Faith No More - Angel Dust
|
List Price: Our Price: $5.50 You Save: $2.48 (31%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $1.15 (click here) Category: Music CD See more new music releases 
|
|---|
Canadian Music Store
Free Music Notes for Angel Dust
Free Music Review: Unlike anything you've ever heard before...
Hit: 5 Stars
Even after tasting popularity and critical success with The Real Thing, Faith No More regarded artistic exploration as more valuable than record sales. Good thing too, or we'd probably have never heard this outstanding record. Angel Dust is an immaculate piece of daring songcraft and studio magic -- the perfect album for anyone who likes challenging music. Even ten years after its release, there has been nothing like it.Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), describing the effect of Angel Dust's bold experiment is like trying to describe a sunrise to a blind man. Yes, you can explain the hues of the sky, the way "rods & cones" in your eyes pick up light and color, and maybe the physics of celestial bodies. But do you really convey the simple majesty of dawn? Angel Dust is like that...it's so strange and interesting that it's difficult to discuss in specific terms. Perhaps my analogy is a bit over-the-top, but I do believe Angel Dust is one of the most original albums by anybody, ever. You really have to listen to it to understand it.
From a biased point of view, I might pick "Caffeine" as my favorite, because it starts with MONKEY SOUNDS (which moves into vicious thrashy riffs and murderous screams). But actually, it's tough to pick out favorite songs from Angel Dust, because all are interesting and different and add something special to the album. The album is low on hooks -- the cheerleader bravo chorus on "Be Aggressive" is quirky and catchy; "Everything's Ruined" has a very singable refrain; "A Small Victory" is a more laid-back rocker with smooth melodies.
But everything else is much more offbeat and weird. As a matter of fact, Angel Dust's music is often violent, deranged, and frightening. There's something certainly unsettling about the opener, "Land of Sunshine", where Mike Patton's maniacal laughter, odd carnival-flavored keyboards, and punching bass line create an addictive wall of sound. "Crack Hitler" is spooky, with its funk-inspired guitar & bass interplay juxtaposing a sinister keyboard melody and Patton's creepy vox. "RV" is just plain bizarre, based on the piano with Patton playing the part of some guy speaking his thoughts as he sits in his trailer. "Jizzlobber" is about as haunting and fierce as music can get, but it throws you off by ending with a grand church organ. As diverse as every song is, somehow the pieces always manage to fit. Even the band's take on the "Midnight Cowboy" theme suits perfectly as a mellow conclusion to the craziness that has gone before.
If you're looking for an album that will remain fresh and interesting for 100 years, Angel Dust is for you.
Free Music Review: FNM's best album
Hit: 5 Stars
The first thing you notice about this album is the startling difference here in Mike Patton's voice from The real Thing. Unless you were familiar at the time with Patton's work with Mr Bungle, there's no way you'd think it was the same Mike Patton. His voice is deeper and matured and sounds like a completely different singer. Like Mr Bungle's debut album, Angel Dust really showcases Patton's truly beautiful voice, range and versatility - it's a marvel to listen to him crooning melodically one minute and then screeching aggressively the next. He surely has one of the most distinct male voices ever, not just in rock - I've always thought he'd make a good opera singer if he wanted to.
Whereas The Real Thing was conceptually singular and monochrome in style and sound, Angel Dust is a lot more colourful and playful, changing direction drastically. Out went the slap bass (except for a few instances)and the raw metal sound and in came Patton's developed vocals, increased production values and more keyboards and synths. The Land of Sunshine is a great opener, with a catchy, bouncy rhythm complimented by some of FNM's last slap bass style. Caffeine is a classic metal track with some of the percussion recalling Zombie Eaters from The Real Thing. Midlife Crisis is a great, rhythmic pop metal piece with great vocals. In fact, every track is a gem. Tracks like Everything's Ruined, Kindergarten, Be Aggressive and Crack Hitler would continue to showcase FNM's superior rhythm section and melodic writing and tracks like Smaller & Smaller, Malpractice and Jizzlobber would add to their collection of great metal tracks. The latter is a wonderfully over-the-top rhythmic piece of aggression about self love with a couple of great metal riffs and ending with an hilarious chuch pipe-organ solo - that was another thing that seperated FNM from other rock acts, they had a sense of humour and were able to portray that in their music. The last couple of tracks are decent covers, one of the theme from John Barry's Midnight Cowboy and the other The Commodores' Easy but they don't really belong on the album, they are not really consistent with the album's sound and style and I usually skip them.
Sadly, FNM would never again reach the same highs or level of superior writing as they did here and with The Real Thing. Their following albums would still throw up some great material but were never as consistently good as these two, but with these two, FNM ensured they would go down in history as one of the best ever rock acts and their genre melding style and rhythm would influence many others to come.
Free Music Review: Best album ever made
Hit: 5 Stars
I first became an FNM fan with The Real Thing. That album totally blew my mind, so the day Angel Dust came out I naturally rushed out and bought my copy. At first I was a bit disappointed as it sounded totally different. After a couple of listens I realised it was the best album I had ever heard, light years ahead of the Real Thing, if that's at all possible. From the stark, shocking artwork to the songs on the CD, it is a masterpiece.It seems that everybody has their own interpretations of what the songs are about (and I have my own ideas too) but the feelings I got from the songs - loneliness, sadness, fear, aggression, but at the same time elation, were just as important. Angel Dust came out at a time in my life as a young adult when I was feeling those exact same emotions, and it was just like a soundtrack to my life back then, as if they could see inside my head.
