August is out of days on which to discuss Faith No More, but hey look we just can’t stop. Check us all into a clinic for FNM madness has overtaken us all. This August, as our Anso DF devoted 31 days of precious summer to documenting one FNM super-fan’s experience, the rest of MetalSucks’ staff and cherished friends stood aside, eyes closed, shaking their heads, and muttering: How could he disclude all Chuck jamz? Where is “Midlife Crisis,” a supremely newsworthy song? What, is he kidding with this Ansometrics?

Well, if we’ve learned absolutely, positively nothing else from 31 Days Of Faith No More featuring Anso DF, at least it’s now out in the open that we know a lot FNM super-fans. So we invited our pals — be they writer, editor, writer/editor, editor-writer, awesome band dude, “label fuck-o”, or person not named Anso DF — to write about a FNM jam’s importance and excellence and personal relevance. It’s everybody else’s turn now, commenters too! (Can some mellow dude write about “We Care A Lot” cuz none of us did! Jesus!) And now we call Faith No More back to the stage for freaking day 32 of 31 Days Of Faith No More featuring Anso DF.

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Spurred by a lazy crossword clue in The Onion (36 down, four letters: “Faith No More’s only hit”), MetalSucks contributor Anso DF dedicated every single day in August to celebration and exploration of the San Francisco alt-metal greats. Here we proved that history’s greatest band landed more than one commercial hit (crossword answer: “Epic” natch), we revelled in FNM’s embarrassing wealth of winning album tracks (themselves often fit for chart topping), and we dipped into the staggering best of the b-sides (ditto). Along the way, we surveyed the context of FNM’s big break (amid similarly seminal acts Jane’s Addiction, Nine Inch Nails, and Ween) to the post-Nevermind, panic-based music commerce in which the brilliantly versatile, fearless powerhouse band operated until their 1998 demise. It’s a dirty job, but someone’s gotta do it. So we did it. Thanks for reading!

Song ”Midnight Cowboy”

Written by John Barry (M).

Released 1992

Appears on Angel Dust album

Produced by Matt Wallace

Guitars by Jim Martin

Key lyric ””Weee-deee-dooo-doooo/Wahhh-dehhh-deyyy-deyyyy”

Single? No.

Click to read more…

Spurred by a lazy crossword clue in The Onion (36 down, four letters: “Faith No More’s only hit”), MetalSucks contributor Anso DF dedicates every single day in August to celebration and exploration of the San Francisco alt-metal greats. Here we prove that history’s greatest band landed more than one commercial hit (crossword answer: “Epic” natch), we revel in FNM’s embarrassing wealth of winning album tracks (themselves often fit for chart topping), and we dip into the staggering best of the b-sides (ditto). Along the way, we survey the context of FNM’s big break (amid similarly seminal acts Jane’s Addiction, Nine Inch Nails, and Ween) to the post-Nevermind, panic-based recording industry in which the brilliantly versatile, fearless powerhouse band operated until their 1998 demise. It’s a dirty job, but someone’s gotta do it.

Song “Epic”

Written by Patton (L); Gould, Martin, Bottum, Bordin (M)

Released 1989

Appears on The Real Thing album

Produced by Matt Wallace

Guitars by Jim Martin

Key lyric ”It’s in your face but you can’t grab it.”

Single? FUCKIN A!

Click to read more…

Spurred by a lazy crossword clue in The Onion (36 down, four letters: “Faith No More’s only hit”), MetalSucks contributor Anso DF dedicates every single day in August to celebration and exploration of the San Francisco alt-metal greats. Here we prove that history’s greatest band landed more than one commercial hit (crossword answer: “Epic” natch), we revel in FNM’s embarrassing wealth of winning album tracks (themselves often fit for chart topping), and we dip into the staggering best of the b-sides (ditto). Along the way, we survey the context of FNM’s big break (amid similarly seminal acts Jane’s Addiction, Nine Inch Nails, and Ween) to the post-Nevermind, panic-based music commerce in which the brilliantly versatile, fearless powerhouse band operated until their 1998 demise. It’s a dirty job, but someone’s gotta do it.

