I've always held Faith No More responsible for the merging of Rap and Rock with their song Epic. Some might take me to task for such an assertion, maybe it was the Chili Peppers or the Beastie Boys, but when I think of early Rap-Rock I think of Faith No More. If it's true, then shouldn't FNM be held accountable for their actions? I mean shouldn't they be utterly shunned for birthing the Limp Bizkits, POD's, and Linkin Parks of the rock world? I've always thought so, boldly shaking my head and fist at FNM and shouted "Shame on You!"
Recently though a couple of friends and co-workers have come to the bands defense. All of them saying, "Epic does not represent the whole of FNM's body of work" and "Mike Patton is an amazing singer." At their bequest, I decided to take another listen.
My first inital thought is that Epic really has really stood up against the test of time in the Rap-Rock genre (though, I don't know that is saying too much). For a Rap-Rock song it is still relevant and could still be played on the radio. The rest of the album is actually pretty good. I mean they're probably never going to be one of my favorite bands, but still, I must give credit where it's due. Patton is a decent singer, though a little nasaly and whinny he manages to make it work for him. The rest of the band put together some good riffs and beats to make for a hard hitting album from start to finish.
As far as the album is concerned, I already said Epic is still radio friendly. The band did a good rendition of Black Sabbath's War Pigs, and the The Real Thing is a good rock song. Underwater Love is catchy rock with a funk, slap-bass undertone. But avoid the silliness of Surprise! You're Dead and the other semi-rap / rock song Zombie Eaters.
Overall Rating:
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