years, despite already being a fan of this band during my school days. On CD, it was out of print and selling for crazy prices right up until it was reissued as 2016 as the 'Deluxe Band Edition'. Naturally, I snatched up a copy right away in 2016. Not the most exciting introduction to a review page, but I really haven't been listening to this album very long compared to the rest of the discography!

Now that's off my chest, let's discuss the music on We Care a Lot. I never considered Faith No More to be musical geniuses per say, but they certainly were always innovative and completely unique with their sound. There's not a single band on the planet that sounds like them. And no, 'Epic' does not sound like Red Hot Chilli Peppers! Anyhow, these guys were always thinking outside the box regarding their songwriting methods. It helps that each band member had their own personality within the music, if that makes any sense. Mike Bordin is a harsh drummer, Billy Gould plays bass with a distinctive funk/slap style, Jim Martin is a heavy, metallic guitar player while Roddy Bottum's keyboards add tons of atmosphere to the songs. They didn't have Mike Patton in the band at this stage; Chuck Mosely (RIP) was their vocalist and I can't exactly praise him for his actual vocal ability. He couldn't sing - but what he could do was bring an oddly goofy, quasi-rap yet charming attitude to the band which totally suited the first couple of albums. I've always liked the guy's contributions, even if he's not considered to be the definitive FNM frontman.

The title track opens up this record, and while it is a great song whichever way you look at it, I always preferred the re-recorded version on the second album, Introduce Yourself. I guess the reason for this is because of how long I had been listening to that version before I heard the original. Still, both are pretty similar, with the production and a few odd vocal arrangements separating the too. You've gotta love the politically-driven lyrics ("We care a lot about the war's we're fighting, gee that looks like fun!") and the massive bass line that drives the song from the get-go. 'The Jungle' is such a cool track too; Jim Martin's riffs are pure heavy metal, yet Roddy's keyboards give off a strong gothic atmosphere. Chuck's vocals are drenched in this strange delay effect, and the whole song is just bizarre-sounding, but in the best way possible. 'Mark Bowen' is sonically similar too, but this one has stronger vocal lines and less of a metallic edge in the riffs. The rhythm section to 'Why Do You Bother' is intense, while the guitar parts and keyboards give off a soaring, almost epic vibe. Another great tune.

If the goth keyboard tones were removed from 'Greed', you'd have a punky little number. But of course, the keyboards only give more character to the music and you're left with another enjoyable number here. 'Pills for Breakfast' is a simplistic instrumental that focuses on Martin's metal background - the guy came from the thrash metal scene prior, and was in a band with Cliff Burton before he was even a member of Metallica, so this all makes sense. 'As the Worm Turns' is another solid cut, with memorable keyboard melodies and some almost funk-metal guitar playing. 'Arabian Disco' is really catchy too; some of the keyboard parts to this song actually have a pop-quality behind them, but the riffs are still as heavy anything else on this record. It just happens to be the most infectious song on this record.

Stuff I'm not too fussed by are the short acoustic instrumental, 'Jim', and the finale 'New Beginnings'. The former is not really bad as such, just brief and unfitting for the rest of the music. The latter too, is not lame or anything like that, just lacking in creativity and ideas compared to songs like 'The Jungle' or 'Arabian Disco' etc., and feels more like something the band would jam for a soundcheck rather than an actual song. I guess you could say "I DON'T care a lot" for these tracks! Ha! Sorry.

This is an updated review some five, nearly six years on from my original. I still agree with my 8.6/10 score. We Care a Lot isn't perfect - and they'd certainly get better on later records - but there's a lot to like here. Like I said at the beginning, even at this stage in their career, nobody else sounded like them. We Care a Lot is a weird metal/funk/goth/rap-hybrid rock album and it works, plain and simple.

