The Faith No More thread ("Sol Invictus" released May 19, 2015)

[SoundscapeMN]

yeah, I never have seen them live as well. Sad thing is, if they did play my town, it likely would be at an Arena and the tickets would be way higher than I'd like to spend. But while they are not #1 or #2 on my to see live bucket list, they are still up there, I would have to seriously think about trying to go regardless of the price.

[frogprog]

Used to love FNM. Still like their music a lot. I was lucky enough to see them 5 or 6 times dating back to The Real Thing tour. Good times!

[Azyiu]

Used to love FNM. Still like their music a lot. I was lucky enough to see them 5 or 6 times dating back to The Real Thing tour. Good times!

I've never seen them live at all. Wow! Those shows must have been something... what about their Angel Dust tour? Did you see any of those shows? Especially when they opened for G'N'Rs + Metallica in the summer of 1992?

[jammindude]

Can’t speak for fp, but I saw them on the Angel Dust tour in Seattle (Kyuss and Babes in Toyland opened) and I thought they were absolutely amazing…but you could tell the writing was on the wall for Jim. At one point in the show, Jim threw down his guitar and walked off stage. The band had to improvise for a few minutes until someone convinced him to finish the show.

Other than that they killed it.

[faizoff]

It's funny to read about Jim's absolute incense of the new direction the band was going and I think I remember a quote of him saying the Angel Dust material sounded better live but still couldn't stomach more of that material.

[Stadler]

It's funny to read about Jim's absolute incense of the new direction the band was going and I think I remember a quote of him saying the Angel Dust material sounded better live but still couldn't stomach more of that material.

Angel Dust was the album that really drove the point home that tension can and often does create great art.  I liked not loved The Real Thing, but I REALLY loved (and still love) Angel Dust.  That was the perfect amalgamation of melody, weird, metal, whatever.  I still find myself singing those melodies to myself on occasion.  "A small vic-tor-e-e-e..."

[DoctorAction]

They were/are one of the best bands of all time, imo. The Real Thing came out when i was a teenager at school. Never seen em live, though!

[nick_z]

It's funny to read about Jim's absolute incense of the new direction the band was going and I think I remember a quote of him saying the Angel Dust material sounded better live but still couldn't stomach more of that material.

Angel Dust was the album that really drove the point home that tension can and often does create great art.  I liked not loved The Real Thing, but I REALLY loved (and still love) Angel Dust.  That was the perfect amalgamation of melody, weird, metal, whatever.  I still find myself singing those melodies to myself on occasion.  "A small vic-tor-e-e-e..."

YES! I 100% agree with this. The Real Thing was great - I think their sound was a breath of fresh air, at the time. But Angel Dust was definitely next level, for me. I didn't quite "get" it right away, but it grew to be one of my all-time favorites. And it's one of Mike Patton's best performances ever. The leap in the quality and depth of his singing between The Real Thing and Angel Dust was nothing short of astounding.

(Can't say I'm a huge fan of a lot of the stuff he did afterwards, outside of FNM...I get the versatility, the genius and all of that, but his constant push to be "out there" wore a little thin over time. King for a Day was still great, though)

[soupytwist]

After Angel Dust they never really hit that quality again on record.  King for a Day is full of 7 outta 10 songs,  Record of the Year is really hit and miss (and sometimes sounds like a collection of B-Sides).  Sol Invictus for me just didn't work at all.    But The Real Thing and Angel Dust are amazing albums.

[faizoff]

It's funny to read about Jim's absolute incense of the new direction the band was going and I think I remember a quote of him saying the Angel Dust material sounded better live but still couldn't stomach more of that material.

Angel Dust was the album that really drove the point home that tension can and often does create great art.  I liked not loved The Real Thing, but I REALLY loved (and still love) Angel Dust.  That was the perfect amalgamation of melody, weird, metal, whatever.  I still find myself singing those melodies to myself on occasion.  "A small vic-tor-e-e-e..."

It truly is the perfect amalgamation of those elements in that album. The following 2 albums also have some of that but it feels like more of a re-tread than something original that came out even though I'm a huge fan of all subsequent albums.

I was a teen when The Real Thing and Angel Dust came out and I was just getting used to the idea of bands changing their sound and direction at such a drastic level. Angel Dust was that gateway album that you can still enjoy a band's output regardless of style.

[Zoom E]

Can’t speak for fp, but I saw them on the Angel Dust tour in Seattle (Kyuss and Babes in Toyland opened) and I thought they were absolutely amazing…but you could tell the writing was on the wall for Jim. At one point in the show, Jim threw down his guitar and walked off stage. The band had to improvise for a few minutes until someone convinced him to finish the show.

