Album Review: Faith No More - Sol Invictus

Time slips by.

The last time Faith No More (FNM) had an album out, early adapters were buying “personal computers” so they could try this “internet” thing out and Michael Hutchence was still alive (not that these things are connected in anyway). Eighteen years on, rock has evolved, naturally, and whilst praise was near universal during their reign, Faith No More’s legacy is now somewhat contentious, with modern hipsters digging more extreme flavours of metal and baulking at the rapping on Epic.

Expectations have generally been high though, with two muscular comeback singles; the accountability tantrum Motherfucker; a timely reminder that no one snarls – or whispers for that matter – like Mike Patton, and Superhero, which confirms Faith No More’s guillotine-sharp pop instincts remain intact. Current trends in metal are mostly ignored, but the band’s collective thirst for new territory, such as the Spaghetti-Western atmospherics of Rise Of The Fall, is consistently present. Whilst some have derided Patton’s eclectic array of projects and pined for something more radio-friendly, Faith No More’s neurotic melodrama – embellished once again by Patton’s operatics, which on Matador build from a hushed moan to a Godzilla roar – have always been more adventurous than, say, Tomahawk.

Faith No More’s jaded cynicism has only deepened over time and fits into today’s economically stagnant, rights trampling, Big Brother Is Watching You (and Reading Your Emails) climate more so than in the ‘90s. So, ironically, FNM may be more relevant today than ever.