Song ”Everything’s Ruined”

Written by Patton, Gould (L); Gould, Bottum, Patton (M).

Released 1992

Appears on Angel Dust album

Produced by Matt Wallace

Guitars by Jim Martin

Key lyric ”And he made us proud/He made us rich/And how were we to know/He’s counterfeit.”

Single? Yes. Swish!!

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Spurred by a lazy crossword clue in The Onion (36 down, four letters: “Faith No More’s only hit”), MetalSucks contributor Anso DF dedicates every single day in August to celebration and exploration of the San Francisco alt-metal greats. Here we prove that history’s greatest band landed more than one commercial hit (crossword answer: “Epic” natch), we revel in FNM’s embarrassing wealth of winning album tracks (themselves often fit for chart topping), and we dip into the staggering best of the b-sides (ditto). Along the way, we survey the context of FNM’s big break (amid similarly seminal acts Jane’s Addiction, Nine Inch Nails, and Ween) to the post-Nevermind, panic-based recording industry in which the brilliantly versatile, fearless powerhouse band operated until their 1998 demise. It’s a dirty job, but someone’s gotta do it.

Song “Underwater Love”

Written by Patton (L); Gould, Bottum (M)

Released 1989

Appears on The Real Thing album

Produced by Matt Wallace

Guitars by Jim Martin

Key lyric ”It’s wonderful how the surface ripples/But you’re perfect, and I cannot breathe.”

Single? No.

Click to read more…

Spurred by a lazy crossword clue in The Onion (36 down, four letters: “Faith No More’s only hit”), MetalSucks contributor Anso DF dedicates every single day in August to celebration and exploration of the San Francisco alt-metal greats. Here we prove that history’s greatest band landed more than one commercial hit (crossword answer: “Epic” natch), we revel in FNM’s embarrassing wealth of winning album tracks (themselves often fit for chart topping), and we dip into the staggering best of the b-sides (ditto). Along the way, we survey the context of FNM’s big break (amid similarly seminal acts Jane’s Addiction, Nine Inch Nails, and Ween) to the post-Nevermind, panic-based music commerce in which the brilliantly versatile, fearless powerhouse band operated until their 1998 demise. It’s a dirty job, but someone’s gotta do it.

Song ”Crack Hitler”

Written by Patton (L); Gould, Bottum, Bordin (M).

Released 1992

Appears on Angel Dust album

Produced by Matt Wallace

Guitars by Jim Martin

Key lyric ”In regards to/My usage of the drug … /It modified my personality/To the extent that I was/Highly irritable/I was like a crack Hitler.”

Single? No.

Click to read more…

Spurred by a lazy crossword clue in The Onion (36 down, four letters: “Faith No More’s only hit”), MetalSucks contributor Anso DF dedicates every single day in August to celebration and exploration of the San Francisco alt-metal greats. Here we prove that history’s greatest band landed more than one commercial hit (crossword answer: “Epic” natch), we revel in FNM’s embarrassing wealth of winning album tracks (themselves often fit for chart topping), and we dip into the staggering best of the b-sides (ditto). Along the way, we survey the context of FNM’s big break (amid similarly seminal acts Jane’s Addiction, Nine Inch Nails, and Ween) to the post-Nevermind, panic-based music commerce in which the brilliantly versatile, fearless powerhouse band operated until their 1998 demise. It’s a dirty job, but someone’s gotta do it.

Song ”The Perfect Crime”

Written by Patton (L); Gould, Bottum, Bordin, Martin, Patton (M).

Released 1991

Appears on Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey soundtrack

Produced by Matt Wallace

Guitars by Jim Martin

Key lyric ”Look in the mirror/It seems you’re shrinking, miniature/And soon enough you’re gone.”

Single? No.

