I am planning a longer post discussing the music of Faith No More's discography under the vocal theatrics of Mike Patton. It will probably be up next week some time, but here's a little precursor as I just listened to this cassette recently. Faith No More is not an easy band to categorize, but they're not typically as difficult as they are on this album. The band has often used a variety of influences in their music, but they don't usually take over entire songs. Many songs on this album are from completely different genres, making this a bit of a shizophrenic listen. For instance, the band experiments with 1970's era R&B on "Evidence", country on "Take This Bottle", and big band funk on "Star A.D." Those are the two more outlandish examples. We even have saxophone solos on this thing.
However, the album is definitely based in metal. Half of the 14 songs are very clearly metal tracks. The band makes very good use of their always-present metal influences in presenting the metallic hardcore crunch of tracks like "Get Out" and "Digging the Grave". "The Gentle Art of Making Enemies" features one hell of an opening thrash metal riff, and probably the greatest metal riff Faith No More has ever written. Even less metal tracks such as "Last to Know" and "Just a Man" feature strong metal elements. Some of these songs are the catchiest tracks Faith No More has ever written.
Guitarist Jim Martin, who was basically a thrash metal guitarist, is no longer with the band at this point, but Trey Spruance did an admirable job filling in and showed that he knew a thing or two about metal riffs as well. The metal tracks are much more straightforward this time around and are simpler riffs, but they are still energetic and get the blood pumping and the head banging.
How could we discuss a Faith No More album without mentioning Mike Patton? You were getting worried, right? Patton is easily one of the best and most interesting vocalists in rock music overall. He presents a wide variety of vocal styles on this album, from soulful crooning to blood-curdling screaming. His vocals can be calming and relaxing one minute and then filled with a terrifying malevolence the next. His screams are well-done and scary and his softer vocals show a range of talent that Patton has become well-known for over the years.
The only real issue I have with this album is its length. It is a very long album with 14 tracks. Some of these feel like filler, but I'm not sure if the album would have the same effect if any of them were taken away.
While this is not my favorite Faith No More album by any means, it is a very interesting album. It keeps the listener's attention even though it is a little long. The variety of styles keep the listener guessing as to what's going to be heard next. Faith No More is a very interesting band, and this album is just one example of this fact.
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