INTRODUCE YOURSELF  (1987)

Now signed to London, Chuck and co began to stoke their fire with some early seminal works and a reprise of their debut albums title track.  Their signature sound intact and lurking behind Roddy Bottum’s carefully nuanced keyboards, this release would mark the beginning of an ongoing debate more than anything, upon the departure of Mosely and his punk-ass attitude in 1988, making way for the arrival of his erstwhile replacement Mike Patton; who vocally truly represents the FNM moniker?  It’s better left to public opinion because there were some instant punk hooks on show here that have been too long, lost beneath the legacy of Patton’s post ’88 outfit.  The spirited ‘Anne’s Song’ and the crisp, twisted harmonies of ‘Chinese Arithmetic’ and ‘Crab Song’ smother like a fog, while the instrumental dramatics of closer ‘Spirit’ are bold and majestically bohemian.  Awash with sleazy innuendos ‘Introduce…’ was a funky, rhythm driven affair that was built on the foundations of ‘We Care A lot’, adding four walls and a roof to a distinctly stylish punk rock blueprint.  A successful endeavor all in all and one that ultimately provided the glue that would keep this unpredictable and hazardous band moving in a common and chaotic direction.

 

THE REAL THING  (1989)

Shortly after Mike Patton had quit his storm-in-a-pint-glass band Mr. Bungle and replaced Mosely at the helm in FNM, he had written the lyrics to all the songs that would make up this Grammy award nominated, spikey and twisted funk-metal carpet ride, within two weeks.  Unlike Mosely, Patton was a true vocal talent, bearing a versatility that would shine on this third release, proving his ability to adapt to any of the multi-stylistic changes his band could throw at him.  So it came to light, ‘The Real Thing’ was born and its ferocious, eclectic class proved yet again that this five-piece had no problem with inhibitions.  Almost overnight it became their privilege to take risks while retaining that sense of reckless adolescence; they reached an early peak here and broke into the mainstream with total conviction, testing just how far they could mix and match their warring elements and almost goading the listener at every turn.  It worked to stunning effect; from the all conquering rap-metal stomp of ‘Epic’ to the exceptional suss of ‘From Out of Nowhere’ and ‘Falling to Pieces’, they were resolutely as much to do with Puffy’s tribal poundings and Gould’s slabs of bass-thing as they were to do Patton’s unique vocal talent.  It’s easy to forget that this was released at around the same time that the likes of Poison and Motley Crue were applying the lip gloss and thrash outifts Anthrax and Metallica were feathering their perms; it immediately opened the alt-rock flood gates through a mature and complex set of values, epitomized perfectly on the bone crunching ‘Zombie Eaters’ and ‘Surprise! You’re Dead’, through the poignancy of ‘Underwater Love’ and ‘The Morning After’.  FNM became of serious interest to all genres with this release and moreover, it still passes the test of time with flying colours. 

ANGEL DUST  (1992)

In 1991 they released a live rendition of a mixed performance at the Brixton Academy; compiled with little thought for continuity it was for die hard fans only, but after the success of ‘TRT’ you’d have forgiven FNM for being tempted into consolidation and to play it safe on this highly anticipated follow up.  Instead these malcontents went one better, cranking the character up a notch and producing a beautifully sick and twisted prog-rock monster that was just as surprising and entertaining as its predecessor.  The newly acquired following of funk metal-heads would be astonished by the realms of sonic territory explored, going beyond the definition of ‘hard rock’ and into something that was almost impossible to classify.  On first listen it crawled into your brain, searching for the nerve endings that would have you stomping around like an overly aggressive cave man.  Through multiple spins it found just the right receptors to make you sit down and bask in it’s over exuberant quality; from the fabulous and surprisingly catchy ‘Land of Sunshine’, to the flaming glory of ‘Caffeine’ and first single ‘Midlife Crisis’.  Where ‘TRT’ was rich in opportunism, ‘Angel Dust’ was as thick with bizarre textures and layers as a particularly well stocked carpet warehouse.  There was an even stronger sense of experimentalism that confounded the critics, coupled with a facility to combine the most unlikely elements into mind bogglingly original concoctions.  Through the cheerleading charm of ‘Be Aggressive’ to the twisted death metal crossover ‘Malpractice’, they were showing up the rest of the scene to be plodding dinosaurs.  From the menacing and spine-cracking riffs on ‘Jizzlobber’ to the sleaze of ‘RV’, many hail this as their masterpiece and rightly so because you mention the three words that made up their moniker to bands like Deftones or Korn and you’ll be greeted with bows and chants of ‘we’re not worthy’.