Click to read more…

Spurred by a lazy crossword clue in The Onion (36 down, four letters: “Faith No More’s only hit”), MetalSucks contributor Anso DF dedicates every single day in August to celebration and exploration of the San Francisco alt-metal greats. Here we prove that history’s greatest band landed more than one commercial hit (crossword answer: “Epic” natch), we revel in FNM’s embarrassing wealth of winning album tracks (themselves often fit for chart topping), and we dip into the staggering best of the b-sides (ditto). Along the way, we survey the context of FNM’s big break (amid similarly seminal acts Jane’s Addiction, Nine Inch Nails, and Ween) to the post-Nevermind, panic-based music commerce in which the brilliantly versatile, fearless powerhouse band operated until their 1998 demise. It’s a dirty job, but someone’s gotta do it.

Song ”A Small Victory”

Written by Patton (L); Gould, Bottum, Bordin, Patton (M).

Released 1992

Appears on Angel Dust album

Produced by Matt Wallace

Guitars by Jim Martin

Key lyric ”A cracking portrait/The fondling of trophies/The null of losing/Can you afford that luxury?”

Single? Yes. Best single ever!

Click to read more…

Spurred by a lazy crossword clue in The Onion (36 down, four letters: “Faith No More’s only hit”), MetalSucks contributor Anso DF dedicates every single day in August to celebration and exploration of the San Francisco alt-metal greats. Here we prove that history’s greatest band landed more than one commercial hit (crossword answer: “Epic” natch), we revel in FNM’s embarrassing wealth of winning album tracks (themselves often fit for chart topping), and we dip into the staggering best of the b-sides (ditto). Along the way, we survey the context of FNM’s big break (amid similarly seminal acts Jane’s Addiction, Nine Inch Nails, and Ween) to the post-Nevermind, panic-based music commerce in which the brilliantly versatile, fearless powerhouse band operated until their 1998 demise. It’s a dirty job, but someone’s gotta do it.

Song ”The World Is Yours”

Written by Patton (L); Faith No More (M). Again, detail-knowers please internet me @AnsoDF? Cheerz!

Released 1998

Appears on the Who Cares A Lot? bonus disc and the recent UK collection.

Produced by Matt Wallace

Guitars by Jim Martin

Key lyric ”Faces on top of more faces/This bullet in your chest/The world is yours.”

Single? No. Outtake from Angel Dust sessions.

Click to read more…

Spurred by a lazy crossword clue in The Onion (36 down, four letters: “Faith No More’s only hit”), MetalSucks contributor Anso DF dedicates every single day in August to celebration and exploration of the San Francisco alt-metal greats. Here we prove that history’s greatest band landed more than one commercial hit (crossword answer: “Epic” natch), we revel in FNM’s embarrassing wealth of winning album tracks (themselves often fit for chart topping), and we dip into the staggering best of the b-sides (ditto). Along the way, we survey the context of FNM’s big break (amid similarly seminal acts Jane’s Addiction, Nine Inch Nails, and Ween) to the post-Nevermind, panic-based recording industry in which the brilliantly versatile, fearless powerhouse band operated until their 1998 demise. It’s a dirty job, but someone’s gotta do it.

Song “The Real Thing”

Written by Patton (L); Gould, Bottum (M)

Released 1989

Appears on The Real Thing album duh

Produced by Matt Wallace

Guitars by Jim Martin

Key lyric ”It’s right there all by itself/And what you are, there is nothing else.”

Single? No.

Click to read more…

Spurred by a lazy crossword clue in The Onion (36 down, four letters: “Faith No More’s only hit”), MetalSucks contributor Anso DF dedicates every single day in August to celebration and exploration of the San Francisco alt-metal greats. Here we prove that history’s greatest band landed more than one commercial hit (crossword answer: “Epic” natch), we revel in FNM’s embarrassing wealth of winning album tracks (themselves often fit for chart topping), and we dip into the staggering best of the b-sides (ditto). Along the way, we survey the context of FNM’s big break (amid similarly seminal acts Jane’s Addiction, Nine Inch Nails, and Ween) to the post-Nevermind, panic-based music commerce in which the brilliantly versatile, fearless powerhouse band operated until their 1998 demise. It’s a dirty job, but someone’s gotta do it.

Song ”The Cowboy Song”

Written by um likely Patton (L); my guess is Gould, Martin (M). If you know, internet me @AnsoDF okay? Thanks!

