Faith No More
Live at the Brixton Academy

THE REVIEW

 It's 1991 and while the eyes and ears of the entire world are focused on grunge, Faith No More come out with their alternative approach to music: metal, rock, funk, and later even grunge shaken together with much judgment and personality.

 The album in question is the live release that the five lads from San Francisco produce following "The Real Thing." This LP brought them to the attention of both the public and critics, and in fact, almost all the tracks come from it, except for "We Care A Lot" and the last two, which are previously unreleased tracks recorded in the studio.

 FNM present themselves at the Brixton Academy in top form.

 The opening act is entrusted to the granite-like bass of Billy Gould in the highly catchy "Falling To Pieces"; everything is in its place: the sounds are very good, considering the date of the recording, and each instrument stands out in the right way without overshadowing the others. What stands out is Mr. Patton's voice: still a bit raw and at times not perfect, but absolutely a true superstar, capable of breathtaking ups and downs.

 Things proceed with the duo "The Real Thing" - "Epic": the first strikes with its enormous charge of pathos and emotion, the second captivates with its funky verses alternated with "metal" refrains (the Epic solo is one to remember!).

 Then comes the time for the Black Sabbath cover "War Pigs", already included in the studio album and here presented once again with skill and energy; simply devastating.

 Next are the very famous "From Out Of Nowhere" and "We Care A Lot", the latter in my opinion is decidedly more convincing than in the studio album, given the presence of a real singer (you guessed it, I'm not a fan of Chuck Moseley...).

 "Zombie Eaters" is simply wonderful: it starts with the magical arpeggio of Jim Martin's guitar accompanied by dreamy keyboards only to explode with Patton's animalistic scream and a devastating riffing... as Martufello used to say "di più nin sò!"

 The concert closes with "Edge Of The World": a poignant (and ironic) ballad to be enjoyed together with a good whisky in the dim light of a piano bar.

 The two studio tracks are of good quality: "The Grade" is an instrumental piece made of acoustic guitars that are very reminiscent of Led Zeppelin III while "The Cowboy Song" flows smooth and honest, but doesn't particularly stand out.

 In short, an album I highly recommend to FNM fans, but also to those who want to discover a group that has always tried to break out of the mold and the rules.