Previous Diagnoses:

Paradise Lost|Primus 

Hello music enthusiasts and welcome to the third instalment of Dr.Gonzo’s ‘Diagnosis Series’, where I go through a band or artist’s studio recordings and find their strengths and weaknesses, recommending a few things along the way. Today we’ll be looking at San Francisco’s venerable legends Faith No More to unpack their capricious career, which ultimately led to a sublime streak of near-perfect albums, as well as the iffy ones. So grab Bjork’s fish and prepare to gasp in excitement or terror.

Band/Artist: Faith No More

Origins: San Francisco, California, U.S.

Founded: 1979

Current Members:
Mike Bordin (drums)

Billy Gould (bass)

Roddy Bottum (keyboards, rhythm guitar)

Mike Patton (vocals)

Jon Hudson (lead guitar)

Previous members:

Mike Morris (guitar, vocals)

Wade Worthington (keyboards)

Courtney Love (vocals)

Mark Bowen (guitar)

Chuck Mosley (vocals)

Jim Martin (guitar)

Trey Spruance (guitar)

Dean Menta (guitar)

Studio albums: 7

Active: Hiatus(?)

We Care a Lot (1985)

The Doctor’s rating: 2/5

Analysis: I feel like Faith No More’s trajectory was very similar to how Iron Maiden started out their career. Like Iron Maiden, FNM started out with a very different sounding vocalist for their first two albums, and although Di’Anno and Mosley both bring decent performances to the table, respectively, both acts don’t find their untapped potential until after they replace their original frontmen with the larger-than-life icons they would go on to find commercial success with. Stylistically, We Care a Lot has all of the band’s fundamentals in place, it’s just that these elements are [very] rough around the edges and don’t find their untapped potential until after Patton comes into the fray. For this album though, it has a weighty lean on post-punk, with the late Chuck Mosley’s vocal delivery making the band sound almost new romantic at times when it comes to the likes of “Greed” and “Arabian Disco”. It has to be said that generally nothing gels well on here – it’s a weird mesh of metal, funk and disco with Mosley’s punk swagger underpinning all of these loose ideas. It also doesn’t help matters when the production is larking around being a complete disaster and fails to capture much of anything the album does well. The title-track is easily the most memorable thing on here, which probably suggests you should avoid this album entirely and move on (and you’d be correct with that assessment).

Prescription: I’ll be honest here – We Care a Lot isn’t a good album. It’s very apparent there’s potential in areas of the album, but Mosley’s stringent and limiting range holds back any of the good ideas on here. For posterity it’s worth jamming once, but don’t expect a lot from it.

Introduce Yourself (1987)

The Doctor’s rating: 3/5

Analysis: With Faith No More’s sophomore album, the band’s adroitness really begins to unveil itself. Despite Mosley still hindering the potential within the band, Introduce Yourself is a genuinely big step up from We Care a Lot, upping the ante in every regard, to the point of hearing where the band is headed next with The Real Thing. The production is light-years improved from the flat recordings on the debut (the band must have been dissatisfied with their last album too, as the best song from the debut, “We Care a Lot”, finds its way onto this album), and the songwriting feels far more focused on where it wants to go stylistically – avoiding the pitfalls from last time and knuckling down on the signature funk-rock sound set to blow them into the stratosphere. I might sound like I’m shitting on Chuck Mosley’s vocals for his two albums (and for the most part I am), but he actually sounds a lot better on this and assimilates well within the overall tone of the album.

Prescription: Far from perfect, however Introduce Yourself delivers some semblance of mercy to the listener by improving on their last effort in every conceivable way. Jam once and see how you get on.

The Real Thing (1989)

The Doctor’s rating: 5/5

Analysis: Getting fired from anything sucks, but to get pumped from one of rock’s biggest bands is going to leave a sour taste in your mouth. That being said however, I have to admit, if I was getting replaced by Mike Patton I’d have to simply tip my hat. We won’t see the gamut of Patton’s true capabilities until after The Real Thing, but he is considered by many to be the most diverse vocalist in rock and metal, and I can’t argue with that sentiment in the slightest. The guy is phenomenal. To the point though – Faith No More won the frontman lottery with Patton and served up one of the most iconic rock albums of the 80s, as well as their most commercially successful album to date. The Real Thing is a straight-shooting funk-metal album with cover-to-cover bangers. Patton elevates the funky, synth-y, metallic soundscapes to levels previously unseen. His vocal work is generally conventional, and rides in the confines of what the music needs – using his soaring, emotive highs to convey and deliver on the given mood of a song. The Real Thing has it all: pop-y accessibility, chugging guitars and rip-roaring solos, an interesting synth backdrop, and a Chili Peppers-esque rhythm section. The end result is a cohesive and diverse thrill-ride that will make you understand why they are GOAT-ed. “War Pigs” has no place being as phenomenal as it is either, but here we are.

Prescription: A landmark album for the history books. If you’ve never heard The Real Thing before today, stop reading right now and get it cranked to 11. Doctor’s orders. Play this 4-5 times a day for a week and replay as needed.

