Faith No More - Angel Dust
Listen to a condensed audio version of this review by Greg
Formed in 1979 in San Francisco, CA, the band Sharp Young Men, consisting of keyboard player Wade Worthington, lead singer Mike Morris, drummer Mike Bordin and bass player, Billy Gould, played several small clubs around the Bay Area. The band named soon morphed into Faith No Man and hired keyboard, piano and synth player Roddy Bottum to replace Worthington. The story then takes a twist as a year later Gould, Bordin and Bottom all quit Faith No Man together and formed Faith No More. The story goes that the band actually decided to name themselves Faith No More because the guy who was known as “the man”, lead singer Mike Morris was “no more”, hence the name Faith No More. They later hired lead singer Chuck Mosley in 1983 and recorded their first album, We Care A Lot in 1985.
After the release of their second studio album, Introduce Yourself in 1987, lead singer Chuck Mosley's attitude and conduct on and off stage became increasingly violent and unpredictable. He would fall asleep during some performances and burst into fistfights with other band members at others. He had to go. As the band had written the music to their follow up 1989 album, The Real Thing, they hired lead singer Mike Patton to sing fill in vocals for Mosely on this third album. Patton fit in well and the album was a huge success, giving the band international fame and recognition in late 1990 – 1992, opening for such bands as Guns N’ Roses and Metallica and headlining major festivals around the world. The challenge would come a year prior to 1992. In 1991 the group was tasked with recording their follow up album. This experience would either make or break the band, and they knew it. Instead of folding under pressure, the band stepped up and recorded a serious masterpiece.
Produced by Matt Wallace and released on June 8th, 1992, Angel Dust gave lead singer, Mike Patton, a chance to write music and lyrics along with the rest of the band members. Patton was so new to the group during the recording of their breakout album, 1989’s The Real Thing, that he only contributed to some of the lyric writing. The band had already fired former singer Chuck Mosley and written all the music for Angel Dust. Although Patton felt a part of the band, he became a true contributor on this release.
There are certainly more extremes in terms of musical arrangement on this album. The band commented there is a larger amount of heavy stuff on Angel Dust than The Real Thing but there is also a greater amount of softer stuff.
The band stated they “did not want to put out a record with just one mood”. They were sick of all the metal and classic rock that was out at the time. Angel Dust has a visceral, brutal delivery. The riffs are “disgusting”. I think that’s the best description. Guitarist Jim Martin’s style/sound is “thick”. He rocks his Flying V guitar with a volume that does not carry over Roddy Bottum’s synth and keyboards. They blend perfectly through every track.
Bass player, Billy Gould, seems to come off as one of the leaders in the band. During interviews he appears to have the most answers, whether they are relevant or not. He also appears to be the songwriter on most tracks and musical arrangements.
The album cover to Angel Dust, originally said to be named and designed by Gould and Bottum, denotes an egret, which is a white heron or in other words a white bird resembling a swan and duck mixed together. The egret is in the forefront with a dark blue and black background insinuating an evil connotation, leaving the viewer to decide the intention.
Bottum stated that he chose the name because it "summed up what Angel Dust did perfectly" in that "it's a really beautiful name for a really hideous drug and that should make people think”.
Both bassist Billy Gould and drummer Mike Bordin said that the image on the back side of the album, which shows skinned chickens and cow heads, hanging in a slaughterhouse, is not based on support for vegetarianism but rather a preview of the music, suggesting its combination of being "really aggressive and disturbing and then really soothing", the "beautiful with the sick".
The album starts off with Land of Sunshine. A very upbeat, up tempo song but deep with evil laughter. Bassist Billy Gould’s playing carries the song and guides you the entire way through. Patton’s lyrics are storytelling, moving from talking to singing to yelling to once again, just evil laughter. I really like it. Especially when Patton’s line “Here’s how to order” takes you to the heavy parts. This song is superb. Very rocky and straight to the point.
