November 2020 Feature Release - The Gateway Edition

It's now November which of course means that we'll be nominating a brand new monthly feature release for each clan. This essentially means that we're asking you to rate, review & discuss our chosen features for no other reason than because we enjoy the process & banter. We're really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on our chosen releases so don't be shy.

This month's feature release for The Gateway is 1992's classic "Angel Dust" album from alternative metal giants Faith No More which is widely regarded as the band's finest work. I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on that.  

https://metal.academy/releases/272

My review is up for this one.  I unlocked so many forgotten memories of my college years listening to this today, finally helping me to understand where my previously unknown affinity for the Gateway clan came from as I realised how much alternative metal I listened to back then alongside more staple genres within metal also.  There's enough bluster about my jaunt down memory lane in my review, so in the interests of keeping it snappy in here I can only harp on about how brilliant this record is.  It is a soundtrack to the blackest of comedies that appeals from it's broad spectrum that ranges from the accessible to the obnoxious often on the same track.  FNM are a criminally underplayed band on my speakers and I need to address this soon.

4.5/5

I agree with you Vinny. "Angel Dust" is a genuinely classic release that sits comfortably within my top ten releases for not only the alternative metal subgenre but for The Gateway as a whole. I was already well & truly a convert of Faith No More by the time it was released & perhaps that's why I'll always give their previous album "The Real Thing" a slight edge but there can be no denying the incredible ability the band had for creating heavy, quirky, ambitious & totally original music that somehow managed to maintain an incredible level of accessibility for the casual listener at the same time. It's interesting that I never found Faith No More to get close to reaching this standard again, despite finding all of their subsequent albums to be generally appealing. I think it's because the main focal point for me as a fan of extreme metal was always Jim Martin. Even during their more twisted & unusual moments, Jim's riffage had an inherent thrashiness to it that I could really dig my teeth into but it was always the band's heavier material that gave me the most enjoyment (see "Jizzlobber" or "Surprise! You're Dead!" for two of my favourites). Once Jim left the band my interest started to wane a little. "Angel Dust" should be essential listening for all members of The Gateway.

4.5/5

I have made it clear in recent months that I have never cared for Primus, nor do I predict that I will ever care about Primus. They have always turned me off with their "look how quirky we are!" mentality to writing music that I just tune out. With Faith No More, you can still hear the cheese and it is on full display in the music, but I have always felt like, and with this album in particular, there has been some reality or seriousness attuned to it. And I have really enjoyed trying to pick it apart. As for the music itself, it is some of the best funk metal I have ever heard and helped lay a framework that most of us attribute to Rage Against the Machine. I really like most of the genre blending that takes place and all of it is crafted with the same amount of care; nothing sounds forced or underperformed. Very solid stuff.

9/10