Adam's rating: 8.6/10

INTRODUCE YOURSELF          1987          (Slash)

- Standouts: 'Faster Disco', 'Anne's Song', 'Introduce Yourself', 'Chinese Arithmetic', 'Death March', 'We Care a Lot', 'R n' R', 'The Crab Song', 'Blood'

Introduce Yourself takes much of the same formula that was grounded in We Care a Lot, but ditches some of the goth keyboard tones and cranks up the funk metal style. Chuck seems to semi-rap throughout many of these tunes; I guess you could blame Faith No More for contributing towards what would eventually become rap/nu metal in later years - that is, if you're one of those angry metal guys that hates said genre. Whatever. I've always been a fan of Introduce Yourself. I think it improves on the already-impressive debut.

Opener 'Faster Disco' is a continuation of songs like 'Why Do You Bother' from the predecessor, with a bigger bass tone and all the metallic Jim Martin riffs you could ever hope for. Chuck's vocals are as goofy as ever, and like before, they still somehow manage to work. If you put Mr. Mosely behind the mic of just about any other rock band in history, he'd probably be a big joke. Yet on these early FNM records, there's just something so appealing about his style. This is especially true with the insanely catchy funk/rap rocker 'Anne's Song' - which features one of Billy Gould's coolest ever bass riffs - Chuck more-or-less raps/speaks his way through the entire song, and I love it. I also love the short, sweet title track. It's a ridiculously fun, dumb funk metaller. I love the way Chuck addresses the whole band ("Billy!! Roddy!! Mikey!! Jim!!"). Oh, and the chorus is fucking great ("Introduce yourself - RIGHT ON!!") - one minute and thirty-two seconds of sheer sonic entertainment.

'Chinese Arithmetic' is killer too. The bass-line combined with the metal riffing is awesome, while the drum beat gets my foot tappin' and the keyboards add a nice layer of atmosphere to the rest of the instrumentation. Meanwhile 'Death March' is one of the slowest, sleaziest songs they ever wrote, and once again I think it's brilliant. Yeah, Chuck sounds drunk on this one, especially during the spoken-word intro ("Ninety-five cents?! FUCK YOU I'll skate to the beach"! And I'll look better gettin' there!!"), but given the intentionally-sloppy nature of this track, I wouldn't have it any other way. Next is the re-recorded 'We Care a Lot', and I've already mentioned in the previous review that I think this is the definitive version. The bass sound has been cranked to 100% and given that the production on this album as a whole is just better in general, I feel like this is the better recording by default really. It certainly fits in with the rest of the songs here just fine.

There's yet another classic in 'R n' R' - in my opinion, this could have made a good single as it's just as catchy as 'We Care a Lot'... maybe not 'Anne's Song', but it's not far off. Again, it ticks every box as to what makes these early efforts work so well. 'The Crab Song' is a surprisingly moody, erm, 'ballad'? If anyone other than Chuck sang it, then it probably would be considered a ballad, but given his silly vocal style and charm, I can't really take it seriously enough to consider it a ballad. But ya know what? I don't give a shit, 'cos it's awesome. And that riff which comes in during the mid-section of this track is heavy as hell. 'Blood' brings back some of those gothy keyboard sounds from We Care a Lot over, while the rest of the music seems to fit more within the heavy metal realm once again. I will admit that I find 'Blood' to be a tad weaker than any of the previous tracks, but I still like it a lot. The weakest song however, is definitely 'Spirit'. I mean, it's not especially bad at all, just lukewarm by comparison to the rest of the album, and not the most exciting note to go out on. Kinda like how 'New Beginnings' was the weakest song on the previous album then. 

When all's said and done though, I still love this album. I especially like Billy's bass playing on this record; almost every bassline kicks ass throughout. I hadn't heard it in it's entirety for quite a while, but I still consider it to be an underrated classic from the 80's alternative scene. I use that term 'alternative' because FNM are a difficult band to really categorise musically. Introduce Yourself was the last album to feature Chuck Mosley on vocals. For most people (including myself), that was probably a good thing, but I still love these two records and listen to them just as much as the rest of the discography.

