FAITH NO MORE / Sol Invictus [2015]

18 years after their previous album and much-publicized self-destruction alt-rockers Faith No More returned in 2015 with Sol Invictus.
Picking exactly where they left off, FNM are still skipping around the boundaries of hard rock and bizarre art-rock, never once giving a toss about radio play (their first comeback single is a low-key operatic piece not-so subtly titled "Motherfucker").  Their smirking sarcastic humor and sinister piano lines are still firmly intact within the inviting tension they conjure up with each track.  For some odd reason, it seems as if the group forgot how to finish songs and each one peters out with slight boredom and misdirection.  The song order is a mess but with a customized re-arrangement one can easily remedy this minor problem.
There's a bit of dust and cobwebs collecting but hopefully this is just the boys getting back into the groove before they deliver another stellar album.

3½ leaders of men out of 5

Songs of Note: Separation Anxiety; Motherfucker

VARIOUS ARTISTS / Tribute Of The Year: A Tribute To Faith No More [2002]

Tribute albums are always a mess of carbon copies of the original and hugely unrecognizable reworkings all of which can occasionally be quite interesting. 

With Faith No More almost always kicking ass at covering other people's songs, I was eager to hear what others would do with their songs on the 2002 tribute album, Tribute Of The Year.  With the exception of Tub Ring, Bile and Hate Dept., I wasn't really familiar with any of the other independent acts featured here.  Sadly most of the 2 disc set is an awful jumble of crap sloppily thrown together that at times seems more like a lazy insult than a proper tribute.  

The dust will collect nicely on this one.

1 too many copies of the same song out of 5

Songs Of Note: TUB RING / Mouth To Mouth; HATE DEPT. / Edge Of The World

FAITH NO MORE / Who Cares A Lot? [1998]

Greatest Hits?  Faith No More?  Maybe in some tiny little village in Germany.  

With only one genuine hit single song (The Real Thing's Epic) you almost wonder if it's meant to be a tongue in cheek joke or some way to fill contractual obligations after the band broke up a year before this 1998 compilation...or both.

Who Cares A Lot? is pretty much an uninspired collection of their promotional singles and a handful of rarities that will interest hardcore fans.  Some artists' "greatest hits" albums are listener friendly ways to introduce folks to their works and some are better left collecting dust while you seek out the original albums.  This one is a bit of both.  

You be the judge, you fat bastards.

2 hits? out of 5

Songs Of Note: I Started A Joke; I Won't Forget You

FAITH NO MORE / Album Of The Year [1997]

Faith No More's final album before an 18 year hiatus, 1997's Album Of The Year, is generally known as the band's weakest work with vocalist Mike Patton. 

Critics, fans and even the band members have all spoken of their displeasure with the record.  It's dragged down by a dry, dull sounding mix, lack of input from half the band and just an all around nagging feeling of repeating watered down versions of their back catalogue.  There's a few songs scattered throughout the mix that are particularly excellent but still not enough to make a great album.  Less than a year after the album's release, Faith No More called it quits for the day.

3 pravda vítězi's out of 5

Songs Of Note: Stripsearch; Pristina

FAITH NO MORE / King For A Day...Fool For A Lifetime [1995]

After parting ways with guitarist Jim Martin and replacing him with Mr. Bungle's Trey Spruance, Faith No More mixed things up musically even more than before with the 1995 fan favorite, King For A Day...Fool For A Lifetime.

While often criticized for it's insane genre hopping, I feel it's one of the album's strengths, next to Mike Patton's wonderful vocalizations that match each song perfectly.  Unfortunately the album is mixed quite dryly and exposes the absence of Roddy Bottum's gothic keyboards in several songs.  When the songs are strong they're magnificent and when they're not...well, they're kind of plain.

3½ Spanish Nose-pickers out of 5

Songs Of Note:  Evidence; King For A Day

FAITH NO MORE / Live At The Brixton Academy [1991]

Recorded in London on their world tour in support of The Real Thing, Faith No More's only official live album Live At The Brixton Academy is more miss than hit.

