It's been a while since my last post. Around 1987 or so, Faith No More fired Chuck Mosley for getting into fights and such with the rest of the band. And then, under suggestion of guitarist Jim Martin, they recruited Mr. Bungle's lead singer Mike Patton. Billy Gould didn't want him in the band at first, thinking that since he was young and had long hair, he'd get marketed to hell. And for a while, maybe he was right.
Some of the songs on here are just freakin' catchy.
'From Out Of Nowhere' is a great opener. It's a song about falling in love at first sight, and really shows off the direction of the album. The keyboards here are great, and it overall sounds like an '80s rock song.
'Epic' is the song everyone seems to know by them. Mike Patton rapping over a bassline, and then launching into metal. It's a really happy song, and even the video for it will probably make you laugh and see how childish they used to be(an exploding piano is in the video!). It has a pretty nice guitar solo and piano outro. And is pretty easy to sing along to.
'Falling To Pieces' has some great bass in it. Pretty easy to sing along to, as well. The problem? It does seem like it has a few more choruses than it should. It's good and all, but it really could've done without one or two.
'Surprise! You're Dead!' is great. It's the most metal song on the album, showing influence from thrash. It has Mike screaming out words rapidly, and it's just a blast to see them play it live.
'Zombie Eaters' is just epic. It's been questioned what the song is about, but I think it's about a person who is mentally a child, and has their mother die, or about loving someone and relying on someone so much like a child. Or possibly even about a neglected child who wants his mother's love but never gets it. It's just amazing and has great lyrics. "I hope you never leave, 'cause who would hear me scream? Nobody understands, except the toys in my hands."
'The Real Thing' is the title track. It's eight minutes long, and is about... no one really knows. It's rumored it's about drug abuse, or any type of abuse and trying to give it up, among other things. It's good.
'Underwater Love' comes straight after 'The Real Thing', and what's interesting is how different and happy it sounds. It almost sounds like a love song until you finally realize it's about drowning a lover. To hear them play it live is pretty good too. Nice bass.
'The Morning After' is just pretty freakin' good. Awesome bass, great hooks, and you can sing along to it. A highlight.
'Woodpecker From Mars' is instrumental. And it's got some good keyboard, bass, drums, and guitar, but it's just not something you'd really put on by itself. That's not saying it's bad, though.
'War Pigs' is a Black Sabbath cover, and to be honest, I like it better than the original. Yeah, it sounds pretty close to the original, which makes you wonder why they did it, but it shows that they can make a great tribute to an awesome heavy metal band.
'Edge Of The World' is a mainly piano-driven track about being a pedophile. But the thing is, it's not really a sick song. Nothing is ever really implied, like he raped anyone before, but it just shows how things work in this pedophile's mind, that he's not doing anything wrong, but just falling in love. "And we'll sing, and dance, and we'll find romance, and we'll stroll to the edge of the world!"
It was a good first album with Mike Patton. But one of the drawbacks was that he hadn't really found his true voice yet, rather, sticking to nasally vocals for this album, but it gives it a unique feel.
I give it a 7/10
Recommended Track(s): Epic, Zombie Eaters, The Morning After
