YOU know you're getting old when all your favourite bands have not only broken up but have already started doing reunion tours.
For late '80s-early '90s rockers, there's plenty of alt-rock revivalism to look forward to in the coming weeks - Jane's Addiction, Pixies, Pavement, Dinosaur Jr, and The Cruel Sea.
And there's also Faith No More, whose highly influential blend of rap, funky bass, metal guitars, and '80s synths was not only unique but helped push alternative music into the mainstream.
Here's a quick recap of their short but distinguished career.
We Care A Lot (1985)/Introduce Yourself (1987)
THE formula for their sound was already present on their first two records, which featured the wavering hit-and-miss vocals of the enigmatic Chuck Mosley (who had replaced Courtney Love as singer). The first record was mostly self-funded but drew some label interest due to it's unique sound, which in places is like a more aggressive Joy Division (notably on Arabian Disco). The title track would reappear on their second album, which started getting them noticed, along with other early favourites Introduce Yourself, Chinese Arithmetic and Anne's Song.
The Real Thing (1989)
WITH Mosley out due to "creative differences", the band headed back into the studio to capitalise on their rising popularity, despite not having a singer. They eventually hired Mike Patton, but only on the condition that Patton's high school band Mr Bungle also got a record label. Patton recorded his parts, the album came out, and slowly it caught people's attention. Opener From Out Of Nowhere, with it's punk gallop, Patton's still-developing voice and fake-symphony synths, cracked the top 30 in the UK, but it was Epic that really kicked the doors down. Blending rap, metal, funk, and classical influences (as the rest of the album does), it was unlike anything on mainstream radio but was a surprise hit, topping charts around the world. On the back of it and subsequent single Falling To Pieces, The Real Thing sold more than four million copies worldwide and inadvertantly helped create rap-rock, funk-metal and nu-metal in the process.
Angel Dust (1992)
FOR the first time, Patton got a serious say in the music of FNM and it shows in the diversity, as well as bringing a vast array of vocal stylings he found since The Real Thing (perhaps influenced by having recorded Mr Bungle's first album in the meantime). With Patton's singing bursting with new-found confidence, FNM were emboldened to try anything that to their fancy - at Angel Dust's extremities there is dark, thrashy metal (Malpractice, Jizzlobber), a country waltz (RV), and cool renderings of unlikely covers (the theme from Midnight Cowboy, their hit version of Easy). In between, the highlights (Midlife Crisis, Smaller And Smaller, Be Aggressive, A Small Victory, Everything's Ruined) run the gamut of mind-boggling moments, merging Roddy Bottum's signature synth sounds with driving riffs, Patton's remarkable abilities and odd samples to make what many critics called one of the best albums of 1992.
King For A Day... Fool For A Lifetime (1995)
THE experimenting continued as guitarist Jim Martin left, replaced by Patton's Mr Bungle bandmate Trey Spruance, but somehow the album feels more refined. The soul-funk of Evidence was new ground for the band as it was their slickest recording to date and featured some delicately impressive guitarwork from Spruance, while Star A.D. was part-Vegas-and-horns and part demented Bungle-funk. Punk-metal poundings abounded on Get Out, Ricochet, The Gentle Art Of Making Enemies and awesome rocking single Digging The Grave, and there was room for some thrash and grind (Cuckoo For Caca, Ugly In The Morning). But the real surprises were at the mellow end of the scale - Evidence (which charted well), the country-tinged Take This Bottle, and the epic gospel-ish closer Just A Man, where Patton's powerful range is on display to devastating effect.
Album Of The Year (1997)
THE ironic title (apparently FNM weren't that happy with the results) not only showcases the sense of humour that ran through their output, but it's also a great mark of band going out on a high. Stripsearch features both the light and shade of their past work, and demonstrates a willingness to go to new places, even in the end, with its filtered beats and added blips. Filled with some of their strongest songs and boldest production, Album Of The Year pushes and prods at every turn. Collision and Naked In Front Of The Computer are rough and heavy, Last Cup of Sorrow and Helpless are soaring, and the Arab-rock of Mouth To Mouth and the loungey She Loves Me Not are daring. But perhaps the pinnacle is Ashes To Ashes, a mini-rock anthem that's as good as anything they've ever done.
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