For those that became Faith No More fans after Epic (off The Real Thing) became an MTV staple, Angel Dust must have been like having an anvil dropped on their heads. FNM was an ever changing band and this album brought none of the pop sensibilities or hit making machinations that The Real Thing did. Going from one album to the next was like going from coffee to crack.

Angel Dust is raw. It contains so many open wounds and at the same time contains all the salt you need to pour into them to rub that hurt in, but instead of feeling bad, it feels good. It feels like release. All that growling, all the outright bitterness and vocalized failings, all the resentment and anger, all the misgivings and anxieties, all the passiveness and aggressiveness are pouring out of that wound like so much blood and puss.

From the adrenaline of Caffeine, to the white trash drawl of RV; from the bitter “I swallow” of Be Aggressive, to the “You still won’t hear” fuck-off of A Small Victory, Angel Dust packs a ton of of emotion amidst raw, powerful and eclectic musical styles. It’s not for the musically squeamish, and it’s certainly not for people who think “that song with the fish video” is Faith No More’s best effort.

Favorite Song: A Small Victory
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Or maybe it’s just me. I played this album repeatedly during one of those horrid phases of my life, so it’s a guilt by association thing. It’s really an epic album; a lot of critics will claim it’s FNM’s weakest effort (I give that claim to The Real Thing), but that’s probably because you have to get Mike Patton in order to really appreciate this effort. You may recognize Diggin’ the Grave, but dig deep into KFoD and get to songs like Just a Man or Ricochet or The Last To Know and you get at the heart of the band and the soul of Patton; his voice is all over the place here, in a good way. Patton’s vocal chords are a music instrument unto themselves.

This album also gave me a reason to call my sister every June 21st and say Happy Birthday, Fucker.

Favorite song: Gentle Art of Making Enemies
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