Sol Invictus review
This is almost the first Sol Invictus review proper we have seen. Food and music site Rice and Bread have published a round-table discussion of the new album. The conversation is a little circuitous but there are some good observations. Here are some:
Gregg Pratt: This album was pretty much exactly what I thought it was going to sound like, but that was a bit disappointing for me, in a way. So it sounds awesome, but it’s maybe a bit too predictable, and not enough King for a Day and too much Album of the Year or something.
Kevin Wood: My theory on this album overall is “it’s a grower, not a shower,” because on first listen I wasn’t overly impressed, but as I’ve gone through it more it’s definitely growing on me. But I also think that other than pre-Angel Dust, it sounds like a collaboration of all three of those later albums, so Angel Dust, King for a Day and Album of the Year. I’m picking up that vibe. There are some hits on here for sure, but also some uninspiring songs as well.
Jason Schreurs: The more you listen to it, the better it gets. My worry was that Mike Patton, well, he’s not getting any younger and he’s done a lot of crazy, crazy stuff over the years, so I was a bit worried that his vocal performance wouldn’t be up to snuff, but his vocals on this album are probably some of the best he’s ever done.
Kevin Wood: This new album gives me a feel of almost an anthology of the records before it, even though they are new songs. There’s so much of each of their records in here, whereas the other ones were so much defined by their own sound. A couple of standout tracks for me here were “Sunny Side Up,” which is a bit silly lyrically, but it’s a really interesting sound. On every Faith No More album teird)here’s always that one song that’s just a little extra odd. And on this one, it’s that track. So that really stood out for me.
(via Faith No More Followers and Bungle Weird)
Kerrang! cover to be published
Faith No More’s 14th cover of Kerrang! will be published in the UK on 15 April. It is also available digitally here. We’ll update tomorrow on the content.
Quietus King for a Day…feature
As if you need another reason to read The Quietus but one of the best music sites around has just published an in-depth look at Faith No More’s King for a Day…Fool for a Lifetime album. Here’s a snippet: “The album we’re concerned with is a stranger, more eclectic beast, taking in the usual metal, pop and twisted funk, while consciously adding lounge, jazz, bossa nova, big band funk, soul, gospel and country and western into a deathly boiling pot. It’s certainly the most adventurous and envelope-pushing of all the Faith No More records, and while it might have been a disappointment to London Records netting a not-really-to-be-sniffed-at £1.5 million, it’s the most fun to listen to for the wealth of ideas alone. Faith No More were always at their best when they were subversive (and that includes subverting themselves) and so it proves.”
It has been like every other FNM album for me since TRT. First listen I skip a lot and a couple of tracks jump out (Superhero and From the Dead). Then second listen I tend to skip less and hear a few more songs. Then after 3-4 listens I’ll get through everything.
At first it was SH and FTD, the latter I find a great little feel-good song and something I didn’t expect. My least favourite on first couple of listens were Cone, Separation, and Matador. Now they are my favourites and each time I listen in the car I repeat each one 3-4 times before moving on. Matador is just brilliant. As stated, I didn’t like it on first listen and I also never really liked the live version much – the six minutes of it seems to fly by too.
I was really worried after hearing Matador live and MF as the first single. I know even love MF – not so much the song but really the mood it creates. Can’t really explain it.
As far as I am concerned it goes down as a close second to Angel Dust. AOTY and KFAD were great albums but I need to be in the right mood to listen to them all the way through.
This is what I love about FNM. You get taken on a journey to unexpected places. Most other bands you know the destination before you give the album a spin. Can’t believe the idiot review on the French music site that says the album, while good, is more of the same.
My only complaint is it’s not long enough.
Benrun…
I agree , it is pretty much the best album from them which is unthinkable considering AD and TRT are so awesome! I’m also happy that it sounds nothing like KFAD, there I said it! Matador is a monster and that bass line in SAnxiety is broodinly brilliant! The two singles are the two weakest tracks and I’m still trying to get Black Friday around my head!