Patton came up with many of these lyrics from fortune cookies. He purchased several bags of fortune cookies and took phrases from them. Certain lyrics such as "You are an angel heading for a land of sunshine," and "Pat yourself on the back and give yourself a handshake," all came from these Asian desserts. Patton then juxtaposed these positive declarations with several questions he found on a personality test from the Church of Scientology such as, "Do you sing or whistle just for fun?" "Do others push you around?" "Does emotional music have quite an effect on you?" This eerie combination made for an appropriately disturbed opening track to the album.
Caffeine continues the heaviness. This is more of a heavy metal song. The band stated that they wanted to move away from what they were quoted as saying the “funk metal” style of their prior releases, towards a more comprehensive sound. Comprehensive is indeed exactly what every song on this album is. This song slows down, letting the screams and taunts “there’s always one thing”… to bring you up out of your seat. I can remember mowing my lawn 28-29 years ago when this was released and singing along/talking along with the lyrics. As Patton goes from talking to you to screaming in your ear, I would begin to lip sync in despair. I’m sure our neighbors thought I was insane. Patton is just like no other on this record.
MidLife Crisis, which was an MTV hit in 92-93, starts off with Patton giving you his best death metal voice, but in slow progression. Then what’s unique about Faith No More is that his singing during the chorus is so melodic and heartfelt, you can see how it would be radio friendly. It probably, at first, lures in the death metal fans only to scare them all off when they hear the melody and range of Patton’s voice.
Patton has an almost Zach de la Rocha type angry voice (from Rage Against the Machine). It’s very guttural but direct. It gets your attention. I know it got mine. While doing a deep research dive on this album I stumbled upon many videos of Patton singing with many different orchestras. Patton stated he tried to make his voice sound like “other” instruments on this album, which is extremely interesting to me. He wanted people to question whether they were hearing a violin, or a harp or a guitar etc. When in fact it was just his vocal chords straight up. Other band members likened Mike’s vocal sound to Tibetan monk chants or in some cases, sounding like a seagull.
The next track, RV goes in a completely different direction. It has a very mellow, slow beat with Patton just talking weird in the background, saying things like “My feet itch” only to then launch into his guttural, “I hate you talking to myself”. It’s clear from the lyrics this is either a direct reflection or a story Patton is telling about growing up in an RV and/or in a trailer park.
The song very randomly ends with Patton kind of mumbling:
“I think it's time I had a talk with my kids
I'll just tell 'em what my daddy told me
You ain't never gonna amount to nothin'”
I think this is very telling. It was extremely difficult to locate interviews where any members of the band were speaking from the heart or taking the interview seriously. I found it really challenging to get inside the minds of this band, especially Patton.
Smaller and Smaller continues down that metal path. God, as I revisit this record, I am recalling all my feelings splashed upon me when I listened to this in 1992. Patton adds his screams in with melodic singing. This one is heavy. Among many samples the band added onto this record, this song, includes Native American chanting. Roddy Bottum’s synth and keyboards play a crucial role not only on this track, but the entire album. Due to minimal factual information, I can only speculate this song is either about the reservation land of the Native American Indian getting smaller and smaller as European settlers took over the North American land several hundred years ago, or something related to the oppression of a person, race, or religious group. Although they keep getting smaller in numbers, they keep coming back!
So, if you or someone you know is not a fan of Faith No More, you could probably start with the next track, Everything’s Ruined. This song begins with a catchy melody, followed by Patton’s typical singing into screaming (definitely will scare the kids) only to spill out like a river into a lake with a beautiful bridge and chorus, where Mike Patton is singing his tail off, forcing you to listen and groove. This may likely be the strongest track on the album. Yes, it was featured on MTV in the 90s. I think it is catchy but also very well written. Adding each mood into one compressed song. When that chorus hits you….oh man. I remember why I loved this band.
