Hipsters Out Of Metal!

31 DAYS OF FAITH NO MORE: “FROM OUT OF NOWHERE”

  • Anso DF
110

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.

The climate It’s hard to believe now that MTV used to be super-important. But Patton-era FNM’s first single didn’t sound right next to Megadeth and Slaughter on Headbanger’s Ball, and the alternative video show 120 Minutes was domain of foofy acts like Depeche Mode. It’s amazing, but I’d guess that someone at Reprise recognized these facts (and FNM’s brilliance) and decided that the band must succeed without the convenient momentum of a scene. But that came later. First, the smart person(s) attempted to break FNM the old-fashioned way: with an overly-simplistic and anthemic pop song. But in FNM’s case, the jam is performed so forcefully that I suspect a hastily-hatched conspiracy to bar it from rotation. Other management and label people must’ve gathered in a parking lot, whispering heatedly that Faith No More was about to make their acts sound like pussies. “This band must be stopped!”

Awesome song elevated to supra-awesomeness by performance. All but a few FNM jamz are unmistakably Faith No More; “Nowhere” is one that another band might’ve eventually conjured independent of Billy Gould and crew. Not likely, but do-able. But I’m saying that it’s a sorta unambitious composition propelled by a serious playing, most notably that of Mike Bordin and Jim Martin. Just like other simple classics (“Hey Jude” “Jump” “Butter of ’69”), the magic’s in the playing.

Didja know? Hey sorry for hammering at the point that sometimes what matters more is the band, not the jam. I’ll shut up now and just volunteer Five Finger Death Punch to demonstrate this concept for you! Check their cover of “From Out Of Nowhere” here. It sucks ballz for life!

-ADF

METALSUCKS’ 31 DAYS OF FAITH NO MORE

8 “From Out Of Nowhere”

“Last Cup Of Sorrow” (read)

6 “The Gentle Art Of Making Enemies” (read)

“Caffeine” (read)

“Falling To Pieces” (read)

“Stripsearch” (read)

2 ”Ricochet” (read)

1 ”Land Of Sunshine” (read)


Show Comments
Metal Sucks Greatest Hits