Every song is mindblowing but if I could possibly come up with some standouts they would be the frightening Caffeine (I actually think they're chickens and a cow at the beginning, just like on the back cover), the extremely catchy Mid Life Crisis, the feeling of hopelessness and redundancy in Smaller and Smaller, the powerful Everything's Ruined, the incredibly aggressive Malpractice, more hopelessness in Kindergarten, the rollercoaster ride that is A Small Victory, the nightmarish Jizzlobber and Midnight Cowboy - such a gentle song after such a powerful album, that it brings out all the emotions.
Of course the guys are still in top form - the reason I started worshipping FNM in the first place. How could this music be the same without Jim Martin's harnessed electricity guitar-playing, Bill Gould's virtuoso bass techniques, Mike Bordin's powerful and intricate drum patterns, Roddy Bottum's eerie keyboard ambience and Mike Patton's versatile vocals, all setting the scene for the one-hour fright rollercoaster ride ahead.
Tragically I can't say the same thing for their subsequent releases, which never captured the same combination of intensity, musicianship or lyrics that was found here (Jim Martin was sorely missed). Mike Patton said this album was "self-conscious" - I don't agree, I think "King for a Day" was the self-conscious album, trying too hard to be the opposite of Angel Dust's dark and menacing mood.
When you buy this precious album you won't know how you survived without it.
Mike P, Mike B, Roddy, Bill and Jim, it's been 10 years. THANK YOU SO MUCH for Angel Dust.
Free Music Review: The apex of modern rock music...
Hit: 5 Stars
When Faith No More released this album back in 1992, grunge was in full swing, gangsta rap was on the rise, and most of the hair bands that had dominated mainstream music were getting started on their resumes. Thus, there was much going on that might have resulted in this album getting overlooked. As a result, most of the music-listening public lost out on what might be the greatest modern rock album, one that weaves between genres effortlessly, and takes the listener on a very dark trip through all sorts of demented minds and situations. FNM's sound on this album has been aped countless times, but none of the imitators have come anywhere close to the soul of this album, however dark it may be. It is known that there was internal turmoil taking place when the band was recording this album (mostly between guitarist Jim Martin and the others), and FNM was being pressured to follow up the hugely successful "The Real Thing" with another groundbreaking record. In my book, they delievered an album infinitely better than its predecessor, and sadly, not even closely rivalled by the FNM albums that came out after it. The opening track, "Land of Sunshine", forces the listener to examine the nature of true happiness, and suggests that the line between joy and senility might be rather thin. "Caffeine" is an angry trudger, "Midlife Crisis" is a foot-tapping, pseudo-rap boogie, and "RV" addresses the benefits of white trash parenting. "Smaller and Smaller" is tribal and atmospheric, "Everything's Ruined" is a jamming little tune that compares child-rearing to investing (with predictably disastrous results), and "Malpractice" weaves a dark yarn about a person whose greatest thrill is to be operated on. I believe that "Kindergarten" is about a retarded person who notices that he is not moving forward, yet the surroundings seem to be getting smaller. "Be Aggressive" is a homo-erotic cheerleader chant, "A Small Victory" looks at winning and losing, and "Crack " is a disco-fried ditty about a man who gets irritable and grouchy ,maybe even homicidal, while on crack. "My guess is that "Jizzlobber" has something to do with being caught while in the act of, and "Midnight Cowboy" is a little movie theme instrumental outro. A towering release that jumps between thrash, odd time signatures, screaming, whispering, disco, and chickens cackling. If you do not have this release, or have not given it a try, then consider your development stunted.Free Music Review: Those poor record execs...
Hit: 5 Stars
There's little more to add to the reviews already posted here. Suffice it to say that this is definitely one of the most bizarre heavy albums ever released on a major label. Most of the songs feature reasonably conventional heavy riffs, but pretty much everything else is out of whack. The arrangements range from inspired to really strange, odd samples pop up everywhere (aborigines chanting, crickets chirping, weird strings etc) and the vocals have to be heard to be believed. By now it's no secret that Patton is one of the most diverse and gifted vocalists of his generation, but I imagine it must have been quite a shock for most people to hear what he was doing here when this was released. He emotes, snarls, growls, screeches, deadpans and sometimes uses a megaphone for good measure. The lyrics are uniformly excellent, and the songwriting is amazingly consistent. To this day, I only skip a single song ("RV"). Some of the songs are even quite funny ("Be Aggressive" is an ironic treasure, for one).
Personal favorites: "Smaller and Smaller", "Crack Hitler", "Caffeine", and the somewhat inelegantly titled "Jizzlobber". The latter is probably the heaviest song of their career, but at the same time, almost paradoxically, the most moving. It starts off with an eerie repeated note played on the keyboards ala Psycho, until a heavy, fuzzy riff crashes in, played with a lot of postprocessing. Patton gives his most deranged performance here, shrieking and growling so intensely that half the lyrics are rendered indecipherable. This is too bad, because these are quite intriguing, featuring lines such as
"They will sum it all up in a sentence,
A verdict made by those who know"
and
"Cruel words sleep above me,
Mounting, teasing"
The song proceeds through various sections, each heavier than the last, with Patton finally proclaiming "I am what I've done" and wailing "I'm sorry" over and over again. The song ends with a choir and organ section that is both crazed and haunting at the same time. Overall, the song radiates a feeling of tremendous remorse and shame that is deeply moving and disturbing.
This is probably their best album, although certainly not their only good one. "Album of the Year" is also worth checking out, although it's nowhere near as aggressive.