Faith's Angel Dust

In 1991 I was witness to a band that started out small and went big. Before the word hype MTV created what we now know as hype. When I saw Faith No More they were close to nobody. I mean they were heard by a few hip people by in my High School. I was introduced to them by one of those hip people. One of those hip people took me to see then at the student center at the University of Connecticut. I walked out of that show so blown away that I wanted to see them again. I was reassured that one day I will and you will reflect that they quite possibly be an inspiration for so many other to follow. Well... he was right.

A year later that same friend handed me The Real Thing and told me that the "hype" started. we saw them at a place called Toad's Place. Toad's has a lot of history with me in my musical listening and concert going. The show was great and they kicked a lot of ass. I also learned something that night, that the music I need to listen to is happening right in front of me and I need to catch it. It did not take much to be ahead of this curve. We enjoyed the show and thankfully their next show in New York was during the weekend. I called up my best friend who also was catching on to this band. He told me that he needed someone to go with and I was willing to go with him.

Once again in awe of the power of Faith No More I was happy to see them again. Told my friend when I got back to school that they were so great. He laughed and told me the he was excited that he introduced me to a "new" band and was also excited to listen to something that we already knew before it happened. The "hype" lasted for about 2 years. By the end of it I was excited to be a fan of a band that mixed Heavy Metal, Hip-Hop, Funk, and Prog Rock. By the time I graduated high school their new album was in my hand. I felt like a little kid getting a toy before Christmas. I would drive around to my friends houses blasting the music and of course my friends thought I was crazy. Angel Dust was the name of the new album and I thought it was much better then The Real Thing an I loved every minute of it. Again they toured in the area. I of course saw them again and the funny thing was my friend who introduced me to them was a groupie. He handed me a poster and told me he felt good for once loving a band people are still trying to figure out.

I think I saw them three times that tour and loved to see the progress. Mike Patton's voice was better then before and the influences that he had were showing through. His love of film music showed through. Even the talent of the whole band was tight and extraordinary. This at one point was the album that got played way too much. I was okay with that because they were that good.

When you listen to Angel Dust you can hear the bands that were influenced by them. Sadly those bands cannot hold a candle to what Faith No More can do so well. One problem with Angel Dust is the fact that this is the last album they ever did with the core group. I can only imagine what they could have achieved if they kept it together. Patton's other band Mr. Bungle is also a recommend listen. I talk about them in a previous blog. I am sure that might be have been the direction that Patton wanted to do. The twisted music is a must own in anyone's collection. It shows that bands don't have to follow the highway. They can take an exit here and there and still go where they need to go. They are a wonderful reflection on doing something that was not typical for its time. I have heard good things about the new reunion tour, just wish I could go and say I was there when it started getting popular. Enjoy! This total classic and judge for yourself.