Mike Bordin displays his underrated drumming skills on this track. Actually, he displays his skills all over this album. Bordin has also performed with Black Sabbath, Korn, Jerry Cantrell, Black Label Society and Primus. He also has played alongside all three Metallica bassists including Cliff Burton in EZ-Street and with Jason Newstead and Robert Trujillo with Ozzy Osbourne and Jerry Cantrell. Not a typical metal drummer, you notice Mike Bordin’s style includes jazz and reggae when he drums. No beats are typical or easy to “air-drum” to. That’s my test.
Put the kids to bed before throwing on the next track, Malpractice. This one reminds me of a song played in the background during a film when they show you where the killer lives. He’s getting ready for a night of madness, looking into the mirror with crazed eyes. It is super heavy. Patton is either yelling or chanting. I smile when I listen though. Because this song separates the metal heads from the “other” music fans. Play this in a room and see if anyone comes up to you and says, “Right on man! Faith No More!” Either way, it is still awesome.
Kindergarten keeps the pace with the majority of the album. Heavy. Great beat. Strong rhythm. This song collaboration includes all five members of the band. It seems obvious in the lyrics
“Kingdom
Kindergarten
Born late
Will I graduate?
Held back again”
that this subject matter speaks for itself. Once again it is hard to tell as there is very little information out there from the band. I feel like every opportunity they had to avoid being serious in an interview, they took it. I interpreted this track to be about a person who is growing physically but still the same age mentally. The band members tell a story of when the realization hits you that things will never be how they were in the past.
Break out the Halloween decorations and Scream Movie mask for this next track, at least at the beginning. Be Aggressive starts out with an organ that has you looking over your shoulder to ensure no one broke into your house..Written by Roddy Bottum, this track is strange but direct and to the point. In order to maintain a “clean” (or somewhat clean) subject matter, let’s just say this song is not about rooting your high school football team on with a crowd-pleasing chant. No, this song discusses perhaps some actions of affection taken on one another by two folks, let’s say both male, who have a fondness for each other. At the time of publication, keyboardist Roddy Bottum was not yet free. He had yet to come out of the closet and exclaim his public pride for his sexuality. Today, Roddy is out and proud, but one has to wonder how he felt when he wrote Be Aggressive. Was he concerned he’d be ostracized by coming out or was this the beginning of his journey to finally be honest with himself? Again, difficult to know, as many interviews with the band lack the sincerity one might hope for to get a straight answer. I suppose this mystique enabled the band to keep their fans guessing on a regular basis.
Another radio friendly track (somewhat) comes at you next. A Small Victory offers a catchy verse and chorus, despite Patton’s usual range of chanting and screaming. Written by Mike Patton about growing up and accomplishing small victories, this track could also arguably be considered the album’s strongest. It makes me hum over and over and over. I catch myself saying, “It shouldn’t bother me, but it does” out loud when I am at the hardware store or shopping aimlessly for summer clothes in the mall.
I just think this album is very unique. Yes, I say that about many of the albums I review, but they are all very unique in their own way, and it is my goal here to explain why. I keep coming back to the words, “range” and “mood”. Yes, you could probably stack this in the “Metal” section of the record store. But Faith No More’s range is quite original. Although they toured with many heavy metal bands around the globe, they were and are still, quite different. For you may not be able to truly put them into one nice, neat little box. This is why I respect them so much.
Crack Hitler begins to round out the album. A mixture of Billy Gould’s snappy funk bass line, Bottum’s deeply rooted keys and Patton’s lyrics sounding as if he’s yelling through a megaphone (again, quite unique, right?), while Jizzlobberreflects what music would sound like if someone was chasing you with a jungle style machete and a hockey mask on. Faith No More an acquired taste for sure. For Angel Dust separated the men from the boys. For the casual fan that got into their previous album, The Real Thing, Angel Dust either scared them all away or it hooked you like it did me. Most bands, if they do well, have one good album. Maybe two. Many of them catch lightning in a bottle. Everyone’s heard of the sophomore slump. One could consider Angel Dust the rebirth of the new Faith No More and their sophomore album. In this case, they kicked some sophomore ass with this record. As I sit listening to the back half of the album, especially Jizzlobber, once again the song takes you from evil creepiness to glory, glory halleluiah. As the track ends with an organ blasting through the halls of a giant church, you are reminded, this is not your grandfather’s Faith No More.
