Reviews list for Faith No More - The Real Thing (1989)

Released in 1989, ‘The Real Thing’ is the third studio album by alternative metal band Faith No More, and is notable for being the first to feature vocalist Mike Patton. With former frontman Chuck Mosley gone, it’s the addition of Patton that helped the Californian’s truly find their sound and establish themselves as a huge name in the rock and metal world. A certain hit single didn’t hurt, either.

Further pushing the boundaries of where they could take their music, Faith No More’s chemistry as a band really started to pay dividends here. Blending metal, funk, and even pop and disco elements, with a variety of singing, rapping and growling, the band really hit a creative high with their unique sound and unique singer.

Of course, the main focal point of ‘The Real Thing’ is arguably the bands most well-known song and their biggest hit, ‘Epic’. A song that still garners endless radio rotation to this day! Along with ‘Epic’, there are other great tracks, such as the energetic ‘From Out of Nowhere’, the funky ‘Falling to Pieces’, the heavy ‘Surprise! You’re Dead!’ or the title track itself. Though, I must admit I do feel halfway through the album there’s a decline in quality. While the songs are easy enough to sit through, I generally find them quite passable.

Still, overall, this album is regarded as a classic, and rightfully so. It really put Faith No More on the map as mainstream superstars for a short time, and while their brief flirtation with commercial music wouldn’t last long, this record still holds up pretty well to this day, and definitely belongs in the collection of every rock and metal fan.

Faith No More make a bit of a leap on this one. They keep their weirdo funky Alt Metal sound and knack for variety and experimentation, and slap a heavy dose of consistency on top. Before, Faith No More produced about as many good songs as total duds in their search for a sound. Here they continue changing things up, but the quality remains very good across the entire album. The keys do a fantastic job of adding some grandeur to the otherwise very generic instrumentation. The vocals are hit or miss, not really my thing, but pretty unique at the time and employ a wide variety of techniques. Overall a great improvement without straying from their roots.

his is such an original & consistently brilliant record. Every musician contributes with amazing performances & the song-writing is simply wonderful. Jim Martin bangs out some of the most epic metal riffs ever. Mike Patton leads from the front beautifully too. It's a real testament to the bands skills that they can present so much variety without ever dipping in quality. "Underwater Love" is probably the only track that I don't absolutely love but it's still a pretty catchy tune. I think "Surprise! You're Dead!" may be one of my all-time favourite tracks. I get tingles up my whole body every time. Possibly my favourite FNM album these days.