Adam's rating: 9.2/10

THE REAL THING          1989          (Slash)

- Standouts: 'From Out of Nowhere', 'Epic', 'Falling to Pieces', 'Surprise! You're Dead!', 'Zombie Eaters', 'The Real Thing', 'Woodpecker from Mars', 'Edge of the World' 

Their career really began to shift up a gear with The Real Thing. The album reached number eleven in the US charts, and number thirty in the UK. Meanwhile 'From Out of Nowhere' and 'Epic' were both fairly successful singles. Were they selling out then? I think not. It's just that, with Mike Patton replacing Chuck Mosley on vocals, they had a vocalist that could actually sing, and some (but not all) the songs feature more melody and musical variety than what you heard on either of the two predecessors (particularly 'Epic' and 'From Out of Nowhere' as well as 'Falling to Pieces' - also a single, it just didn't chart as well).

About Patton though - when I say this guy can sing, I really mean it. The dude is quite possibly one of the most diverse singers of all time. The amount of other bands and projects he's been involved with is crazy - you could make him sing pop music and he'd nail it. He can do thrash metal (listen to Mr. Bungle's The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny Demo), and he can pull off smooth jazz and lounge music. Seriously. The band got far more diverse musically with the addition of Patton, and I don't think anyone had a problem with this. I will say however, that The Real Thing is not the most diverse FNM record both musically or in terms of Mike's vocal performance - but it is most definitely a die-hard classic that really put them on the radar.

The first three tracks just happen to be the hits I've already mentioned. 'From Out of Nowhere' is a nice and straightforward melodic hard rocker - simplistic, almost punky riffs, a keyboard melody that is instantly memorable and a high-pitched vocal performance that is about as far removed from Chuck Mosley as it's humanely possible. I've always thought it's a great tune. Not the band at their most creative by any means, but as a single, it's tip-top. I must admit that I've heard 'Epic' far too many times over the years to really feel the need to keep replaying it these days, but it's still a fine song whichever way you look at it. You already know that it blends funk with metal, while Patton raps his way through the verses. The chorus is a perfectly-crafted vocal arrangement if I say so myself ("You want it all but you can't have it!"). Yeah, I'm burned out on 'Epic' as a thirty year-old man, but that's only because I played it over and over again in my teens due to how infectious it really is. As for 'Falling to Pieces', this one's possibly my least favourite of the three major singles, but that's hardly a bad thing. Billy Gould's bass playing on it is fucking awesome as always - massively funk-driven basslines - while the vocal arrangements are once again to die for. Roddy's keyboard contributions are perfectly implemented, and stick with you.

Those first bunch of songs - in terms of songwriting - are just brilliant regardless of what type of music you prefer. Anyone who disagrees is an idiot, plain and simple. The remainder of this album's still mostly excellent too however. 'Surprise! You're Dead!' was apparently also released as a single. Never understood why - not because I dislike it. I love it. No, it's because this track is a full-on thrash metal piece from Jim Martin's pre-FNM days. There's nothing even remotely radio-friendly about it, and it certainly doesn't have any of the hooks or melodies that the first three songs had. It just kicks ass, end of story. And once again, it displays Patton's diverse vocal range, this time going into full-on rage mode. 'Zombie Eaters' is really cool too. It's a slow-building song with acoustic parts that eventually shifts into a massive metal anthem. The title track too, is outstanding. It's a lengthy, musically-diverse song that blends alternative rock with metal. If you played this song to somebody who'd never heard it before, and asked them to guess what decade it was released in - if they guessed the 80's I'd be amazed. 'The Real Thing' to me sounds like it could have come out of the mid-90's. It's ahead of it's time.

I wouldn't really call myself a fan of 'Underwater Love' - it's not one of my favourite tracks from this album - but it is kind of necessary in breaking up the pace of this record. It's essentially a pop rock song, and a good one at that. Easy listening FNM, and that's okay. 'Woodpecker from Mars' is an appropriately bizarre instrumental, with weird keyboard tones written all over it, as well as yet more killer bass playing. Again, it keeps the listener interested. 'Edge of the World' is an extremely jazzy number that is just so cool and laid-back that the band seem to just pull it off with ease, despite being the first of it's kind among the FNM catalogue.