If you own the standard release of Angel Dust (not the later remastered copy), the album ends with the theme song to the movie Midnight Cowboy. The track is titled, simply, Midnight Cowboy. This is a brilliant way to end an album. The track is void of any lyrics as it soothes you into a light, mellow, relaxing sleep to finish your listening experience.
I can remember a friend of mine in college making a “mix tape” (no, he wasn’t trying to “woo” me). The tape had several upbeat songs, sometimes including metal. But he always knew how to end the tape. It was usually with a heartfelt, mellow song that I may have never heard before, but lost my mind the first time I was introduced to it. I always pictured him just laughing as I was sitting in my car listening. He always made it an experience. My close circle of friends were all convinced he truly transformed making mix tapes into an art form. For he knew how to capture that perfect mood and feeling. The band does the same thing with Midnight Cowboy. The track sums up the complete randomness of the album and peacefully shifts you into that good night!
What I also find interesting about this band, is that I have difficulty understanding Mike Patton in interviews. I am not referring to his speech or an accent. He does not come across as very serious. So I had trouble getting a window into his soul. Their records before The Real Thing and after Angel Dust are iffy. I will give it to them….very different and original sounding (props) but I am not able to connect, and I wish I could. One of their later albums includes pictures with Gimps…which is just strange and reminds me too much of Pulp Fiction and the nightmares that scene gave me. If you like strange, but melodic, this album and Faith No More is for you. If you want beyond strange, you need to check out Mike Patton’s other band, Mr. Bungle. They are beyond strange.
As the 90s passed by and the 2000’s came, the band had some minor lineup changes. Guitarist Jim Martin was fired in 1993, apparently by fax machine. Rumors floated around that Jim had a problem with keyboardist Roddy’s homosexuality, but Roddy has refuted this claim.
Despite my lack of hooking on to their late 90s albums and beyond, the band switched things up on every album. They deserve credit for this for sure. They could have pleased their fans and stuck to the script. But instead, they changed their sound for the most part on every album. They did not feel the need to put pressure on themselves and follow up each record with the same format.
The band reunited a few times over the past twenty years, most recently without guitarist Jim Martin in 2019. They were scheduled to tour in 2020 but had to move everything to 2021 as COVID-19 put a damper on their 2020 party. I think it’s pretty cool to know that today they are still making music and touring around the globe. I yearn for the day when I can see them again.
Sales of Angel Dust did fairly well around the world. It actually experienced stronger sales in other countries as opposed to the United States. In less than three months after its release, Angel Dust went gold, selling 500,000 copies in the U.S., but sales quickly dropped off, and the album was generally considered a commercial disappointment compared to The Real Thing. In the UK, however, Angel Dust actually outsold The Real Thing and worldwide went on to sell three-million copies.
Faith No More were never hip to trends. Trends were hip to them. They do not give an “eff” and wanted to be honest with themselves and everyone around them. For I am proud that I am attracted to “weird” bands. I thrive off of musicians doing something different. I was at a concert only a few weeks ago, my first since COVID-19 restrictions loosened. The band of the evening played a song entirely in French. I did not particularly enjoy the song but the whole time could not help but be incredibly impressed that these guys were writing songs in French and performing them for a bunch of modern-day hippies in a parking lot. That takes guts, and I don’t know of any other bands doing that.
The same goes for Faith No More. I am comforted by the memories I have listening to them in the early 90s while cutting my grass and doing high school homework. I just remember thinking, “man no one is doing this right now” and needing to listen to more. You should too. Right now.