It’s one of the most polarizing albums in all of rock, metal or any other popular music genre. It’s legion of fans have brought the album to triple platinum status. Although at the time of it’s release it barely went gold. I’m talking about Faith No More’s masterpiece ‘Angel Dust’. A 50 minute roller coaster ride of off beat rhythms, accidental filled guitar riffs, funk bass, dissonant keyboards and vocals ranging from Tom Waits speak sing style to early 90’s pop. Only Faith No More could pull off such an ambitious project.
After the success of the fairly conventional ‘The Real Thing’, Faith No More were at a stand still. The success was overnight. They went from clubs to arenas in the blink of an eye. The band decided that the mainstream wasn’t all it was cracked up to be and released a record that they, with the exception of guitarist Jim Martin, truly wanted to make. The result? The antagonistic ‘Angel Dust’. Which is now regarded by many to be the bands finest hour.
The album, like many that are innovative, received a ton of push back from the record company. Some even thought it was an intentional ‘fuck you’, a joke even. Bassist Billy Guild has put those rumors to rest though stating, ‘I wouldn’t say it was an intentional ‘fuck you.’ We really liked the record and we put a lot of hard work into it. But a lot of people didn’t get it and we didn’t care. So I guess in that sense we were like ‘yeah, fuck you.’ But we didn’t write the album to actually say ‘fuck you’ to anybody. We actually liked what we did.’ And that attitude has payed off for the band. While the album only sold 650,000 copies initially, the album has grown in popularity over the years. It’s now sold over three million copies worldwide and counting. So in a sense Faith No More got to have their cake and eat it too.
It’s a starting point. It’s the first album in singer Mike Patton’s storied career where there was a mass audience exposed to his point of view on writing music. And it sort of just took off from there. And it’s easy to see why. The opening track ‘Land of Sunshine’ showcases Patton’s incredible voice while displaying his originality. And the following track ‘Caffeine’ is a great 3/4 timed metal track. Complete with full guitar chug. ‘Midlife Crisis’ is simply signature Faith No More. The song probably could have fit on ‘The Real Thing.’ But with Patton’s distorted hip hop rap during the verses and the percussive sound effects I think it’s better on ‘Angel Dust’. ‘RV’ is one of the most unique songs Faith No More has ever done. Originally I hated the track. I disliked Patton’s Tom Waits speak sing style during the verses. But like a lot of Faith No More songs, it has grown on me over the years. The next song ‘Smaller and Smaller’ is a great ode to more traditional metal. The riff coupled with Patton’s operatic voice is ear candy. And we get to hear what Patton can do with his screams at the end. One of the best Faith No More songs period.
The second half of the album is just as ambitious as the first. ‘Everything’s Ruined’ starts with dissonant keyboard chords before launching into one epic ass melodic funk metal groove. Again, this song probably could have been on ‘The Real Thing’. It was also one of the first songs that sold me on the band. It’s a great place to start. ‘Malpractice’ is a horrifying, prog metal cluster fuck of a masterpiece. ‘Kindergarten’ is another one of my favorite songs. It’s a rich, original take on the funk metal craze that was happening at the time. It’s tracks like ‘Kindergarten’ that kept the band in the mainstream while simultaneously keeping them fresh and classier than the competition. But whatever class the band had amassed gets ruined with the excellently perverted ‘Be Aggressive.’ Which is about oral sex. While that in itself isn’t that bad, it’s the cheerleaders that lead the chorus that gives you the uneasy feeling. Which is totally the point. ‘A Small Victory’ is yet another highlight. A great groove and amazing melody. A perfect example of how Faith No More are original and accessible at the same time. Lord knows what ‘Crack Hitler’ is about. But I gotta say the music is amazing on the song. ‘Jizzlobber’ is a dark, dissonant track about a porn star before closing with a beautiful cover of ‘Midnight Cowboy’.
All in all it’s a landmark masterpiece. ‘Angel Dust’ still sounds fresh to this day. It’s aged incredibly well. Mostly because it’s a starting point for the future of alternative metal. Countless bands that came out in the years to come were clearly heavily influenced by this record (System of A Down). A tremendous album that will always stand the test of time.