Mel…I agree with everything you said exactly how you said it! The 2 released songs are both very good but also the least standout of the album…I also agree with the post about how beautifully this album is book ended. Sure we all want more FNM music, but at 10 songs this album is pretty damn perfect. Yes, I broke down and listened to the whole thing. Now the torture of waiting is worse except that I’ve fully confirmed that pining over new FNM for 18 years was completely worth it….if they can make something this good 18 years from now, it will be worth it again! This is already close to taking over as my favorite album.
Allright….I couldn’t help myself and listened to the album (no worries I pre-ordered the album). This stuff is amazing! I even think at this point Motherfucker and Superhero are the weakest songs on the album. And those songs are good! After 5 spins I honestly can say there is not a stinker on this album. It’s really organic and great as a whole. I think it’s better then AOTY for sure. I really like Separation Anxiety and Sunny Side Up is really addictive. That could be a great next single. Lovin’ this album. It’s really mature. It’s not all over the place. Wow….if only those guys would be making records 5 or 6 years ago. I just really hope there is more on the horizon because this is just too good. Hope they play a lot of this record live.
Holy shit this is too awesome! Won’t be listening till it’s officially out but man, there are some awe-inspiring songs on there! Some really potential hits a s well which is surprising.
Sunny Side Up
Rise of the Fall
From The Dead ….especially this, single worthy!
Love it but will wait another month like a good FNM fan should.
I wasn’t completely into Sunnyside Up on first listen but it’s been stuck in my head all day!!!!
Ha. SA my favourite on first listen and not yet into BF. Different strokes…
This album…holy fuck.
Random points re SI:
– When the heavy part kicks in during “Cone Of Shame”…. hell, I could listen to that all day.
– “Matador”, which I’ve always liked anyway, is taken to a whole new level on the album. Incredible song.
– I’m not 100% on “Sunny Side Up” or “Separation Anxiety” – the latter sounds VERY like Tomahawk, and even lifts it’s vocal lines directly from their first album. That’s fine and everything, but it’s a bit of an obvious rocker in the end. Might grow on me…
– “Rise of the Fall” is very Bungle-esque in places, but great song.
– “Black Friday” is crazy good.
I’m surprised it took so long to leak tbh. It’s a shame but with all those advanced copies out there this was bound to happen. Like JK said , They should just release it digitally. Especially with the tour starting today.
Sadly they can’t do anything to contain it now. Their best option at this point is to move up the release date on the digital album to today.
Awesome! Thanks admin. Gets better with every listen
Nothing wrong with your post Nickc – sorry if I suggested otherwise. Liked your take on it too.
Sorry admin if I gave too much out. I would never post links and it is a low quality leak. Wouldn’t do anything to hurt the site or the band! My deluxe vinyl is already paid for and pre ordered! Lol.
It seems that there are some low quality leaks around- The band are trying their best to shut these down so please don’t post any links or obvious info in here. Not that NickC did.
Weird that it leaked the exact day the tour kicks off… Im not a music writer so I apologize in advance. Ill do my best as Im listening to share my thoughts.
Rolling up a fat one and throwing it on.