'The Morning After' sadly almost treads into filler territory for me. It's not bad enough for me to skip, but it's not good enough to qualify as a standout either. Meh, kinda sounds like an Introduce Yourself leftover, only it's lacking the balls of that album somehow. I could do without the 'War Pigs' cover too. I understand that it's actually a bonus track that was included on the CD and not on the vinyl release (in fact, so was 'Edge of the World'...), but it's not clear at all from the packaging and it will always be a part of The Real Thing to me, given just how long the CD has been in my collection. I might be a Black Sabbath fanatic, but I guess I just don't like hearing other people play their songs. They've been covered far too much, and FNM's take on 'War Pigs' doesn't really do anything to differentiate from the original. If you wanna hear a cover that's in my opinion better than the original, go listen to Van Halen's rendition of the Kinks' 'You Really Got Me' or something!

As much as I'd like to go all contrarian on your ass and claim that Introduce Yourself is the better album, it just isn't. I'm still not gonna say that The Real Thing is my favourite FNM record, but I do still agree with the mainstream verdict that this is one of their best. Not every song is perfect, but like I said, 'From Out of Nowhere', 'Epic' and 'Falling to Pieces' are near-flawless cuts while 'Surprise! You're Dead!', 'Zombie Eaters', 'The Real Thing' and 'Edge of the World' are phenomenal. You're nuts if you still don't have this in your collection somewhere.

Adam's rating: 9.4/10

LIVE AT THE BRIXTON ACADEMY         1991          (Slash)

This is an enjoyable live romp, but only if you liked The Real Thing (which you probably did). If you were expecting to see a mish-mash of tracks from that record along with a bunch of Mosley numbers, think again. Save for 'We Care a Lot', the remaining seven songs are all from The Real Thing, and other than Patton singing in a slightly harsher, punkier manner, the whole thing sounds alarmingly close to the album. Even the album cover is basically the same. The last two songs ('The Grade' and 'The Cowboy Song') are left-over studio tracks, so really, the CD is worth picking up even if you don't really like live records. 
Adam's rating: 7/10

ANGEL DUST           1992          (Slash)

- Standouts: Everything except maybe 'Smaller and Smaller'.

1992 and Faith No More drop what is generally considered to be their other finest work alongside The Real Thing. Both are exceptionally strong records, but I suppose Angel Dust is the one that's stood out most for me. The predecessor displayed the band's talents of writing musically diverse songs - this follow-up, if anything, just takes things one step further. This is an unpredictable album, if there ever was one.

Well, 'Land of Sunshine' does kick things off with a very typically FNM vibe, if that makes any sense. Super-cool funk basslines, heavy guitar riffs, catchy vocals. Despite how diverse this band are, 'Land of Sunshine' just has the type of sound that first comes to mind for me when somebody says 'Faith No More'. I mean, we'll gloss over the fact it has an almost circus-inspired melody in it, but hey - Faith No More are weird! Always have been, always will! 'Caffeine' on the other hand, is a very heavy, grinding number with a particularly angry, schizophrenic vocal performance from Mike Patton. Classic stuff. Then of course, there's 'Midlife Crisis' - easily one of the group's best known songs alongside 'Epic' and 'Falling to Pieces' etc.. Sadly, like those hits, I'm kinda personally burned out on 'Midlife Crisis'. The song is brilliant; extremely well-written vocal arrangements, simplistic but effective riffing and fine use of keyboard effects. There's a reason it's a classic - but because it's one of those tracks I listened to over and over again as a youngster, it's just not a song I need to hear every time any more.

