Chanting Indians, and fascist drug lords, and Catholic schoolgirls, oh my! Faith No Mores Angel Dust is a parallel hallucination to Oz. Its a fascinating visit, but no one could ever want to live there. Televangelists pollute the TV, plastic surgery is a popular hobby, and the human species destroys the entire fucking planet. Does this disc come with a Valium?
Not that anyone would be better off ignoring it. To the contrary, no single detail of this album should be changed. Its possibly the greatest funk metal disc ever recorded. The genre did quite a bit for music in its day. Sure, it helped fertilized the embryos of countless banal nu metal acts in the late 90s, but there was an equally positive effect. It helped restore, fun, humor, and groove to metal. Three three things which hadnt been seen in convergence since the late 70s. Funk metal bands also tended to be literate and poetic, with outfits like Primus, Fishbone, Living Colour, Janes Addiction, and The Red Hot Chili Peppers making a dent on the national conscious. While The Real Thing was FNMs most popular album in the states, Angel Dust made them legends on a global scale.
The very proportions of the disc are epic. With the possible exception of Jim Martin, every musician and songwriter was hitting his stride at a timing which coincided exactly with this release. Pattons voice has never sounded more versatile or authoritative. His screams, growls, and croons grab your attention, while affecting the words in a way that holds significance. The drums, guitar, bass, and keyboards all trade off roles of melody, rhythm, and harmony, with Roddy Bottum putting forth an especially impressive effort. This album saw his largest contribution to the band on all fronts. His selection and use of patches was amazingly innovative, and the added prominence of his keys does nothing to diminish the heaviness of this disc. There are wailing air raid sirens, blasting pipe organs, and pianos that creep in slime. Every chord and note from his instrument is just another unsettling layer in a fully realized nightmare.
And then, Faith No More woke up. The unfortunate consequence of making your best album, is that its all downhill from here on out. The fallout of Angel Dust was a dissatisfied Jim Martin, and a frazzled Roddy Bottum. Martin felt betrayed by the obtuse nature of their efforts (Patton has gone on record saying he badly wanted to alienate their new MTV fanbase with as much weirdness as possible), and his reduced musical spotlight. Martin was never a virtuoso talent, but his playing did happen to fit FNMs style better than anyone else. Martin also indulges in the occasional fit of gay bashing, so when Roddy came out of the closet, one can only imagine the confrontation. Of course, with a man as flamboyant and stereotypically gay as Bottum, you have to wonder how Martin could play in the band for so long and not figure it out. Just another argument for the creation of Beavis and Butthead.
Moronic pumpkin farmers notwithstanding, the personal fallout of Faith No More has been quite prolific. Roddy Bottum now spearheads and obscure (but very inspired) pop group named Imperial Teen. They began as his FNM contributions slowed to a trickle in the post-Angel Dust era. Mike Bordin has a semi regular gig as Ozzy Osbournes tour drummer, which means even though Ozzy hasnt performed as a solo act in years, Bordin still doesnt worry about paying the bills. Mike Patton has become a fountain of side projects and solo albums, making him one of the hardest working and most celebrated men in show business. Band leader Billy Gould has oddly decided to step purely into the business side of things, and run his own record label (in case he thought working with Martin and Patton wasnt enough of a headache).
This arrangement leaves little hope for any sort of reunion in the future, but this is all now, and that was then, and Angel dust speaks beyond time.
Not that anyone would be better off ignoring it. To the contrary, no single detail of this album should be changed. Its possibly the greatest funk metal disc ever recorded. The genre did quite a bit for music in its day. Sure, it helped fertilized the embryos of countless banal nu metal acts in the late 90s, but there was an equally positive effect. It helped restore, fun, humor, and groove to metal. Three three things which hadnt been seen in convergence since the late 70s. Funk metal bands also tended to be literate and poetic, with outfits like Primus, Fishbone, Living Colour, Janes Addiction, and The Red Hot Chili Peppers making a dent on the national conscious. While The Real Thing was FNMs most popular album in the states, Angel Dust made them legends on a global scale.
The very proportions of the disc are epic. With the possible exception of Jim Martin, every musician and songwriter was hitting his stride at a timing which coincided exactly with this release. Pattons voice has never sounded more versatile or authoritative. His screams, growls, and croons grab your attention, while affecting the words in a way that holds significance. The drums, guitar, bass, and keyboards all trade off roles of melody, rhythm, and harmony, with Roddy Bottum putting forth an especially impressive effort. This album saw his largest contribution to the band on all fronts. His selection and use of patches was amazingly innovative, and the added prominence of his keys does nothing to diminish the heaviness of this disc. There are wailing air raid sirens, blasting pipe organs, and pianos that creep in slime. Every chord and note from his instrument is just another unsettling layer in a fully realized nightmare.
And then, Faith No More woke up. The unfortunate consequence of making your best album, is that its all downhill from here on out. The fallout of Angel Dust was a dissatisfied Jim Martin, and a frazzled Roddy Bottum. Martin felt betrayed by the obtuse nature of their efforts (Patton has gone on record saying he badly wanted to alienate their new MTV fanbase with as much weirdness as possible), and his reduced musical spotlight. Martin was never a virtuoso talent, but his playing did happen to fit FNMs style better than anyone else. Martin also indulges in the occasional fit of gay bashing, so when Roddy came out of the closet, one can only imagine the confrontation. Of course, with a man as flamboyant and stereotypically gay as Bottum, you have to wonder how Martin could play in the band for so long and not figure it out. Just another argument for the creation of Beavis and Butthead.
Moronic pumpkin farmers notwithstanding, the personal fallout of Faith No More has been quite prolific. Roddy Bottum now spearheads and obscure (but very inspired) pop group named Imperial Teen. They began as his FNM contributions slowed to a trickle in the post-Angel Dust era. Mike Bordin has a semi regular gig as Ozzy Osbournes tour drummer, which means even though Ozzy hasnt performed as a solo act in years, Bordin still doesnt worry about paying the bills. Mike Patton has become a fountain of side projects and solo albums, making him one of the hardest working and most celebrated men in show business. Band leader Billy Gould has oddly decided to step purely into the business side of things, and run his own record label (in case he thought working with Martin and Patton wasnt enough of a headache).
This arrangement leaves little hope for any sort of reunion in the future, but this is all now, and that was then, and Angel dust speaks beyond time.
