Remember stoner movie classics and how they portrayed the funny, happy side of getting high? Like in
Up In Smoke where Pedro and his pal were just having the best time driving a van made of weed. This album is sorta like that, minus the happy good feelings. It feels like devil himself was in the weed you smoked and got in your head slowly driving you insane. I can barely listen to the first two songs by myself at night without soiling myself (not quite but the dramatic extreme always gets the point across.) Its
that haunting and powerful.
Even from the opening track the use of voices in the backdrop and creepy breakdowns is present. It feels like people are in your head when samples of typical rehab questions and a white trash loser mumbling about how sh
itty his life is floating in your head. The music always has this eerie feel and the lyrics can be just as creepy. The majority of the songs are about drugs or violence and all those bad things no one likes. Examples of the lyrics are "I'm gonna tell my kids they aren't ever gonna amount to nothin", "Squash Me Smaller and Smaller" and from
Be Aggressive which is about oral sex "Tall and reckless ugly seed reach down my throat you filthy bird" "I SWALLOW, I SWALLOW, I SWALLOW, I SWALLOW." Though every now and then Patton reveals some of his twisted humor and occasionally makes you laugh. Who can't help but chuckle at his awesome impersonation of a fat couch potato?
Musically this album succeeds as well. Mike Patton’s voice is so smooth and delightful. His shouts are also on key and he hits all the right notes even when he his unleashing the anger. Faith No More doesn't fail to impress with their signature funky metal either. All Patton projects are on some degree of weirdness but this doesn't compare on the weird meter to his later projects like Fantomas and Mr. Bungle. The bass is excellent and funky. The guitars and keyboards especially are great. The guitar solos are great but the keyboards really do a good job with creating the creepy atmosphere. The breakdowns on
Caffeine wouldn't have been complete without the keyboard flittering around your head.
There is not a bad song on this album either. All of them provide listening value and are all classics in their own right. Even the rambles of the white trash on
RV is awesome. I really couldn't have asked for a better Patton project than this. It's not extreme with the weirdness, it has great music, and good lyrics. This album is not easily forgotten and is a really haunting experience.
Easily a very high 4.5.
Weird Factor: Quirky