'RV' is weird as hell, sounding more like one of Mike Patton's Mr. Bungle tunes in a way. But it's also kinda hilarious, the lyrics dealing with trailer trash and the music being composed of jazzy piano notes and sleazy guitar parts. 'Everything's Ruined' is great too; strangely pretty piano melodies mixed with funk metal playing and enough hooks for it to qualify as catchy. 'Malpractice' is quite the opposite; very heavy, unpredictable, full of weird transitions and gothic keyboards. This FNM in their most avant-garde mindset, and as always, they pull it off. It's a prime example of how they actually got more experimental post-The Real Thing. I also love 'Kindergarten', which is kinda straightforward structurally after 'Malpractice'. The bass solo is great, while the sloppy riff adds a large element of groove to the music.

'Be Aggressive' is a lot of fun; the lyrics are ridiculous and written by Roddy Bottum presumably to make Mike Patton feel uncomfortable! Yeah, look it up yourself. Musically it's upbeat, and the chorus is sang by either children or cheerleaders, yet it somehow works and just makes this track that little bit more memorable. As far as FNM's history of pop music endeavours goes, 'A Small Victory' is probably my favourite song they ever wrote in this sense. Everything about this song is just sublimely written and performed, with absolutely exquisite melodies and hooks. It was released as a single, and while it performed respectfully, it should've done better! Looking at the charts in general for Angel Dust, I was surprised to see that it actually did better in the UK (number two) than it did the States (number ten). But yeah, 'A Small Victory' - one of those perfect songs for me.

'Crack Hitler' - amazing title - is the funkiest song on this record, drenched in wah-wah guitars and some killer slap-bass playing from Billy Gould (as always). It almost reminds me of Infectious Grooves, although the keyboards do give off that unmistakeable FNM trademark atmosphere. 'Jizzlobber' (another great title) is brutal. Heavy as hell, with Jim Martin's riffage all over it as well as some atonal keyboards and an extremely twisted vocal performance from Patton. Yep, twisted - that's what this song is. The church organ that rings out at the end combined with the choir harmonies just reinforces this album's penchant for creativity. At the end of the original release of Angel Dust is a rendition of 'Midnight Cowboy' (the theme from the 1969 movie) - not really a proper 'song' as such, more the band's way of saying goodbye in a smooth manner. It works!

The 1993 reissue includes the band's cover of the Commordores' 'Easy' at the end. Unsurprisingly, they pull if off with ease. Like I said in the previous review, Mike Patton can sing anything he wants and do a fine job, whether it be impersonating Lionel Ritchie like he does here, or singing a song like 'Jizzlobber'. Like the 'Midnight Cowboy' theme, 'Easy' also serves as a pleasant outro to a legit classic 90's album. I have a 1992 pressing of Angel Dust, but I still consider 'Easy' to be a part of this album.

As awesome as this record is, it still isn't quite perfect. 'Smaller and Smaller' is a solid slab of droning alternative metal, with a crazy vocal performance - but it's definitely one of the lesser tracks on the album for me. I do like it somewhat, I just find it to be sluggish and less thought-out than the majority of the songs on here. Still, the whole thing clocks in at just over an hour long - a fairly lengthy album to sit through, yet there's never a dull moment. The songs are all over the place musically, yet the record still flows very smoothly from start to finish. 

I'm gonna continue to settle with my opinion that Angel Dust is Faith No More's crowning achievement. It's the kind of album that you can either listen to in full and enjoy the hell out of it, or just pick out individual songs and play them over and over (bar 'Midlife Crisis' of course, lord knows how many times I've heard it). That is the sign of a truly fantastic record. And it's amazing that the band could record some downright weird shit here and still manage to sell millions of copies! I think this is an album every true rock fan should have in their collection.

