Faith No More - Angel Dust
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Free Music Notes for Angel Dust
Free Music Review: "You're perfect, yes, it's true."
Hit: 5 Stars
When Faith No More went into the making of their second album with Mike Patton on vocals, only two things stayed the same: the line-up and the producer, Matt Wallace, who brought the band's ground-breaking "The Real Thing" to life. Between albums, Patton had dabbled in his previous outfit, Mr. Bungle, recording an entire album before reconvening with the rest of the band to record what would ultimately be a bizarre but satisfying departure from its predecessor. Rejecting the arena-friendly metal and hard-rock that their touring mates in Metallica and Guns N' Roses promoted at the time, "Angel Dust" instead indulges in the macabre of metal, leaning on the band's funky side and Patton's strange sense of humor, unwittingly giving birth to a genre and a generation of bands that fit the bill of the much maligned "nu-metal" era.
As the first album with Mike Patton fully integrated into the group, there is a notable shift in direction for the band. In fact, the sound is so drastically different from its predecessor that it alienated guitarist Jim Martin - playing for his last time with the band on this record - to the point where he wasn't even invited to the recent reunion of the band. But whatever the casualty of the band's creativity, it worked for the best. From top to bottom, "Angel Dust" is a remarkable step up in quality from "The Real Thing," and not to mention, not as dated. "Caffeine" and "Midlife Crisis" keep the more straight-forward rock intact, with Martin belting out sustained and substantial riffs amidst the A.D.D. afflicted performance by Patton and a groovy rhythm section. Elsewhere, the album takes bolder and quirkier turns. "RV" is best described as a trailer-trash ballad, with crooning so convincing you forget it's meant as mockery. "Be Aggressive" tackles subject matter not appropriate for this review and enough to make keyboardist Roddy Bottum blush, featuring back-up vocals by a cheerleading squad. The longer the album goes on, the weirder it gets. "J---lobber" brings the experimentation full circle, playing almost like an acid trip in prison, while a cover of John Barry's "Midnight Cowboy" closes the album, dropping you off in a place so far removed from the opening track, "Land of Sunshine," that you'll have to play the album back to figure out how you got from point A to point B.
Truth be told, "Angel Dust" is hardly an easy album to appreciate, especially for those mostly acquainted with the band through the likes of "Epic" or "Falling to Pieces." Regardless, it's an album that has surely stood the test of time, never getting old and never failing to entertain. Patton and company seem bound and determined to pull out all the stops to entertain their audience (and perhaps, more importantly, themselves) and what results is a seminal and original album whose influence resonates today. Regardless of where their legacy led them or who they influenced in their wake, Faith No More will always be remembered as the fearless and unapologetic group they were, and nothing is more of a testament to that fact than "Angel Dust."
Free Music Review: Best Album From The Best Band
Hit: 5 Stars
Personally, my favorite album from my favorite band. Unfortunately, I'm too young to have had the plessure of experiencing Faith No More when they were together. This was the first Faith No More album I purchased, and after listening to it and the other Faith No More CD's I've come to have more appreciation for the genius and complexity of albums and songs. This CD and Faith No More in general is the perfect example of just how, for lack of better words, "awesome" and "entertaing" music can be.
Land Of Sunshine - 5/5
One of the first songs I've heard on this album prior to purchasing it and one of the best ones on it. Good fast-paced beat with a great range of vocals throughout. The fortune cookie and self-help lyrics are a joy to listen to
Caffeine - 5/5
One of the more aggressive songs on the CD. Heavy rhythm that you can really get into.
Midlife Crisis - 5/5
Probably the most popular and and most mainstream song on the album, but for good reason. This song has FNM's press-titled "rap-metal" beat and lyrics in the beginning, which perfectly changes into a more alt-pop chorus.
RV - 5/5
This is hilarious, but just a good all around song at the same time. Crazy lyrics and a rhythm that transitions from a slow narrative to a faster, louder chorus.
Smaller And Smaller - 4/5
Another good heavy song with Mike's "Pattonted" growling scream.
Everything's Ruined - 5/5
Tied with From Out Of Nowhere as my favorite Faith No More song. Everything's Ruined simple has everything. It starts off with Patton's slow, moody voice, which transitions into a heavy metal chorus, which again transitions into melodic singing with incredible background instrumentals. This song is truly an epic that must be heard.