Even though the sound of the recording is absolutely dismal, most of the performance is filled with enthusiasm and precision.  Well...with the exception of vocalist Mike Patton's obnoxious bratty attitude in some brief moments here and there.  Tagged with two previously unreleased studio recordings leftover from The Real Thing sessions, this album is pretty much for fans only.

2 New Kids On The Block out of 5

Songs Of Note: War Pigs; Zombie Eaters

FAITH NO MORE / The Real Thing [1989]

After falling asleep on stage during a live performance, vocalist Chuck Mosley was thankfully given the boot from Faith No More making way for Mr. Bungle frontman Mike Patton to bring something new to the table.

1989's genre-bending The Real Thing rocketed FNM into the mainstream.  Patton's nasally vocals, raps and growls were complimented with Martin's crunchy metal-ish guitar solos and classical finger picking.

Power-pop metal at heart, the album is a catchy, energetic time capsule classic riddled with bizarre, disturbing characters explored within the song lyrics.

4 old nu-metal bands out of 5

Songs of Note: Woodpecker From Mars; Edge Of The World

FAITH NO MORE / Introduce Yourself [1987]

Faith No More's 1987 sophomore album Introduce Yourself is strangely considered their debut, even by the band members themselves.

It might be for a reason, as their first album suffered from sloppy production and musicianship, while this album is tighter and a more complete continuation of their already established dance metal sound.  The songwriting is impressively stronger, memorable and more professional but is unfortunately held back a bit from Chuck Mosley's monotonous vocals.  Thankfully Mosley's suckage is remedied shortly after the release of this album.

3 bus rejections out of 5

Songs Of Note: Chinese Arithmetic; The Crab Song

FAITH NO MORE / We Care A Lot [1985]

After ditching Courtney Love, California alt. rock band Faith No More went from a really shitty singer to just a shitty singer (Chuck Mosley) for the recording of their 1985 full-length debut We Care A Lot.

Blending metal and synthy dance music with a California punk rock attitude, early FNM showed signs of being a promising music act that would stand apart from the rest.  It's not just Mosley's snotty, monotonous vocals that hold the record back but the rest of the band haven't quite refined their writing skills just yet making for plenty of sloppy patches.  

2½ brain-eating daytime soaps out of 5

Songs Of Note: Pills For Breakfast; As The Worm Turns

JIM MARTIN / Milk And Blood [1997]

After getting fired from Faith No More for lack of enthusiasm, guitarist Jim Martin wandered around aimlessly for 5 years and eventually came out with his first (and last) solo record, 1997's Milk And Blood.
Judging by this record, it's pretty obvious Martin was not the songwriter in FNM. He merely brought the thrash metal flavor to the band and now he's infests his own album with it. The guitars are mixed so loudly it drowns out any sign of a bass, the drums sound like tin cans and his vocals are so atrociously bland and weak. It's pretty much watered down thrash metal crap that makes Metallica's more recent albums sound like the Mona Lisa's queefs.

1 shitty Hetfield & Newsted cameo out of 5

Songs Of Note: Disco Dust; Around The Sun

FAITH NO MORE / Angel Dust [1992]

Following the platinum success of the The Real Thing, influential gonzo hard rockers Faith No More took a genre-colliding sharp turn into something even more twisted and disturbing than what listeners were ready for.
It starts off sounding like the powerpop of their previous album but quickly dissolves into something far weirder and unfriendly. Mike Patton's vocals take center stage as he channels a vast array of personalities from a smug "I have the power" charm to blasts of falsetto elegance to the screeches of a rabid animal.
With cheerleader choruses, masturbation & oral sex allusions and Kronos Quartet samples, Angel Dust is an definitive album of the '90's that practically runs through my blood like a drug. Another desert island disc to add to my list.

5 Midnight Cowboys out of 5

Songs Of Note: Caffeine; A Small Victory