Adam's rating: 9.5/10

KING FOR A DAY...FOOL FOR A LIFETIME         1995         (Slash)

- Standouts: 'Get Out', 'Ricochet', 'Evidence', 'The Gentle Art of Making Enemies', 'Star A.D.', 'Cuckoo for Caca', 'Digging the Grave', 'Take this Bottle', 'King for a Day', 'Just a Man'

This album is a little less bizarre than Angel Dust, but still every bit as creative and musically diverse in my opinion. I'd argue it's aged better too - not that the predecessor sounds painfully dated or anything (that album is just brilliant), it's just that songs like 'Land of Sunshine' and 'Midlife Crisis' sound like they come from the 90's if ya get me. King for a Day could be released tomorrow and still sound contemporary, in my mind at least. Worth noting is that at this point in time, the band had replaced Jim Martin with Mike Pattons' Mr. Bungle mate and session musician Trey Spruance - and I do think this made a difference to the FNM sound around this period - but not necessarily in a bad way, as you will soon find out.

Yep, I've always been a big fan of this record too. Despite a slight shift in tone, this is still Faith No More continuing their brand of experimental rock in an occasionally more mature way. The first couple of tracks, 'Get Out' and 'Ricochet' are two excellent heavy numbers; the former is a short and snappy metallic sucker-punch, while the latter is a big, hooky hard rock song driven by a simple riff and some fantastic vocal arrangements. I love 'em both. It doesn't take long for the album to drastically detour from the heaviness though - 'Evidence' is one of the classiest songs I've ever heard. It's FNM doing 70's-inspired soul and R&B, and it's absolutely brilliant. Once again, Mike Patton proves his insane talent as a vocalist and pulls it off with ease. 'The Gentle Art of Making Enemies' however, is once again heavy, but also goofy and reminiscent of Patton and Spruance's early Mr. Bungle work. The lyrics are crazy, the riffs are awesome, and the whole structure of it all is schizophrenic. Meanwhile, 'Star A.D.' is a funky, jazzy ditty complete with saxophones - and guess what? It works very well and fits in nicely among the rest of the songs here. 

'Cuckoo for Caca' is essentially wild and out of control hardcore punk music with some inhuman screaming vocals. It's awesome. 'Ugly in the Morning' is kinda similar too; it's atonal, unpredictable and dangerous. 'Ugly' is certainly a fitting description of it. The punky 'Digging the Grave' is also great. I'd also argue that some of the guitar riffs tread into 90's grunge waters. By contrast, 'Take This Bottle' is a slower, country rock-inspired cut, and yet again the band pull it off well! So well in fact, that it's one of my favourite tracks on the album. And so is the title track, 'King for a Day' for that matter. It's a lengthy slab of 90's alternative rock; a finely-crafted song with nice acoustic parts and heavier transitions that all adds up to create an epic number comparable to that of 'Zombie Eaters' from The Real Thing. 'What a Day' is comparable to that of a band like Helmet. Short and punchy. The closing track, 'Just a Man' has a fantastic atmosphere, and is a slow-moving, yet soaring song and a fine way to conclude the album.

I guess I do have a couple of minor niggles to add. 'Caralho Voador' (which translates to 'flying dick' in Portugese, LOL) is definitely one of the weakest moments on here. It's light, smooth lounge music, but it just isn't as memorable or enjoyable as, say, 'Evidence'. Feels like a gap-filler between the agressive numbers' 'Cuckoo for Caca' and 'Ugly in the Morning'. Not too bothered by 'The Last to Know' either  (except for that cool riff half-way through). Musically, it kind of sounds like something from Smashing Pumpkins' Siamese Dream in my mind, only not as good. A lot of Billy Gould's awesome funk bass playing is gone throughout the album, presumably due to the overall different tone of the album. I guess it just wouldn't have worked with many of these tracks. There's also little in the way of keyboards compared to previous records. Roddy Bottum was largely absent during the recording for a multitude of reasons including the death of his father as well as Kurt Cobain, and a growing heroin addiction.

