Post by thesoundmonitor on Jul 5, 2004 4:42:56 GMT -5
FAITH NO MORE
Angel Dust
(Slash Records)
When first asked to write a retro review of Faith No More’s Angel Dust I was unsure if I could do it justice, as the album had such a huge influence on such a great number of people. It was a momentous album and defined a period in my life and I’m sure many others would echo these sentiments.
I was about 14 and in grade 10 at school I had a copied tape of The Real Thing and thought most of it was pretty good. I never realised at the time how much Faith No More’s next two albums (Angel Dust and King for a Day) would end up meaning to me.
When I look back on certain times from high school a major part of the soundtrack to those memories is attributed to Faith No More. I can listen to Angel Dust and get flashbacks to events and memories that I haven’t thought about for ten years or more.
Not long after I had taped Angel Dust from a mate I realised that almost every song on the album was a killer. I don’t recall exactly how many singles they had off the album, but I remember at least 5-6 had their time in the sun. It could easily have been more.
In ‘93 I was playing drums in a band that was mainly influenced by Kyuss and Metallica. We had tried covering a few songs from The Real Thing, which from memory sounded pretty good. After Angel Dust came out we tried playing a few songs, but they were so complex we gave up soon after.
Faith No More was the first band I listened to that did anything slightly experimental music-wise. Where every other band was simply guitar, bass, drums & vocals, Angel Dust had keyboards, manic laughing, screaming, cheerleader style chanting, and animal noises, resulting in some of the darkest music I had ever heard.
At the time I remember having trouble with the changes in style and mood throughout the album. Ranging from intense moody dark songs to standard rock and to what I can only describe as lounge rock. With age and some wisdom I now see the album as the masterpiece that it is, being so precisely made that I think it’s fair to say it was way ahead of its time. I can’t even begin to imagine how FNM went about writing Angel Dust; it seems more appropriate to have evolved from some unearthly creature than be written by humans.
While not being nearly as clichéd ‘heavy metal’ as other bands I was listening to at the time they had songs that were so much darker, heavier and much more intense. You have to credit a lot of the darkness and intensity to Roddy Bottum’s keyboards and samples. Some of his best work goes almost unnoticed due it being so subtly effective. Sometimes I thought that his more upfront 80’s style keyboard work actually detracted to the sound but with time I would come to appreciate it. It gave Jim Martin more flexibility in what he was doing on the guitar.
Unfortunately I never got to see Jim Martin perform with Faith No More and despite loving every album FNM put out, it’s pretty clear they lost something amazing when he left. He was such an imposing figure and brilliantly creative guitarist; it’s almost a crime that he pretty much faded away [he released one solo album called Milk and Blood which was, imho, a piss-poor release – ed]. I think the writers of Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey were onto something when they had Jim Martin teaching a music class in the future.
Mike Patton, at the time and still to this day, has one of the strongest and diverse voices I’ve ever heard. I don’t think anyone can come close to his diversity and adaptability. There are times when he could easily be another crooner like Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby or Nat King Cole. Then there’s other times when he seems more suited to a death metal band. Mike has gone onto utilize his amazing talent with bands like Fantomas, Mr Bungle and Tomahawk to name a few.
The Mike Bordin and Billy Gould rhythm section always created innovative ways to direct some of the crazy songs that could only have come from Mike Patton. Mike Bordin is also the only drummer I’ve ever seen to play with his drums completely flat and not tilted towards him at all.
The artwork on the album always seemed quite appropriate to me. The beautiful yet dark and foreboding front cover contrasted with the harsh reality of the back/inside cover. This suits Angel Dust flawlessly. Faith No More’s music has that beautifully dark edge to it and can suddenly twist into a harsh reality that most people would prefer to ignore than admit that it exists.
As far as the title of the album goes, I can only offer some theories as I have never heard the true reason. Perhaps the album was written while on Angel Dust (which would explain a lot). Perhaps, much like The Mars Volta’s Deloused in the Comatorium, it is more of soundtrack to a story of someone going through an Angel Dust trip.
Angel Dust was one of those albums that you would keep coming back to me due to the complexity of it. Often after returning from a break of listening to the album a song would suddenly really click with me where it previously had only been just another song on the album. This has only has occurred to me on this level with two other albums; Kyuss’s Blues for the Red Sun and Tool’s Aenima.
Personally, Angel Dust may not have been as life defining as Blues for the Red Sun but it will always be one of my highest rated and most remembered albums from the early 90’s. A lot of other albums I loved at the time have dated easily and will probably never be listened to again. Angel Dust will live on as a work of genius.