Other than that they killed it.

I saw them on the same tour in Vancouver, so likely a day or two before or after the Seattle show. It really was an incredible show.

[Phoenix87x]

Call me crazy, but I never found Angel dust to be all that different than the real thing. And I love them both. So when I heard about Jim not being into it, I was a little surprised.

Now is Angel dust different the chuck Mosley albums? definitely.

[jammindude]

I think Angel Dust is WAY darker. And considering I’m comparing it to an album that had Zombie Eaters, The Real Thing, and Edge of the World, that’s saying a lot.

But I guess that comes down to the music matching the lyrical content more. Even though the lyrical themes on The Real Thing were dark, the music played an almost upbeat contrast. But with Angel Dust, there’s a much more disturbing quality to the music, especially the whole “I’m warning you” section of Caffeine. And J-i-zzlober , and Malpractice…it’s just a very dark and unnerving album. (EDIT - weird that I had to do that to j-lobber to get the name of the song…the forum auto corrects j-i-z-z to “smile”? Really?)

[DoctorAction]

Angel Dust is probably their best but King For A Day is possibly my favourite.

[Zantera]

Wasn't Jim Martin's big objection to Angel Dust that the focus of the songwriting shifted from being a guitar-band to being a vocal-band? When Mike Patton came in on The Real Thing it felt like he sort of just slid into an already existing role and when they moved forward with Angel Dust, the songwriting definitely started getting more experimental and trying to play to Patton's strengths. A song like Malpractice - that I absolutely adore, feels like a showcase for what Patton can do, more than being your average song. Part of me can understand Jim Martin if he wanted to be a standout in the band, but when you got maybe the most talented & versatile rock/metal singer ever at your disposal, I feel like the turn they took was one that was both refreshing and resulted in their best album.

I still adore The Real Thing and it has some fantastic songs - the title track especially, but Angel Dust to me is that perfect lightning in a bottle album. I think the albums they made after it are really good too, but something about Angel Dust just makes it stand out. I'm a huge Patton fan and I think when he's in the right band at the right time - like FNM during those years or Mr. Bungle, he's fantastic. I think some of the time the material isn't up to his level of talent though. As much as I like Tomahawk for example, they always felt a bit like 'lesser Faith No More'. I would still rate their best albums around 8 or 8.5 out of 10 which isn't bad at all, but they're missing that Angel Dust level album. I don't think Patton's been on a truly fantastic album in the last decade or so which is a shame because he's so great.

[Stadler]

I think Angel Dust is WAY darker. And considering I’m comparing it to an album that had Zombie Eaters, The Real Thing, and Edge of the World, that’s saying a lot.

But I guess that comes down to the music matching the lyrical content more. Even though the lyrical themes on The Real Thing were dark, the music played an almost upbeat contrast. But with Angel Dust, there’s a much more disturbing quality to the music, especially the whole “I’m warning you” section of Caffeine. And J-i-zzlober , and Malpractice…it’s just a very dark and unnerving album. (EDIT - weird that I had to do that to j-lobber to get the name of the song…the forum auto corrects j-i-z-z to “smile”? Really?)

You're not wrong, but for me, it's the melodies.  It's darker like you say, but it's also more... subversive, in a way.  The Real Thing is close, but it's a work in progress, culminating in Angel Dust.  I don't begrudge anyone else what they like, but they haven't come close to that since, IMO. 

[jammindude]

Relax…..

[jammindude]

….it’s just a phase…

[jammindude]

….you’ll grow out of it!

 

[porcacultor]

I used to focus my FNM listening on the Patton releases and neglected the earlier albums. Nowadays I can't get enough of the self-titled and Introduce Yourself – I love Patton to bits, but the groundwork they laid with the earlier stuff is unbelievable. Puffy is truly a unique drummer, and it's funny how unique his drumlines are. There's a lot more happening in We Care A Lot than the kick drum and snare, and stuff like Spirit and Faster Disco almost bring me to tears. So good.

[jammindude]

I just read that We Care a Lot is meant to be sarcastic and my entire world is shattered

[DoctorAction]

I liked that it turned up in Guardians 3.

I used to focus my FNM listening on the Patton releases and neglected the earlier albums. Nowadays I can't get enough of the self-titled and Introduce Yourself – I love Patton to bits, but the groundwork they laid with the earlier stuff is unbelievable. Puffy is truly a unique drummer, and it's funny how unique his drumlines are. There's a lot more happening in We Care A Lot than the kick drum and snare, and stuff like Spirit and Faster Disco almost bring me to tears. So good.

I should go back and do this. I've barely ever considered the Chuck stuff.

[Phoenix87x]

chuck era has lots of good stuff