Angel Dust (1992)

The Doctor’s rating: 5/5

Analysis: The 90s was a hotbed of experimentation and exploration for rock and metal, and indeed, the world was hungry for it in a big way. I commented in the Primus analysis how it was a miracle they found the level of success afforded to them, but there was clearly a demand for it. The early 90s was a liminal point where heavy metal as we knew it was in its last dying gasps and in dire need of a shake up, making way for the inevitable grunge deluge, as well as leaving enough breathing room for bands like Cardiacs, Primus and Faith No More to make their own mark on the industry. By all accounts Angel Dust – despite what the incredible, albeit safe and strategically planned single “Midlife Crisis” would have you believe about the album – is a bold shift away from the mainstream appeal of The Real Thing. Where that album was meat and potatoes songwriting that corelated rock, metal, funk and everything in between into one digestible package for mass consumption, Angel Dust is antithetical to those wonted practices. The first three tracks rub you down first and get you warmed up for what will be a plethora of off-kilter ideas thereafter – filled with unreceptive resistance to those easily pleasing melodies, and making sure there isn’t a boundary left in sight. Angel Dust is also the album where you get some semblance of comprehension for how versatile Patton’s vocals are, unleashing shrill screams, powerful cleans, gritty growls, and eerie spoken-word segments. Tracks like “Malpractice”, “RV”, “Crack Hitler”, and “Jizzlobber” are these self-contained adventures that feel dejected, hostile, yet utterly engrossing. Patton’s vocals, as well as the eclectic array of instruments and musical styles on offer make each track a whirlwind, but its impeccably controlled chaos makes for one of the most engrossing albums ever made.

Prescription: Absolutely essential listening. It isn’t easy listening, but it will bring the fruits of your labour. Play this 4-5 times a day for a week and replay as needed.

King for a Day, Fool for a Lifetime (1995)

The Doctor’s rating: 3.5/5

Analysis: This is the point where my opinions will diverge drastically from that of most FNM fans. Upon its release, critics and fans couldn’t agree on King for a Day, Fool for a Lifetime’s quality; some loved it, while others hated it. These days, the album has a larger consensus liking it and some even agreeing it’s one of the band’s best albums. For me, no matter how many times I visit this record I can never quite adhere to the overall tone or vibe of it. Maybe this is accounted to the fact Patton’s vocals have changed once again. The main issue I have with this new vocal transformation is that he sounds eerily similar to Brandon Boyd from Incubus at times. Sonically, the record isn’t all that different from Angel Dust, it’s just as capricious and itchy footed, only the album uses alt-metal as the catalyst for all of the punk, jazz and rock flourishes peppered around the album. One could argue this is the heaviest album in the band’s catalogue, but for me it lacks the same level of cohesion and curiosity its predecessor had.

Prescription: King for a Day, Fool for a Lifetime is still a really solid effort that continues their proclivity for reactive writing, but Patton’s vocals are a little jarring for me and it doesn’t quite hit as hard as their last two albums. A great albeit flawed album. It’s not shell-shocking, it’s just solid writing that will resonate with FNM fans. Spin once or twice to start with and see how you get on.   

Album of the Year (1997)

The Doctor’s rating: 3.5/5

Analysis: Hot take inbound: I really like Album of the Year. It’s not a patch on Patton’s first two FNM albums, but I truly believe the hate hurled at Album of the Year is unfounded. After all, to me this record feels like a combination of The Real Thing’s conventional writing style with a lot of the feel and tone of King for a Day… being carried over. Tracks have tighter run-times, the songs themselves feel less erratic and thus, give the band a new set of sounds to present to fans, and the overarching focus on its reposed disposition emboldens Patton to deliver some really solid vocal performances. If you like the roller coaster ride songwriting of previous works, I can understand someone’s disappointment towards Album of the Year, but for me its slower attack feels far more refreshing at this stage in the band’s career than treading on old ground.

Prescription: Album of the Year could be seen more as the Mike Patton show, just because there’s very little focus anywhere else. Thankfully Patton does a good job, displaying the various nuances afforded to him. As a complete FNM album, I can understand why this doesn’t deliver on that front, but it does little to stop my enjoyment for it. Jam a couple times and see how you get on.

Sol Invictus (2015) 

The Doctor’s rating: 2.5/5

Analysis: Unlike Album of the Year, which I’ll defend as being a little underrated, Sol Invictus is a massive disappointment. I remember when the live version of “Motherfucker” came out before the album had been released and being completely bemused and underwhelmed by how repetitive and boring it was. The band hadn’t released anything for nearly two decades and this was the best the mighty Faith No More could come up with? The song just sounded so juvenile, to the point of being satirical. The album doesn’t fare much better either; “Separation Anxiety” is probably the only track on here to pique any interest. Sol Invictus isn’t a terrible album, but I do think its biggest detriment is that it’s tear-streaming-boring. It has the same lumbering tempo Album of the Year had, but Sol Invictus is far less interesting to listen to. Dull, repetitive songwriting with very few worthwhile moments to be enjoyed within the tracks.

Prescription: There’s no two ways about this – Sol Invictus is a massive disappointment. Eighteen years in between albums and this is the best FNM can come up with. Easily the worst Patton-fronted album to date, and I’d happily listen to Introduce Yourself over this. Just listen to Angel Dust again and avoid this.

Doctor’s Notes:

Strengths:

• Mike Patton’s vocal versatility and the rest of the band’s hunger for eclectic songwriting created two damn-near perfect albums, for very different reasons.
• Multi-faceted compositions that have so many layers and exciting twists and turns.
• Those first two Patton-fronted albums, man.

Weaknesses: 

• Later albums feel more like another Mike Patton side-project than an authentic FNM collaboration.
• Considering how creative FNM are, their catalogue is pretty meagre and largely inconsistent.

Diagnosis: It goes without saying that FNM are an essential part of the rock and metal canon and as such, a great deal of reverence should be applied to most of their contributions. However, now that the band’s activity falls into question following the pandemic, it’s unfortunate they might have ended their recorded work on Sol Invictus. It’s not the worst album out there, but it’s a shame to see a band with such creative aspirations going out on such a whimper.