KING FOR A DAY, FOOL FOR A LIFETIME  (1995)

Following a lengthy tour in support of ‘Angel Dust’ guitarist Jim Martin was fired by fax in the summer of 1992, before work on a fifth album began.  He was temporarily replaced by Mr. Bungle axeman Trey Spruance, before he left to be replaced by keyboard roadie Dean Menta.  With ‘KFAD, FFAL’ the moods shifted once again; varying vastly in styles and moving effortlessly between heavy and slow.  Though commercially less successful than ‘Angel Dust’ it did prove that FNM still had something of genuine interest to say.  As an entire body of work, ‘KFAD…’ wasn’t as elaborate as its predecessor and while transpiring to be less heavy, it still holds plenty of gut wrenching intensity; through the rousing and pacy opener ‘Get Out’, with no fuss or flab just an inimitable Patton bellow and some fiery guitar.  The keyboards, riffs and dense backing vocals mesh magnificently during ‘Ricochet’ before stepping down a few gears for the delicate croon of ‘Evidence’; Roddy Bottums entrancing tinkerings lapping across your earlobes.  While slow sales in the US would ultimately lead to the band cancelling a world tour four months shy of its conclusion, the record label would oddly respond by re-releasing ‘KFAD…’ in the form of 7” singles and a glut of b-sides – obviously an unlikely attempt to attract new fans – they should have flexed their marketing muscle months before to make the original release the hit it so richly deserved to be.  Having seemingly reached their zenith of insanity on ‘Star AD’ and ‘Cuckoo for Caca’, they quietly retreated into their straight jackets for the gloriously sedate title track and closer ‘Just a Man’, which showed just how they had been able to stretch out following Jim Martins departure.

ALBUM OF THE YEAR  (1997)

 

With this their sixth and final studio LP, FNM allayed all concerns that their time had finally come to an end – albeit for just over a year.  Despite Bill Gould buggering off to Moscow, Patton stepping back behind Mr. Bungle’s mic, Bottum plonking away at the back of Indie rockers Imperial Teen and Bordin riding the adjustable drum stool of Ozzy Osbourne’s Crazy Train, they were back and their nostrils were flaring like a randy bull on a cold winter morning.  Yet again however, a new guitarist was on board; Jon Hudson had stepped up to the mantle to knock out some seriously apocalyptic and sulphurous riffage.  Where ‘KFAD…’ was abrasive and largely unfriendly, this tongue in cheek-ily titled album was a red faced return to the sonic power of ‘Angel Dust’.  It dredged up gigantic swathes of melody from the sort of netherworld other bands would never dream of looking into; immediately cutting to the core with an accuracy that most pretenders to their idiosyncratic crown, could ever hope to achieve.  From the slow building ‘Ashes to Ashes’ to the hulking bassline of ‘The Last Cup of Sorrow’, Ver More instantly switch personalities like an even madder Dr. Hyde.  Opener ‘Collision’ was balls-out sweet rock gusto, before an illegal blaring horn u-turn guides you into the ‘Midnight Cowboy’ days on ‘Stripsearch’.  It was actually received as the most consistently successful set they had conjured up since 1989; memorable choruses exploding out of the walls, their sense of quirk firmly intact and unabated.  Patton’s restoration as a genius frontman was key to this records appeal and it was a stepladder slam-dunk return to form.  In 1998 however rumours flared up out of nowhere that they were in fact going to call it a day.  Indeed, just as interest in their tours and this album picked up, they split; enabling each member to pursue individual projects unhindered.  So came the end of one of the most creatively energetic and influential bands of the 20th century.  Suffice to say, it’s been emotional.