Faith No More have always stood out, to me, as a very unique band. When they first appeared with the hit Epic from The Real Thing, I was intrigued by their crossover sound that was nothing really like what was going on back then. They had a shelf in the metal scene, because of the heavy use of guitars, but really, they did not fit in there. The truth is exactly... they don't fit anywhere. And that's what's interesting. They span from soft pop to angry metal, even within a song, so it is no wonder they are hard to categorize.
If there was some red thread through their albums up until then, it is a funky streak. The funky bass is there now and again and combined with rap'y vocals from Mike Patton, it does give it a rather funky-rocky feel... but still, nothing is as cookie cutter shaped as anything else you might know.
Angel Dust was their big breakthrough and strangely the single from around that time "Easy" was a major hit. When we get to 1995 and King For A Day... it seems that all anyone remebered FNM by ... was this cover pop song. Sadly because they had been brewing on something to outshine everything else they had done so far with this album.
It brings together all aspects of what FNM is capable of and molds it together in some of the weirdest and strangest songs. The diversity is huge.. you almost have the same feeling as listening to a collection of b-sides from a bands past 20 years, so different do they sound and seem in structure. A collective description would seem to be paranoia, and looking at the coverdesign, there is much to draw from there.
This is a genre defying experience and it may take some time for it to sink in, but if and when... you will be handsomely rewarded. Patton is in his prime, voice wise and the band plays solidly. My personal favorites are Ricochet, The Gentle Art if Making Enemies, Ugly In The Morning, Take This Bottle and Just A Man.
