Turn That Noise Down - Faith No More

So many well-known albums turn 30 this year and Steve Taylor-Bryant and Susan Omand travel back to 1992 to revisit some of the sounds of their youth that made parents shout "Turn that noise down!" This week, Steve sniffs out some Angel Dust...

I’m not sure I can adequately explain the appeal of Angel Dust (the album that is, drugs sell themselves) and I’m not sure I truly know it myself but, since 1992, Faith No More’s Angel Dust is my favourite non-Billy-Joel album to listen to. It’s not the greatest album ever, it’s probably not even 1992’s greatest album (see my Alice In Chains love fest from earlier) but there is something hypnotic and pleasurable about Angel Dust. It’s like an okay orchestra got a world class musical director and stepped up from gymnasium proms to symphony halls in exotic places.

It’s a more distinct album than previously recorded by the band and it drips with Mr. Bungle himself, Mike Patton’s, brand of insanity and statement weirdness. But just calling Angel Dust weird, or all Patton’s doing, does the rest of the band a huge injustice. It’s really tight musically, it’s experimental yet refined, melodic and yet ear bursting in equal measure with some absolute stonkers in its run list. A Small Victory, Caffeine, and Be Aggressive are still stand out timeless tunes and even things like Jizzlobber and Crack Hitler have there moments. For me though nothing reminds me how good an in form Faith No More can be than Midlife Crisis.

*starts singing…*

Sense of security
Like pockets jingling
Midlife crisis
Suck ingenuity
Down through the family tree

Image - Amazon