Angel Dust
(Slash Records)
When first asked to write a retro review of Faith No More’s Angel Dust I was unsure if I could do it justice, as the album had such a huge influence on such a great number of people. It was a momentous album and defined a period in my life and I’m sure many others would echo these sentiments.
I was about 14 and in grade 10 at school I had a copied tape of The Real Thing and thought most of it was pretty good. I never realised at the time how much Faith No More’s next two albums (Angel Dust and King for a Day) would end up meaning to me.
When I look back on certain times from high school a major part of the soundtrack to those memories is attributed to Faith No More. I can listen to Angel Dust and get flashbacks to events and memories that I haven’t thought about for ten years or more.
Not long after I had taped Angel Dust from a mate I realised that almost every song on the album was a killer. I don’t recall exactly how many singles they had off the album, but I remember at least 5-6 had their time in the sun. It could easily have been more.
In ‘93 I was playing drums in a band that was mainly influenced by Kyuss and Metallica. We had tried covering a few songs from The Real Thing, which from memory sounded pretty good. After Angel Dust came out we tried playing a few songs, but they were so complex we gave up soon after.
Faith No More was the first band I listened to that did anything slightly experimental music-wise. Where every other band was simply guitar, bass, drums & vocals, Angel Dust had keyboards, manic laughing, screaming, cheerleader style chanting, and animal noises, resulting in some of the darkest music I had ever heard.
At the time I remember having trouble with the changes in style and mood throughout the album. Ranging from intense moody dark songs to standard rock and to what I can only describe as lounge rock. With age and some wisdom I now see the album as the masterpiece that it is, being so precisely made that I think it’s fair to say it was way ahead of its time. I can’t even begin to imagine how FNM went about writing Angel Dust; it seems more appropriate to have evolved from some unearthly creature than be written by humans.
While not being nearly as clichéd ‘heavy metal’ as other bands I was listening to at the time they had songs that were so much darker, heavier and much more intense. You have to credit a lot of the darkness and intensity to Roddy Bottum’s keyboards and samples. Some of his best work goes almost unnoticed due it being so subtly effective. Sometimes I thought that his more upfront 80’s style keyboard work actually detracted to the sound but with time I would come to appreciate it. It gave Jim Martin more flexibility in what he was doing on the guitar.
Unfortunately I never got to see Jim Martin perform with Faith No More and despite loving every album FNM put out, it’s pretty clear they lost something amazing when he left. He was such an imposing figure and brilliantly creative guitarist; it’s almost a crime that he pretty much faded away [he released one solo album called Milk and Blood which was, imho, a piss-poor release – ed]. I think the writers of Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey were onto something when they had Jim Martin teaching a music class in the future.
Mike Patton, at the time and still to this day, has one of the strongest and diverse voices I’ve ever heard. I don’t think anyone can come close to his diversity and adaptability. There are times when he could easily be another crooner like Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby or Nat King Cole. Then there’s other times when he seems more suited to a death metal band. Mike has gone onto utilize his amazing talent with bands like Fantomas, Mr Bungle and Tomahawk to name a few.
The Mike Bordin and Billy Gould rhythm section always created innovative ways to direct some of the crazy songs that could only have come from Mike Patton. Mike Bordin is also the only drummer I’ve ever seen to play with his drums completely flat and not tilted towards him at all.
The artwork on the album always seemed quite appropriate to me. The beautiful yet dark and foreboding front cover contrasted with the harsh reality of the back/inside cover. This suits Angel Dust flawlessly. Faith No More’s music has that beautifully dark edge to it and can suddenly twist into a harsh reality that most people would prefer to ignore than admit that it exists.
As far as the title of the album goes, I can only offer some theories as I have never heard the true reason. Perhaps the album was written while on Angel Dust (which would explain a lot). Perhaps, much like The Mars Volta’s Deloused in the Comatorium, it is more of soundtrack to a story of someone going through an Angel Dust trip.
Angel Dust was one of those albums that you would keep coming back to me due to the complexity of it. Often after returning from a break of listening to the album a song would suddenly really click with me where it previously had only been just another song on the album. This has only has occurred to me on this level with two other albums; Kyuss’s Blues for the Red Sun and Tool’s Aenima.
Personally, Angel Dust may not have been as life defining as Blues for the Red Sun but it will always be one of my highest rated and most remembered albums from the early 90’s. A lot of other albums I loved at the time have dated easily and will probably never be listened to again. Angel Dust will live on as a work of genius.