San Francisco – October 28, 2014
Dustin Rabin Photography 2680
May 19th sees the first album in 18 years by San Francisco’s contrarians Faith No More. Having reformed as a live entity several years ago, they’ve flirted and teased with audiences, dropping the odd new song into set lists, but finally the full enchilada has arrived. As a long time fan, I was a bit worried at first – the last thing you want is some mediocre late in the day effort that drags the average down in an otherwise stellar collection of albums that wrote their own rulebook. But have no fear, all the essential Faith No More qualities are present; the twisted, claustrophobic, epic, dark and glorious elements are all lined up, awaiting your delectation.
Slinky opener ‘Sol Invictus’ could easily come from a Mr. Bungle album, its mid-tempo is unusual as they typically start most albums with a straight ahead charger, so when ‘Superhero‘ arrives it’s a relief to know they haven’t totally abandoned ZE ROCK. ‘Sunny Side Up’ is wonderfully dark and positive sounding at the same time. Faith No More are best described as a smile at a funeral, and this track demonstrates that perfectly, like a breakfast commercial directed by David Lynch. In stark contrast ‘Separation Anxiety’ twists in upon itself, like a head in a vice until it explodes in pounding fury.
‘Cone of Shame’ is another stand out track, building on a sparse Link Wray like guitar line, Patton’s voice and the militaristic drumming set the tone for the grand head banging chorus to come. Possibly the album’s genetic partner to ‘Midlife Crisis’, it’s the track most die-hard fans would gravitate to. “You’re only happy when you’re pissing me off,” barks Patton as the track spirals to its conclusion. ‘Rise of the Fall’ and ‘Black Friday’ see more of Faith No More’s genre-blending approach, mixing in Mariachi/Punk/Tango and whatever else you’re having yourself, into their stew.
‘Motherfucker’ was a track I first heard at their Hyde Park gig last summer. It was such an odd addition to their set at the time, based around sparse repeated elements and keyboardist Roddy Bottum‘s spoken word/rap. But after repeated listens, it’s clear how it fits into the album’s overall eclectic mix, finishing as it does with a fist-pumping chorus and simple melodic lines from guitarist John Hudson. ‘Matador’ is the longest track on an otherwise short album and sees the band lean to their prog tendencies, albeit keeping the anthemic choruses to hand.
Album closer ‘From the Dead’ is an acoustic driven ballad and will undoubtedly find itself as an encore number on the upcoming tour. The last line from Patton is “Welcome home my friend.” Could it be a sentimental message to the fans? After all these years keeping the torch burning, maybe, just a little…
Faith No More are still creating their own roads after all these years. Just go buy this album; it’s everything you could want from music.
[Rating:4]
Faith No More will be performing at this year’s Download Festival, along with Slipknot, Muse, Kiss and many more. We’ll be there to cover all the madness, so watch this space.
Tickets are available at http://downloadfestival.co.uk/tickets and a limited amount of ‘RIP’ Luxury Tent & Hotel Packages are also available at www.ticketmaster.co.uk/packages/rip_download_2015.html
