The Real Thing

"Faith No More" was the name of the band, and they literally came from out of nowhere, just like the title of the lead off track on their new album "The Real Thing" suggested.

The first track I ever heard by the band was "Epic" as it had a video that was getting heavy rotation on MuchMusic. The sound was quite different, like a mixture of rap, funk, and metal. The video itself was very eye catching, and it contained a lot of very cool visuals. I was instantly hooked the first time I saw it. The singer also had an undercut similar to mine, but his was much longer and he had lines shaved in the side of his head. I picked the album up (or cd rather) as soon as I could, then retreated to my beat lab to partake in my usual listening rituals.

This album was completely different and unique to anything I had heard in along time. There were funky jams like Epic, but you also had straight forward in your face heaviness. There were melodic songs, mind boggling instrumentals, and even songs that could be considered ballads. The band even did their own rendition of "War Pigs" by Black Sabbath. 

The thing that was really cool about FNM, was that every song was a musical journey in itself, with various ups and downs/peaks and valleys, and you never knew what was around the corner in every track you listened to. I found their music made me very emotional, and my emotions changed as the music changed, which filled my skin with goosebumps the majority of the time. I also found that their songs filled my mind with visuals. Every time I listened to them it was like my own personal music videos were playing in my brain.

Chilli Peppers were cool, but in my mind FNM brought a bit more musical range to the table. As I did my research on the band I was surprised to learn that this wasn't their first album, but actually their third studio album. Their previous singer Chuck Mosley had been booted out of the band, and a new, young, vibrant vocalist by the name of Mike Patton had filled his void. Bands like FNM and the Chillis were breaking me out of my hardcore shell, where I typically preferred vocalists who screamed, growled, and grunted, I was starting to re-appreciate actual melodic singing similar to the rock and metal I grew up on initially.

Mike seemed like a goofy, loveable guy with a damn good voice. Right from the get go I was inspired by him, more so by his appearance. I slowly started transforming from generic hardcore kid to having a bit more flare in my style ala Patton. What I didn't know was that as the years progressed, it would be his vocal abilities that would truly inspired me and shape me as a vocalist, not his image...