I used to think this was the best album behind Angel Dust. Well, according to my old review at least. I'm not so sure I agree with that opinion these days. I still love King for a Day, Fool for a Lifetime; there's so many stylistic changes throughout the record, and generally everything falls into place brilliantly. But the album as a whole just isn't quite as memorable as Angel Dust or The Real Thing. Mike Patton goes absolutely nuts on a lot of the tracks, which is mostly fine - but it can be tiresome after a while. I'm not even sure I like it as much as I do Introduce Yourself these days either. That said, 'Ricochet', 'Evidence', 'The Gentle Art of Making Enemies', 'Take This Bottle' and the title track are absolutely up there with the long list of the finest FNM songs ever written. 

Adam's rating: 9.1/10

ALBUM OF THE YEAR        1997        (Slash)

- Standouts: 'Collision', 'Stripsearch', 'Last Cup of Sorrow', 'Naked in Front of the Computer', 'Helpless', 'Mouth to Mouth', 'She Loves Me Not' , 'Got That Feeling', 'Paths of Glory'

This was the final album the band recorded before their first breakup in 1998. Of course, they did eventually reform years later, but if Album of the Year ended up being the last thing they ever recorded, well, they could've done a lot worse. The first handful of tracks here are superb, as always. 'Collision' is a heavy, intense number with a great bassline, and the song in general sets things up nicely. I think most fans would agree that 'Stripsearch' is classic Faith No More; like 'Evidence' from the previous album, it completely shifts genres with it's electronic, chilled-out vibes and moody atmosphere. Wikipedia calls it 'trip hop', whatever that means. Great song either way, as is 'Last Cup of Sorrow' - probably my favourite from this record actually. It's driven by a very simple, heavy riff and some oddly-chilling keyboards, while Mike Patton's vocals are often muffled and spoken-word. In fact, his vocals sorta remind me of what Trent Reznor does with Nine Inch Nails. Anyhow, 'Last Cup of Sorrow' is a dark, brooding cut that I can never get enough of.

'Naked in Front of the Computer' on the other hand, has more of a punk-vibe musically; faster, more upbeat, and only clocking in at just over two minutes long. Lyrically it's an extreme take on relationships via the internet, something not uncommon in 2022 by any means, but unusual in 1997 for sure. 'Helpless' I enjoy a lot to. It's an artsy alternative rock number with some fine acoustic and electric segments as well as a fairly subdued vocal performance from Patton, but it works very well here. 'Mouth to Mouth' is full of bruising riffs coupled with psychedelic keyboards, and to me it feels more like FNM as you heard them on an album like Angel Dust, which can only be a good thing. 'Ashes to Ashes' has some very heavy grunge-like portions within it, but it also has a lot of pretty auras thanks to Roddy Bottum's keyboards. If it were longer, I'd probably be calling it 'epic', but as it stands, this is another superb number.

The band take another trip through smooth R&B on 'She Loves Me Not' - it isn't quite as strong as 'Evidence', but it's still frankly excellent. To keep the ball rolling however, 'Got That Feeling' is a fast, upbeat punk song that reminds me a lot of what Suicidal Tendencies were doing around the same time. The slow, sludgy 'Paths of Glory' is a direct reference to Stanley Kubrick's 1957 masterpiece WWI film of the same name. It's a dirgy affair, and I love it. The last two tracks, 'Home Sick Home' and 'Prisina' wrap things up nicely. Album of the Year might be one of the least odd FNM albums, but I guess 'Home Sick Home' has some weirdness about it. It's a short number with a bit of country/southern twang mixed with acid rock, and it works for me. I guess 'Pristina' is my least favourite track here, but it still leaves me wanting more.

While I do still love King for a Day, I don't enjoy it quite like I used to. Album of the Year on the other hand, has gone up in my books. I mean, I always thought this was a strong record, but weaker than any of it's predecessors. Hearing it again in full as a thirty year-old man however, I enjoy it more than ever. In fact, I think it's on par with it's bigger brother these days. I'll admit there's less songs on here that I listen to individually compared to a lot of the other records, but Album of the Year is the most mature, most listenable FNM release that is consistently good from start to finish. By 'listenable', what I mean is, there's very little in the way of strangeness going on here - not that being weird is a bad thing of course, as it's all part of the FNM charm - and the fact Mike Patton's vocals are overall less crazy than he can often be. The songs are still as diverse and interesting as ever, they're just more conventional than usual - and I mean that in a positive way. 
Adam's rating: 9.1/10

THE PLATINUM COLLECTION          2005         (Warner Bros.)

