Faith No More's final album before their break up 15 years ago, the brilliantly titled Album of the Year, was average. It had maybe three songs on it that I enjoyed, and the rest was just filler. It lacked all of the energy and passion of previous releases, and in many ways came across as an old man's release. their break up, while sad, to me came at the right time to avoid continuing in the same direction. Their reformation and touring again was to me a money spinner. When a new album was announced, I was cautious, hopeful and pessimistic of the result. Because I knew it wasn't going to be The Real Thing, or Angel Dust, or King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime.
Thus, having gone in with little expectation, I was not disappointed with the result once I heard it. It goes without saying that I was also not inspired and captivated either. The mellow opening of "Sol Invictus" sets the tone for what I believed was going to be another easy listening type of album, granted with that Faith No More styling. "Superhero" mashes up everything the band can throw at you, with Mike Patton's vocals transforming between his screaming best to chanting the same vocal line over and over again in his normal register, all the while having the keys and drums crashing on in no particular phrasing towards the back half of the song. I am just old now, or is this just a meshing together of noise in a vague semblance of a song? "Sunny Side Up" comes back in a more typical arrangement, much like songs from the end of their first marriage. "Separation Anxiety" Is the first song on the album that I can relate to with the band, with solid drum work from Mike Bordin, Mike Patton's vocals going from quiet to scream, and the guitars and keyboards crashing in appropriately and now sounding like the Faith No More of old. By far the best song on the album.
"Cone of Shame" again does the start-slow-and-quiet-to-rise-to-loud song structure, but without the hook and real drive of the previous song. "Rise of the Fall" stays far too much on the mellow side of the centre point to grab your attention. "Black Friday" delves into both halves of the band's psyche, the light and the black. The single "Motherfucker" tries to shock more in lyrical content than in musical direction. "Matador" in the same way feels almost too structured, with the same rhythm moving throughout the song, leaving Patton to sing in a form that creates few surprises. "From the Dead" is one of those latter day Faith No More songs, complete with backing melody vocals, that is a feel-good song, harmless and showcasing the saner side of Patton's vocals and the band as a whole. In other words - wow, where did this come from?! Yes, it's from the Commodores "Easy" side of the band's facade, and while many fans will enjoy it, it behoves me to say that I'm not one of them. Anyone who has followed Patton's career, especially recently with Tomahawk, know that he hasn't become any saner when it comes to song writing, but would be still surprised by a song like this.
Trying to describe how I feel about an album like this is difficult, because while a song such as "Separation Anxiety" combines everything I love about this band, the remaining songs seem to err too much on one side of this wall or the other. They are unable to find that balance that allows their crazy side to meet their sensible side in a way that, certainly in the past, made this band what they were. The effort here is admirable, but for me at least they don't come quite close enough to pulling it off.
Rating: It's like when your mind has a mind of it's own. 3/5.
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