Malpractice - 4/5
A straight up aggressive song with some crazy guitar riffs and a nice surprise in the middle.
Kindergarten - 4/5
A semi-slow, semi-heavy song with some enjoyable aution lyrics in the background.
Be Aggressive - 3/5
Not a bad song, but one of the few Faith No More songs that never really grew on me. Some interesting lyrics however. Oh, Roddy, and your crazy lyrics, :)
A Small Victory - 5/5
Another incredible and epic song that really adds to the variety of the CD. Great melodic guitar throughout and incredible vocals.
Crack Hitler - 3/5
Another good song, but one that I never really gave enough attention. The more I listen to it the more I like it though.
Jizzlobber - 5/5
A pure heavy, aggressive, and loud song. Quite a treat for the metal fans. It's another good song that adds to the variety of the CD. After listening to this song and backing up only two tracks, you can understand the complexity and variety of this album.
Midnight Cowboy - 4/5
A perfect ending for the perfect CD. This slow instrumental song just fits as the conclusion to this CD perfectly.
Free Music Review: Mike Patton comes into his own.
Hit: 5 Stars
After 1988's commercially successful The Real Thing introduced the crazed genius of Mike Patton to the world, Faith No More's future seemed set in stone. What followed in '92 was a dark, dense, and creative album that pretty much slammed the door shut on their MTV prospects, and we're all the better for it.
First off, don't be fooled by those saying that Angel Dust is difficult or inaccessible (leave sobriquets like that to latter Patton projects like Fantomas or his collaborations with John Zorn). No, this is for the most part VERY accessible, VERY tuneful, and just all-around great. However, it achieves all of these things without an iota of artistic compromise.
Angel Dust represents the point where Patton's true abilities are revealed--on The Real Thing his vocal talent and immense range were hinted at, but often inhibited by a whiny, nasal quality (attributed perhaps to the fact that the songs on that album were written for Chuck Mosely, Faith No More's original vocalist, who had a very different voice from Patton's). However, on Angel Dust Patton truly cuts loose. Lounge-singer croons, vicious snarls, white-trash mumbling (as featured on RV), rapping, a creepy baritone, screams--you won't believe it all emanates from one man's voicebox. One of my favorite vocalists of all time, Patton's prescence as a frontman can firmly reduce all but the most talented bands to supporting players in The Mike Patton Show.
Which is not to say that the rest of Faith No More's (guitarist Jim Martin, bassist Billy Gould, drummer Mike Bordin, keyboardist Roddy Bottom) talents aren't evident. The band has never played better here, in the alternative/funk-rock, bass-and-synth dominated style that made them so different from most of their guitar-oriented contemporaries--this time with a darker, more demented bent, all the better to accentuate the equally demented lyrics.
Opener Land Of Sunshine combines fortune-cookie phrases with bizarre laughter and moody bass--we're not in Kansas anymore. This is followed by the stream-of-consciousness rant Caffiene; the impossibly catchy Midlife Crisis (possibly the most radio-friendly song on the album); the goofy redneck raving of RV; the grindy funk-metal tune Smaller And Smaller (with an out-of-left field tribal breakdown that totally makes the song); the ominous and evil Malpractice; a hilariously perverted ode to oral sex with cheerleader chants in Be Aggressive (justifying the Parental Advisory sticker); the absolutely insane Jizzlobber with its wacked-out church organ; and a baffling rendition of the Midnight Cowboy theme to close the album out on a relaxing note.
Not a single note wasted here. Easily Faith No More's best, and an essential component to any aspiring Pattonphile's collection.
Free Music Review: Sing and Rejoice! SING AND REJOICE!
Hit: 5 Stars
I've always been a fan of Mr. Bungle ever since my friend gave me Caliafornia late last year, and I immediately got Disco Volante and the debut, as well as the annoying but brilliant Adult Themes For Voice. Espescially in Bungle, I knew Patton was an ingenius and daring man in music who could hardly be matched. What was better than the endlessly eclectic arrangements was that he was also lyrically talented. Now I know that Faith No More, which maintained a more controlled musical enviroment suited for alternative conoisuers, was just as fantastic. The lyrics are dark in all their beauty, as is the music:"Land Of Sunshine": A sardonic funk metal number about angels of generic dreams and green minds getting what they deserve, a mixture of laughter and lecture questions along the way.