Released 1989, 1991

Appears on ”From Out Of Nowhere” 12″ single (UK), Live At Brixton Academy CD (UK)

Produced by Matt Wallace

Guitars by Jim Martin

Key lyric ”The next thing you know/There you are standing on the edge.”

Single? B-side from “Nowhere” single in UK, add-on to live album Live At Brixton Academy.

Click to read more…

Spurred by a lazy crossword clue in The Onion (36 down, four letters: “Faith No More’s only hit”), MetalSucks contributor Anso DF dedicates every single day in August to celebration and exploration of the San Francisco alt-metal greats. Here we prove that history’s greatest band landed more than one commercial hit (crossword answer: “Epic” natch), we revel in FNM’s embarrassing wealth of winning album tracks (themselves often fit for chart topping), and we dip into the staggering best of the b-sides (ditto). Along the way, we survey the context of FNM’s big break (amid similarly seminal acts Jane’s Addiction, Nine Inch Nails, and Ween) to the post-Nevermind, panic-based music commerce in which the brilliantly versatile, fearless powerhouse band operated until their 1998 demise. It’s a dirty job, but someone’s gotta do it.

Song ”Smaller And Smaller”

Written by Patton (L); Gould, Bordin, Bottum, Wallace (M)

Released 1992

Appears on Angel Dust album

Produced by Matt Wallace

Guitars by Jim Martin

Key lyric ”Someday the rains will come/My blistered hands tell me/Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow.”

Single? No.

Click to read more…

Spurred by a lazy crossword clue in The Onion (36 down, four letters: “Faith No More’s only hit”), MetalSucks contributor Anso DF dedicates every single day in August to celebration and exploration of the San Francisco alt-metal greats. Here we prove that history’s greatest band landed more than one commercial hit (crossword answer: “Epic” natch), we revel in FNM’s embarrassing wealth of winning album tracks (themselves often fit for chart topping), and we dip into the staggering best of the b-sides (ditto). Along the way, we survey the context of FNM’s big break (amid similarly seminal acts Jane’s Addiction, Nine Inch Nails, and Ween) to the post-Nevermind, panic-based recording industry in which the brilliantly versatile, fearless powerhouse band operated until their 1998 demise. It’s a dirty job, but someone’s gotta do it.

Song “From Out Of Nowhere”

Written by Patton (L); Gould, Bottum (M)

Released 1989

Appears on The Real Thing album

Produced by Matt Wallace

Guitars by Jim Martin

Key lyric ”Don’t know if I’ll laugh or cry.”

Single? Yes, The Real Thing’s first. And so life began.

Click to read more…

Spurred by a lazy crossword clue in The Onion (36 down, four letters: “Faith No More’s only hit”), MetalSucks contributor Anso DF dedicates every single day in August to celebration and exploration of the San Francisco alt-metal greats. Here we prove that history’s greatest band landed more than one commercial hit (crossword answer: “Epic” natch), we revel in FNM’s embarrassing wealth of winning album tracks (themselves often fit for chart topping), and we dip into the staggering best of the b-sides (ditto). Along the way, we survey the context of FNM’s big break (amid similarly seminal acts Jane’s Addiction, Nine Inch Nails, and Ween) to post-Nevermind, panic-based music commerce in which the brilliantly versatile, fearless powerhouse band operated until their 1998 demise. It’s a dirty job, but someone’s gotta do it.

Song ”Caffeine”

Written by Patton (L); Gould, Patton (M)

Released 1992

Appears on Angel Dust album

Produced by Matt Wallace

Guitars by Jim Martin

Key lyric ”The world expects the pose/It’s perfectly natural/Loosen up”

Single? No.

The climate In 1989, The Real Thing‘s title track hinted at Faith No More’s capability for foreboding, violent songcraft; three years later on Angel Dust‘s second song, “Caffeine,” that hatched into full-bore bloodlust.

