Review Summary: Faith No More for metalheads
Faith No More is (on this album)
Mike Patton – vocals
Jim Martin – guitars
Billy Gould – bass
Roddy Bottum – keyboards
Mike Bordin – drums
After the release of 1989's
The Real Thing, Faith No More was at a commercial and critical highpoint. "Epic" was a Top Ten single and
The Real Thing went on to sell over a million copies in the US, being certified platinum. Still, Mike Patton was dissatisfied with the album for its poppiness, and the band desperately wanted to make an album all their own, an album that would show the true side of FNM.
Enter
Angel Dust; better put as Faith No More for metalheads. From the anthemic opener "Land of Sunshine" to the single "Midlife Crisis" to the blistering "Jizzlobber,"
Angel Dust was an album for the ages. An album such as this requires a careful inspection of its contents, track by track, to measure its true greatness. On to the review...
1.
Land of Sunshine
With a galloping bassline, great synths and guitar (plus lines taken directly from fortune cookies and The Church of Scientology's personality test), this song is a great way to start the album and one of the highlight tracks. Patton's vocals shine on this song and will most likely please those who weren't exactly fans of his somewhat whiny vocals utilized on
The Real Thing.
5/5
2.
Caffeine
After some animal sounds and a guitar riff similar to part of Disturbed's "The Night" open the song, Mike Patton's more hardcore vocals show and work very well. All of this song, especially the pre-chorus, bridge and breakdown, show Faith No More at their best. Highly recommended.
4.5/5
3.
Midlife Crisis
The popular single on the album, Midlife Crisis is one of the songs on the album that is the most similar to FNM's work on the previous album, save for some of the verses. A good single choice featuring a catchy chorus and fade-out ending.
4.2/5
4.
RV
Next up is RV, a strange, vocal driven song about the pathetic life of a trailer park dweller. I am not a huge fan of the song, though I appreciate the effort from the band and for trying something different instead of allowing the album to fall into a trap of repetition.
3.5/5
5.
Smaller and Smaller
Track five, Smaller and Smaller, is an excellent song featuring almost-creepy synths, mesmerizing verses from Patton, and an angry, metal chorus. It also contains some weird Indian chants and loud bass in the bridge.
4.5/5
6.
Everything's Ruined
Sixth on the album, this song is a good continuation of the album that is enjoyable though not by any means a highlight. The verses, however, shine through with bass, drums and piano all in sync followed by some rapping from Mike.
4/5
7.
Malpractice
Yes. Malpractice is the thrashy, mean song you've been waiting for, which I believe is about a man being violated or, to put it simply, raped. The vocals on it are one of my favorites on the album. Its bridge adds variety to the track with piano and soft vocals, before returning to a powerful rock-out with superb usage of a string section.
4.5/5
8.
Kindergarten
Kindergarten is about a man who keeps getting held back, and is the the "king" of Kindergarten (Drinking fountains are shorter than they used to/The swings on the playground don't even fit me anymore). It includes some of my favorite guitar parts and vocals on the album and is a generally great track that precedes one of the best on the album.
4.5/5
9.
Be Aggressive
Second best on the album, Be Aggressive opens with organs and then bursts into the best instrumental and vocal work on the entire album. The chorus (esentially BE AGGRESSIVE spelled out by cheerleaders) may be annoying for some and brings the song down a notch but is just really another unique part of the FNM spectrum. Very highly recommended.
5/5
10.
A Small Victory
A good, mid-tempo song with a pretty nice start that is a bit different and makes the song memorable and easily recognizable. Oh, did I also mention how awesome the pre-chorus is?
4/5
11.
Crack Hitler
Crack Hitler is basically about a cracked up Hitler; it works very well with almost Primus-like verses and a James Bond-esque musical background and is definetly classic Faith No More.
4.5/5
12.
Jizzlobber
Written by Mike Patton and Jim Martin, this song is about Mike's fear of going to jail. It has an outro fairly similar to that of Be Aggressive, but is quite different. The screaming on this is top-notch and is sure to scare the heck out of you. My personal favorite on
Angel Dust and one of the musically best as well.
5/5
13.
Midnight Cowboy
Ending the album is the band's cover of the theme from the film Midnight Cowboy. It is good but pointless, though I could see why the band would want to end the album on a more... positive note than Jizzlobber.
3/5
Pros:
-Many standout tracks
-Excellent musicianship
-Mike Patton
Cons:
-Somewhat weak middle section
-Cheerleader part of 'Be Aggressive'
-RV