Sol Invictus- Piano kicks this one off…. laid back…..deep vocals…Good start. Really lush chorus to contrast the verse..great sound. Good first track. Sets up Superhero perfectly. 8/10
Superhero.. Sounds like the vinyl version made the album , which is a great thing.. 10/10
Sunny Side Up- Starts Right up! Hello…. Sounds like it might be a grower. This one is all over the place in a really good way. Odd time signature… 7/10
Separation Anxiety-. Billy Gould Killing it on this, great base sound.. Patton growling over it on the verse.. very brooding, Patton switching to a higher register on pre -chorus which explodes into a great chorus and outro.. Loving this one.. My favorite so far.. I could tell you this, 4 songs in and this album is anything but boring….. 10/10
Cone of Shame- Pretty close to the live version unlike Superhero was tempo wise, its nice to hear Patton so clear in the first part of the song which was very muddled in those YouTube vids, 2nd part is great,, WOW, this song is really growing on me and the studio version confirms that I love it!….Great showcase for the many styles of Patton..He owns this one… 10/10
Rise of the Fall.. Starts off like something off of TRT before taking a hard left turn for the opening verse….a little Ennio Morricone in there… Sounds a little soundtrack- esque which I love.. Another great chorus… Patton almost unrecognizable on the bridge.. This one brought a smile to my face a couple of times… Another one owned by Patton.. 9/10
Black Friday- Theres that acoustic guitar.. Sounds like a grower.. doesnt immediately grab me which sometimes is a good thing, Slow growers sometimes end up as my favorites.. Hard to pin this one down in words.. Great bass line and a nice bop to it before exploding into a refrain of Patton screaming” Buy it!!”…….. 7/10
Motherfucker- Fuck Im already on this track!!! Im a fan of this song.. Its weird and atmospheric.. great production and always love the first moment Patton comes in “Hello Motherfucker!”.., Its a perfect re-introduction…. Could of opened the album. 7.5/10
Matador- A little slower than the live version we’re used to but Wow I love this song. Its perfect IMO and is my favorite at the moment. This is a special song in their catalog. First new one performed… PATTON KILLS THIS. 11/10 (sorry but 10 isnt high enough)
From the Dead- Its gonna be tough to follow Matador, Prob should of closed the album.. Starts like nothing I ever heard from FNM… Very Pop, Acoustic guitar, doo wop-ish backing vocals throughout .. Its a very happy sounding song! , Im digging it.. Its actually a great way to end the album which wasnt my thought coming out of of Matador..
I cant wait to listen again. Awesome album…
Leaked
Any song that starts I’ll be your leprechaun shouldn’t be any good but is from what I’ve heard.
That round-table discussion tells the reader nothing whatsoever! It’s full of fence-sitting, indecision and vagueness.I know they can’t say too much, but come on. I’d be willing to bet a couple of them barely even listened to the album.
Sunny side up keeps coming up as a mention in all reviews and tweets I’ve read, I think we have to get used to it as it may be the next single. Wish that the original release date of April was the release date for SI, because I just can’t wait anymore.
Bobby I agree, TRT was the easiest for me to get my head around and was my absolute favorite album before I’d even finished listening to it. It is now my least favorite (but still excellent) FNM probably for the same reason. I really love the stripped down sound of KFAD, so hopefully SI will sit well with me…so far I like MFer better than Superhero just b/c of how well all the elements sound, while Superhero sounds slushy a bit, but still a very good FNM song. I’m really loving the Battaglia remix, especially now that we can hear a good version of it.
It’s really been a long time since I’ve been so eager to listen to a new album. I really can’t wait but at the same time I’m trying not to get my hopes up too high. The album is “only” 10 songs long, a little under 40 minutes. So if there are one or two tracks that disappoint….well….you’ve got about 30 minutes left. Sol Invictus isn’t even out yet but I really hope they continue a little longer. Especially since they mentioned more songs are on the shelf. Age does matter, and I hope to see them for a long time, but I think it’s good to exploit the good vibe between them and release more stuff within one ore two years.
I get the “grows on you” comments. That’s how all of the albums except for TRT were for me. I didn’t really care for them on first listen but there was always something there that brought me back for the second, third, fourth, fifth,…listen and before I knew it I loved almost every song. I think it was different for TRT because it was very much of it’s time…sort of at the right place at the right time, which I think is why it was so successful. I loved pretty much every track from the first listen. It was a bit odd but mainstream at the same time which made it easily relatable.
Without wanting to sound like a bragging fool, I’ve (whisper it) managed to wangle a listen to SI as well…
In summary, there was one song I didn’t care for (“Sunny Side Up” and it’s lucky charms/leprechaun lyric!) while the rest is good to utterly magnificent. Some of the material is familiar in style but there are genuine surprises too (bit of mariachi!). And the acoustic guitar the band tweeted about recently? That might just have something to do with one of the new songs…
It’s also possibly FNM’s lushest album; the production actually recalls The Real Thing at times. Nothing like the stripped down vibe of KFAD of AOTY.
Good to have you back, boys!