Awesome song elevated to supra-awesomeness by cinematic storytelling, found in large supply on Angel Dust. I don’t know what “Caffeine” is about (the aftermath of a murder?), but I know it would fit snugly over the end credits for Le Samurai (“Make contact/Up to my neck/I confess in quicksand”), Irreversible (“Do you have something to tell me?”), and Bad Lieutenant (“I’m warning you/I’m warning you/I’m fucking you/I’m warning you”).

Didja know? The lyrics to “Caffeine” are the product of a Mike Patton sleep deprivation experiment. Also, keyboardist Roddy Bottum stated at the time that Patton used no drugs except for caffeine. Wait really?

–ADF

METALSUCKS’ 31 DAYS OF FAITH NO MORE

5 “Caffeine”

4 “Falling To Pieces” (read)

3 “Stripsearch” (read)

2 ”Ricochet” (read)

1 ”Land Of Sunshine” (read)

Spurred by an lazy crossword clue in The Onion (36 down, four letters: “Faith No More’s only hit”), MetalSucks contributor Anso DF dedicates every single day in August to celebration and exploration of the San Francisco alt-metal greats. Here we prove that history’s greatest band landed more than one commercial hit (crossword answer: “Epic” natch), we revel in FNM’s embarrassing wealth of winning album tracks (themselves often fit for chart topping), and we dip into the staggering best of the b-sides (ditto). Along the way, we survey the context of FNM’s big break (amid similarly seminal acts Jane’s Addiction, Nine Inch Nails, and Ween) to post-Nevermind, panic-based music commerce in which the brilliantly versatile, fearless powerhouse band operated until their 1998 demise. It’s a dirty job, but someone’s gotta do it.

Song “Falling To Pieces”

Written by Patton (L); Gould, Bottum, Martin (M)

Released 1989

Appears on The Real Thing album

Produced by Matt Wallace

Guitars by Jim Martin

Key lyric “Because the plot thickens everyday/And the pieces of my puzzle keep crumblin’ away/But I know there’s a picture beneath”

Single? Yes, The Real Thing’s third and final (preceded by “From Out Of Nowhere” and “Epic”)

The climate Faith No More landed a top-10 single with “Epic,” and followed with another brightly melodic, bouncy, rappy jam. It was around this time that unofficial accusations of imitation began to emit from the Red Hot Chili Peppers camp. Lulz.

Awesome song elevated to supra-awesomeness by Mike Patton, boredom-buster: Over three closing choruses (at 3:31) — industry standard for a single — he tweaks the by-then familiar refrain and then just face-rapes it via awesome ad-libs. That final “whoa-ooh-whoa-oooh-whoa-oh-ohhhhhhh-hohhhh-ooh” sent RHCP singer Anthony Kiedis under a bridge to draw some blood.

Didja know? Stupid jerks Faith No More retired “Falling” from live sets by 1993. Okay fine, it must be annoying for bassist Billy Gould to do that one-finger intro riff a billion times but cmonnn. Play the jam.

-ADF

METALSUCKS’ 31 DAYS OF FAITH NO MORE

4 “Falling To Pieces”

3 “Stripsearch” (read)

2 ”Ricochet” (read)

1 ”Land Of Sunshine” (read)

Spurred by a lazy crossword clue in The Onion (36 down, four letters: “Faith No More’s only hit”), MetalSucks contributor Anso DF dedicates every single day in August to celebration and exploration of the San Francisco alt-metal greats. Here we prove that history’s greatest band landed more than one commercial hit (crossword answer: “Epic” natch), we revel in FNM’s embarrassing wealth of winning album tracks (themselves often fit for chart topping), and we dip into the staggering best of the b-sides (ditto). Along the way, we survey the context of FNM’s big break (amid comparably rad acts Jane’s Addiction, Nine Inch Nails, and Ween) to post-Nevermind panic-based music commerce in which the brilliantly versatile, fearless powerhouse band operated until their 1998 demise. It’s a dirty job, but someone’s gotta do it.

Song ”Land Of Sunshine”

Written by Patton (L); Gould, Bottum (M)

Released 1992

Appears on Angel Dust album

Produced by Matt Wallace

Guitars by Jim Martin

Key lyric ”Do you feel sometimes that age is against you?”