Budget compilation with 18 songs spanning from Introduce Yourself to Album of the Year. More significant than you might think (for me anyway), 'cos it was the first Faith No More disc I ever bought. When I was first properly getting into music at school, I bought one of those generic mutiple-CD compilations that was full of classic tunes, and one of the one's on there was 'From Out of Nowhere'. That song clearly had some sort of impact on me, because I wound up buying this not too long after. I played the hell out of it until I bought The Real Thing and Angel Dust a year or so later (think I was around 15 at that point). Anyhow, this CD is peanuts to buy and the 18 song track-listing is basically the same as any of the other, 'full-price' FNM compilations available, so I can't NOT recommend it to casual listeners. 

SOL INVICTUS          2015          (Reclamation!)

- Standouts: 'Superhero', 'Separation Anxiety', 'Cone of Shame', 'Rise of the Fall', 'Motherfucker'

I liked this album a lot when it first arrived in 2015. And I remember being excited for it, given that it'd been almost twenty years since Album of the Year, not to mention the fact they'd reunited and started touring once again. I must admit though, while I did listen to Sol Invictus a lot in 2015, it's the only album in the Faith No More discography that I rarely revisit. The boring answer as to why this is, is that in general I just don't find the songs to be as memorable this time around, despite ticking most of the boxes. 'Sol Invictus', the title track, opens up the album on a slow, mellow note. Mike Patton sings it in a very low range, and the whole thing kinda feels like a build-up to the next track, 'Superhero'. Alright, well this one is classic FNM. It's one of the songs from this record I rarely get tired of hearing. The riffs are grinding, the vocals are laid out brilliantly, while the plinking piano notes stick with you throughout. It's just a great song full-stop. 'Sunny Side Up' is a funk-driven, poppy number with a catchy chorus. I like it, but it's not really a highlight in my books. The chuggy 'Separation Anxiety' does things better, in my opinion. It's kind of repetitive musically, but it's full of groove and cool spoken word vocals.

'Cone of Shame' is cool too. I like the militaristic drumming during the slower parts that eventually build up into a big and bombastic anthem. 'Rise of the Fall' touches on the band's weirder side both musically and vocally. Individually, there's some nice melodies in this song with regards to the keyboards and guitars, even if the song as a whole is supposed to be bizarre-sounding. I guess that's all part of the FNM charm. 'Black Friday' is a listenable, if unspectacular, upbeat alternative rocker. I do think 'Motherfucker' is probably the second-best song on here behind 'Superhero' though. The layered vocals and the way they've been arranged here is brilliant - this is the most vocal song on the album, and it's great. Mike Patton doing his thing, and doing it perfectly.

'Matador' is a solid effort at creating an alt. rock epic I guess; Patton is outstanding on it, but sadly the music just isn't as dynamic as past lengthy tracks such as 'The Real Thing' gave us. It's not a bad song by any stretch of the imagination, just kind of generic save for the vocals. The final song, 'From the Dead' is a fairly enjoyable acoustic number, but not a particularly exciting way to end the record.

While I do still like this album, Faith No More post-reunion feels more like 'the Mike Patton show' at this point. I've seen them live twice since they reformed, and they're still great live. It's just that, save for a handful of songs, Sol Invictus' real saving grace is Patton's vocal performance. He's brilliant on here, but the music is lukewarm and lacking in creativity by comparison. There aren't any bad tracks here - in fact, 'Superhero' and 'Motherfucker' are instant classics - but the bulk of this record doesn't stand up to their legendary back catalogue. Still, as far as reunion albums go, you could do a lot worse.

Adam's rating: 7.4/10