NME were never Faith No More’s greatest fans back on the day but they have given Sol Invictus an 8/10 review in their latest issue.
The UK music weekly only affords the album a small corner in its review section and the review itself is a little focused on the past. But they do say:
“With their first album in 18 years, the San Francisco band have managed a rare trick – Sol Invictus sounds like they’ve never been away. From the blusey title track to Motherfucker’s frenzied talk of smallpox blankets and cattle-brained conformity, the absence of original guitarist Jim Martin is soon overshadowed by just how focused this record is.”
Ok so, here’s how to write a shitty sol invictus review (my pet hates listed, feel free top add your own)
Mention any of the following:
funk rock/rap rock
Nu- metal
Mtv in the 90s
Contemporaries as (x bands)
Epic
Fish
Dismiss AOTY or KFAD
Lament Jim Martin’s loss
“It’s no angel dust”
I don’t pay attention to reviews often…so is it a common thing when reviewers discuss an album in the context of the missing member from 22 years ago who wasn’t even on the last 2 albums? How is Jim Martin a relevant talking point for the new FNM album? Is it just lazy journalists? I can see how writing about KFAD it’s worth bringing up, and it was. Aren’t we done with this yet? Shouldn’t the freaking AMAZING guitar playing on KFAD have killed this topic?
Anyway…so Mike says there’s plenty of songs to put out on a new(er) album after Sol Invictus…Roddy says ‘nah, we’ll just write new songs if that happens’. I hope things don’t get buried in a vault and we get to hear the songs sometime.