4. Faith No More - The Real Thing 1989
So you've released two albums, carved yourself a niche, earned respect from your peers and are enjoying some moderate success, what next? Well how about you sack your unique, but vocally limited, very erratic singer, get in a complete unknown with a voice that can do anything and has charisma leaking out of his pores, hone your sound and become one of
thee most influential Rock bands ever, right? That is pretty much exactly what FNM did. First two albums, 'We Care a Lot' and 'Introduce Yourself' were solid examples of funk-fueled Metal, much in the same vein of early Red Hot Chili Peppers, but infinitely better. (Sorry RHCP fans, but it's true.) Producer Matt Wallace was recruited again for co-production and mixing duties and what a job him and, then guitarist, Jim Martin did. In a sonic, and musical sense, 'The Real Thing' was
so far ahead of its time. This album isn't quite as schizophrenic as the releases that succeeded it but still has many different sounds and moods across the eleven tracks. The album bursts into life with the magnificent 'From Out of Nowhere', which was also the first single. The synth riff is a face-melter and keys player, Roddy Bottum, is living proof that, when done right, there is very much a place for keyboards in Rock and Metal. 'Epic' is the monster-hit that was chosen as the second single and propelled the album sales upward with a sharp trajectory. The accompanying video clip is one of the most iconic music promo's ever made, still enjoying heavy rotation to this day. 'Epic' can
still close Rock club nights with a full dance-floor. That is pretty mind-blowing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpUKVfU3A2E Of course, this is where the band included their glorious version of Sabbath's 'War Pigs', and a better cover of the inventors of Heavy Metal, you will not find. The bat-s**t crazy, 'Surprise! You're Dead!', is a real showcase for new boy, Mike Patton, to flex his considerable vocal abilities that would just get better and more versatile over time. The first of his soft, loungey croon would be heard on the slow-burning title track and then even more so on the laid back, jazzy curtain-closer , 'Edge Of The World'. Jim Martin, Billy Gould and Mike Bordin are exceptional on guitar, bass and drums respectively, all showing their strengths and somehow making the whole thing cohesive. FNM on paper are a group of musicians that should just not work this well together, at all. As history has taught us though, it really does. This record gave the band the success and breathing space to go even more eclectic on next album, 'Angel Dust' that saw the band become mega-stars.