Faith No More have now completed the first leg of their Sol Invictus US tour and the release of that comeback album is a little over two weeks away. The band have now played nine of the 10 tracks live and we want to know your verdict based on these live performances.
Sol Invictus Live
Here’s our playlist of possibly the best version of each:
What is your favourite track from Sol Invictus?

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Thanx for the poll. I just wish it had two or three favorite choices. I went with the behemoth that Seperation but SSU and matador are close second. Cannot wait for my vinyl to come, I’m loving everything about FNM 2.0! Also, has anyone got any info on those videos ? It seems we are not getting one for superhero or motherfucker but maybe for the next single.
Cheers Ben great analysis. Will be doing a piece nearer release on the themes of the album but you have definitely hit on some new insights for me. Separation Anxiety could indeed be about the separation anxiety between mankind and the creator and the desperation to see anything as a sign. But faith (faith no more), the sun, God, religion, rebirth, death are all very strong themes.
Just like any FNM album picking between the songs is impossible, each serves a different purpose. In this case I just picked Sol Invictus b/c it sets the tone for the album, letting the listener know they are in for something different from this band. The song that may end up a favorite is Rise of the Fall (yes I’ve heard the leak) b/c it is probably the most challenging at first listen which usually ends up with later rewards…that’s the tell tale sign of a great FNM song, 2nd to that is Black Friday.
One of the greatest strengths of the album is the lyrical flow b/w songs…it’s not isolated character studies but a few themes that blend really well from song to song. Album of the Year was the funeral…..then Sol Invictus is entering the afterlife, where’s my faith, I believe in something (I think), where do I go? Superhero comes on about the creation of false gods and self-worship, and the power of the sun puts things into perspective. Sunny Side Up suggests the optimism of the sun and continues to suggest how insignificant we are. Separation Anxiety is about lost love and the lacks of “signs”. Cone of Shame is apathy and dwelling on lost love, growing overweight, drinking, and telling everyone else we are all in misery so don’t pretend that we’re not. Rise of the Fall is about the bullshit, the game that society is playing to fill this void, wars and such. Black Friday continues this with people (as an American I see this as mostly about us) trying to buy happiness, consumerism run rampant. Motherfucker continues this money-driven evil in a very personal way for the band and about growing some stones and breaking away from this. I also see it directly referencing the phone call that Billy talked about where just 2 years ago the band called their label to determine that they are in fact free from any outstanding obligations now (why I think a follow-up record really took so long), hence the accountability and “get the mfer on the phone”. Matador is the return of FNM, the ghosts were left to rise and now they are. From the Dead is the celebration and ending of the loneliness and comes back to the sun, the band is turning miseries into nursery rhymes, the sigils (FNM symbol) and the signs, and ends with a definitive “we’re back”.
The album is extraordinary, could not have hoped for a better comeback. It’s so Faith No More! It fits the sequel so well, 17 years later