Review Summary: Faith No More's turning point, an excellent album made of the combination of Metal, Rock and a Funky touch.
Faith No More started in 1981 as
Faith No Man with bassist Billy Gould, drummer Mike Bordin, keyboardist Wade Worthington and vocalist Mike Morris. By the time they released The Real Thing in 1989, they had replaced vocalist Morris with Mike Patton, keyboardist Worthington with Roddy Bottum and guitarist Bowen with Jim Martin and became the band known as
Faith No More. The Real Thing is said to be their career's first success, mostly because of Mike Patton's vocals.
This album is one of the most versatile metal album ever made. From aggressive metal to slow acoustic songs,
Faith No More never stops rocking. The general atmosphere of the album is made by aggressive riffs, haunting keyboards and crazy vocals. Mike Patton is definitely making a difference on this album, he sings from a calm voice to an almost Death Metal growl. His aggressive side is shown on songs like “Surprise! You're Dead!” and “The Real Thing” while his calmer side is on “Edge Of The World”. Another great performance is the vocals on War Pigs. The band as whole did a very good job covering Black Sabbath but it almost feels like the song was made by Mike Patton.
The riffs on this album are both headbangers and relaxing, the best example can be heard on “Zombie Eaters” where it starts on an acoustic riff and ends up on a kind of metal version of
Red Hot Chili Peppers rapping. The band as whole sounds really well, bass and drums work together to create the rhythm while the guitar, keyboards and voice give us the melody and the atmosphere. The perfect example would be the instrumental "Woodpecker from Mars" or “Epic”, the band's first selling single.Billy Gould stands out as the perfect bassist for this band, his line always fits the songs, whether it's rhythm bass on “Epic” or simple notes. The combination of drummer Mike Bordin and Billy Gould adds a lot of energy to a already very energetic album.
Although songs like “Underwater Love” and “The Morning After” are not as good as the others, they are far from fillers and all have something interesting to listen to whether it's the melody or the instruments. The Real Thing is definitely a step forward for
Faith No More and probably their most important release.
