Faith No More
Angel Dust

Mike Patton has been part of various bands, but undoubtedly the one that brought him success (and allowed him to bring attention to the others) is Faith No More. If I start by mentioning the singer, it is because this is without a doubt the album where he best showcases his creativity while staying within mainstream territory. In fact, this album would go on to sell about three million copies, surpassing, outside the States, its predecessor "The Real Thing," which had a decidedly more commercial cut.

Patton was invited to join the band by guitarist Jim Martin, impressed by his voice after hearing a demo by Mr. Bungle. However, since the musical foundations were already laid, Mike's only contribution to the third album was the lyrics. No big deal. The evolution was nevertheless evident. The previous frontman, Chuck Mosley, had great charisma and energy, but his voice was flat and out of tune, more suited to an underground punk band than to a metal band with prominent keyboards. If they hadn't fired him, they probably would have gone down in history as "something between Red Hot Chili Peppers and Living Colour."

In 1992 "Angel Dust" was released. A clear break from the past, with ethereal keyboards over funky bass lines and power chords. Here, experimentation is not intended as the fusion of different genres within the same track, something Patton's other band had already introduced to the world with their debut album. Faith No More rarely do this. More than anything, they produce each piece in a different style.

Literally, there's music for all tastes, or almost. You can find the decadent rock of "Land of Sunshine" and "Caffeine," the 'guttural' hip hop of "Midlife Crisis," and then be thrown off by "RV," which parodies popular country singers on '70s U.S. television shows. There are numerous power ballads, Middle Eastern influences, and disturbing cheerleader chants emphasizing the title "BE AGGRESSIVE, B-E AGGRESSIVE, B-E A-G-G-R-E-S-S-I-V-E" in a track that celebrates swallowing. Keyboardist Roddy Bottum has stated that he wrote the song to prepare fans for his coming out the following year. Perhaps it wasn't necessary, but I'm grateful he did, as it is, in my opinion, the best track on this album. Marilyn Manson picked up (or plagiarized? I haven't figured it out yet) the chorus from the refrain for his single "mOBSCENE."

The more experimental side of the album is represented by the trio "Jizzlobber," mostly written by Martin, "Crack Hitler," and "Malpractice." In this track, it's interesting to note how fluid the transition is from hardcore metal with vocal distortions to the sample of "Quartet No. 8," over which Mike Patton inserts a seductive vocal melody. It seems that he is the sole author of the song.

To conclude the work, there are two covers. The theme from "Midnight Cowboy" and the famous "Easy" by Commodores, initially just a b-side but later included in the first reissues of the album. Along with "Epic," it is perhaps the most popular piece by the quintet from San Francisco.

Adding to the value of an already fundamental album are the lyrics by the usual Mike Patton, sometimes assisted by other band members. Though he often stated he chooses words more for their sound than their meaning, reading the phrases in the booklet reveals the complete refinement of the lyrics, to put it in English.

If "Kindergarten" effectively tells the school journey of a disillusioned and maladjusted boy, "Everything's Ruined" talks about a man raised to make money who isolates himself and loses touch with the world upon failure. "Midlife Crisis," originally titled "Madonna," paints with a raw and metaphorical (and rather cryptic) language the life of a star under media pressure.

Other sources of inspiration can be found in the first two tracks, written after and during a sleep deprivation experiment to which the singer subjected himself. Patton also claimed to have written many lyrics while wandering through the seedy areas of his city on his Honda, using a collage-like technique to piece together his numerous notes and turn them into actual texts.

Musically, most of the songs were written by Bottum and bassist Billy Gould.

Guitarist Jim Martin repeatedly stated that he considers "The Real Thing" as the ideal Faith No More album, disdaining the choices made for its successor, starting with the title. His discontent was also manifested in the fact that some guitar parts on the album were recorded by Gould because Martin missed the recording sessions. And we know they cost money, even for famous bands.

Despite his viewpoint, which would lead to his firing via fax in 1993, the rest of the world would embrace "Angel Dust" as one of the most important albums of its year, one of the most influential ever (especially for some bands in the latter half of the '90s), and, in general, the peak of Faith No More's career.