Single? Yes, promo only (preceded by “Midlife Crisis” and followed by “A Small Victory”)

The climate As the opening track of Angel Dust, “Land Of Sunshine” welcomed listeners back to a now bleaker land of Faith No More, in which singer Mike Patton — fresh off recording and touring with Mr. Bungle — began to contribute more than just lyrics.

Awesome song elevated to supra-awesomeness by keyboardist Roddy Bottum’s vertiginous, carnivalesque arpeggios throughout the chorus, which underline the song’s — and the band’s — recurring thread that life is seasickness.

Didja know? According to Wikipedia, “Land”‘s lyrics were inspired by fortune cookies and a Church of Scientology questionnaire. Oh so that’s why Tom Cruise bumps this jam.

–ADF

I would accept an argument that Faith No More are the greatest band of all time. And if I wasn’t lucky enough to see them on their reunion tour (twice!), and then I read that the band had “announced the final date” of said reunion tour, I would probably cry. Like, a lot. It really seems kind of unbelievable that they didn’t end up doing a proper full U.S. tour, doesn’t it? As it stands, there are who even knows how many Faith No More fans who didn’t get to experience that magic that is FNM live in the 21st century.

But if you’re one of the poor bastards who didn’t get to see this most recent trek, fret not! Whereas some bands, like At the Gates, really do just reunite for one last hurrah, bassist Billy Gould has now said in an interview with Consequence of Sound that he believes Faith No More will ride again:

Click to read more…

This past August, former Faith No More vocalist Chuck Mosley claimed that the band had invited him to participate in at least one of their European reunion shows, but that he couldn’t partake because “my passport expired and I couldn’t get it in time.” This was part of the same interview in which that he asserted that that firing Jim Martin “was as big if not bigger a mistake than getting rid of me” because without Martin (who Mosley said was “the personality” of the band), “That Jagger/Richards, Plant/Page thing was gone.” My point being that once you’ve argued that the Great Pumpkin is really real, you lose all credibility, and I was never really sure that Mosley had been invited to participate in any FNM reunion.

Well, a bag of crow I doth eateth, ’cause Mosley hopped on-stage with the band last night in San Francisco for a rendition of the group’s classic song “We Care a Lot.” [And some others, as it turns out. -Ed.] Unfortunately, his voice sounded like shit, he managed to muster all the excitement of Gene Hoglan being told he has to eat a salad, the song was not done as a duet with Mike Patton [Although "Introduce Yourself" was. - Ed.], and poor Chucky had to stoop to sharing the stage with Jon Hudson, Martin’s replacement that less than a year ago Mosley claimed he couldn’t even name.

The FNM dudes are mensches for having Mosley on-stage, but when they come to NYC this summer, I seriously hope they leave Mosley in SF. ‘Cause as much as I like this song, I always thought it sounded better with Mike Patton. The way pretty much everything sounds better with Mike Patton.

-AR

[via Rib]

Well, I don’t know that the original Faith No More vocalist is back on smack, but I can’t think of any other way to explain this statement from a recent Rolling Stone interview:

“I thought [firing guitarist Jim Martin] was as big if not bigger a mistake than getting rid of me — just because he had a lot of pull with the big part of their crowd at the time. And he was ‘the personality,’ y’know? There was something people could identify to. After Jim, they were going through a string of different guitar players, and I couldn’t name one of them. That Jagger/Richards, Plant/Page thing was gone.”

Alright, I love Jim Martin as much as the next guy, but come on, dude. Let’s look at some facts:

Click to read more…

You would have to be on dope to like Slaves on Dope. I mean, the band has a song called “No More Faith,” for fuck’s sake. NO MORE FUCKING FAITH. Jim Martin should bend them over and grow pumpkins out of their ass for that shit.

Anyways, this band is reuniting. I never knew they broke-up, to be honest; I just thought they were sucked into the same black hole of once-popular shit bands that a lot their peers did (see: Primer whatever the fuck they were called, E-Town Concrete, etc.). But in case you’re not familiar with their particular brand of awfulness, here they are, looking like Crazy Town and sounding like diarrhea.

-AR