"Caffeine": Angstish rock at its best. Opened by howler monkeys.
"Midlife Crisis": Geniuses milked to impress, thoughtless middle aged men with jingling pockets and razor incisions of perfection. "Your menstruating heart ain't bleeding enough for two". Hiphop metal.
"RV": Hilarious song of self pity told through the eyes of a lonely man in an RV, spoken over a piano waltz. "My pants fall down every time I bend over..."
"Smaller and Smaller": Definitely one of the best songs, probably the most serious. Seems to a claustrophobic attack at fascism.
"Everything's Ruined": More sardonicism. A staged aristocratic family loses all when their posed son is revealed to be fake.
"Malpractice": Sex frenzies, death metal and deranged screams. This breaks in the middle with childish bells to say "Knuckle White, Ruffle White".
"Kindergarten": Another tale of pity, but this one seems more serious. A guy who keeps failing kindergarten...rock balladry.
Waiting. Bell's not ringing.
"Be Aggressive": Male behaviour in chords. This song is also humorous due to a chorus sung by cheerleaders.
"A Small Victory": One of my favorites, includes some hiphop sound effects to aid the metal pop."IT SHOULDN'T BOTHER ME...BUT IT DOES!!!" More angst, they even made an overlooked video for it.
"Crack Hitler": Easily one of the craziest tracks, includes a demented man talking about "bodies floating in the river like fine champagne"...a sarcastic look at Hitler? THere's even what appears to be a Nazi march call in it.
"Jizzlobber": Sounds like some of the recent death metal rap I've heard lately, this song would probably be popular for the Korn generation around now. A good song nonetheless, plus it ends with church organs and medievil choirs.
"Midnight Cowboy": No introduction needed here. Sounds like the original...a good ending.
Free Music Review: Sing and Rejoice! SING AND REJOICE!
Hit: 5 Stars
I've always been a fan of Mr. Bungle ever since my friend gave me Caliafornia late last year, and I immediately got Disco Volante and the debut, as well as the annoying but brilliant Adult Themes For Voice. Espescially in Bungle, I knew Patton was an ingenius and daring man in music who could hardly be matched. What was better than the endlessly eclectic arrangements was that he was also lyrically talented. Now I know that Faith No More, which maintained a more controlled musical enviroment suited for alternative conoisuers, was just as fantastic. The lyrics are dark in all their beauty, as is the music:"Land Of Sunshine": A sardonic funk metal number about angels of generic dreams and green minds getting what they deserve, a mixture of laughter and lecture questions along the way.
"Caffeine": Angstish rock at its best. Opened by howler monkeys.
"Midlife Crisis": Geniuses milked to impress, thoughtless middle aged men with jingling pockets and razor incisions of perfection. "Your menstruating heart ain't bleeding enough for two". Hiphop metal.
"RV": Hilarious song of self pity told through the eyes of a lonely man in an RV, spoken over a piano waltz. "My pants fall down every time I bend over..."
"Smaller & Smaller": Definitely one of the best tracks, disturbed and contemplating. A good attack against fascism.
"Everything's Ruined": More sardonicism. A staged aristocratic family loses all when their posed son is revealed to be fake.
"Malpractice": Sex frenzies, death metal and deranged screams. This breaks in the middle with childish bells to say "Knuckle White, Ruffle White".
"Kindergarten": Another tale of pity, but this one seems more serious. A guy who keeps failing kindergarten...rock balladry.
Waiting. Bell's not ringing.
"Be Aggressive": Male behaviour in chords. This song is also humorous due to a chorus sung by cheerleaders.
"A Small Victory": One of my favorites, includes some hiphop sound effects to aid the metal pop."IT SHOULDN'T BOTHER ME...BUT IT DOES!!!" More angst, they even made an overlooked video for it.
"Crack Hitler": Easily one of the craziest tracks, includes a demented man talking about "bodies floating in the river like fine champagne"...a sarcastic look at Hitler? THere's even what appears to be a Nazi march call in it.
"Jizzlobber": Sounds like some of the recent death metal rap I've heard lately, this song would probably be popular for the Korn generation around now. A good song nonetheless, plus it ends with church organs and medievil choirs.
"Midnight Cowboy": No introduction needed here. Sounds like the original...a good ending.