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Let's be clear from the start: I am reviewing a major piece of my "history-culture" in music!!!
Second studio album by Faith No More with Patton on vocals; the five from San Francisco arrive here strong from the success of The Real Thing and the Grammy-winning single "Epic" which was constantly in heavy rotation. There was quite a bit of anticipation indeed.
The album hits the shelves and the cover catches the eye: a marvelous white bird contrasted by the back of the album with meat hanging in any slaughterhouse. There's nothing predictable in their music either, but this was expected: it starts with "Land of Sunshine," a perfect mix of funky, prog, and crossover but...have they changed singers again? ...NO, it's Mike Patton who has the habit of changing skin with every track!!!
Caffeine is the second track: my favorite by FNM, a complete piece built on strong thrash rhythms, the best interpretation by the vocalist, and dreamlike atmospheres produced by Roddy Bottum on keyboards. A marvel. Another track, "Midlife Crisis"... the first single and ensuing success, and then off amid other gems of unclassifiable genre; "RV" seems like the soundtrack to Casablanca, "Everything's Ruined" a very inspired rock track, the pop prog of "Be Aggressive" complete with children's choirs (COPIED BY Marilyn Manson in mOBSCENE), the thrash bursts of "Jizzlobber" full of inhuman screams only to fade in the finale with organ music leading to goosebumps for the listener.
This masterpiece closes with the unexpected cover of "Easy," a song you have all heard, the group's second successful single.
Excellent sales for an album that is not certainly easy but complete, from which groups like Incubus and Limp Bizkit (just to name a few) will draw heavily in the following years. Unfortunately, this album coincides with internal ruptures that will mark the departure of guitarist Jim Martin, and the group will suffer considerably in the following years, never finding a worthy replacement. "Faith No More showed that it wasn't just punk, glam, and metal, but you could do something different" words by Jonathan Davis.
Tracklist
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Other reviews
By Bleak
Angel Dust is a masterpiece of dramatic tension, a kind of hallucinatory comedy in which man is ruthlessly alone in the face of his destiny.
Only the group’s imagination and particularly Patton’s superb directing ability could create such an intricate and fascinating puzzle made of different mosaic pieces.
By joe strummer
Not a single track sounds stale, every listen is a rediscovery, and amazement accompanies these 14 tracks.
Angel Dust is an imposing fire-breathing machine with a noble soul.
By FabbioAW
This album would go on to sell about three million copies, surpassing, outside the States, its predecessor 'The Real Thing.'
Angel Dust is one of the most important albums of its year, one of the most influential ever, and, in general, the peak of Faith No More’s career.
