Editorials
Why It’s Important That Faith No More Is Releasing A New Album
On May 19th, the ever eccentric and wildly unpredictable rock band Faith No More will return with Sol Invictus, their first new studio album in 18 years. This announcement shocked and delighted the music community, surging a renewed interest in a band that once dominated headlines and commanded attention.
With this new album coming out, I wanted to look back at this band and recognize the important role they played for many listeners. This wasn’t just another band to enjoy for a while and then put to the side. No, Faith No More was something that always offered more and they should be recognized as such.
In order to demonstrate the importance of the band’s return with Sol Invictus, I’m going to focus specifically on their 1992 album Angel Dust. I’m doing this for a few reasons:
- It’s the first album where vocalist Mike Patton had a significant impact on the writing of the material. That’s why there’s a rather noticeable difference between the sound of The Real Thing and Angel Dust.
- It’s the last album that had guitarist Jim Martin, so there was still that sound that brought them acclaim and popularity.
- Because it’s a great fucking album.
Now, before I dive into the amazing qualities of Angel Dust, you’ve got to remember that The Real Thing was incredibly popular, reaching Platinum status in the US and selling over 4 million copies worldwide. This was the band that made a metal song wildly popular with “Epic” and they knew exactly what it took to make that kind of music, which they could’ve easily done again. Instead, they eschewed that path, creating what might be one of the best anti-sellout albums.
Angel Dust was an album that mystified yet delighted critics upon its release. Most hailed it as a wildly original and fascinating album, one that demanded focus and an open mind. Lyrically, musically, and visually, it was nothing that anyone expected.
If you look at the lyrics for Angel Dust, you’ll see that this is not your normal fare. They are poetic and are wasted on anyone who doesn’t take a closer look, belying the playful, carnivalesque nature of the music. They are often delivered with a Tom Waits-styled swagger, pouring forth with strange rhythms that are as unexpected as they are delightful.
Look for example at the opening track, “Land Of Sunshine”. It’s an amalgamation of Chinese fortune cookie fortunes and questions that are asked by the Church of Scientology. However, it fully embraces this nonsensical approach and instead twists and turns the lyrics into a scathing commentary on how happiness can only be found when properly “ordered”.
Vocalist Mike Patton has always been able to do unbelievable things with his voice and Faith No More never held him back from allowing him to showcase those talents. A stellar example would be “Smaller And Smaller”, where he chants almost like some Gregorian monk, hitting dissonant notes that manage to fit in perfectly. Suddenly, he is screaming like some horrific reptilian monster only to fall back to a growling rasp, a creature whispering and seducing from the shadows.
Musically, this album, like other releases, was all over the place. Each member contributed greatly to the overall sound, creating a landscape that never repeated itself, always offering something new and enrapturing. From the exciting chants in “Be Aggressive” to the gothic and sinister “Malpractice”, from the odd surfer rock ballad “RV” to the chaotic “Jizzlobber”, there is always something unique.
At the end of the day, Faith No More never really gave a shit what people thought about them and that’s precisely what made them so appealing. They did their own thing and it just so happened to resonate with enough people to make its mark.
Drummer Mike Bordin perhaps said it best, when he stated:
…we made our record, we produced it our way, we wrote our songs, we played them our way, it sounds like us. [Source]
After years away, with each member doing their own thing, they’re back with that same irreverent attitude. And in a society that’s so concerned and paranoid with what people think of them, this is the breath of fresh air that is desperately needed.
Judging from the unprecedented box office success of Kane Parsons’ Backrooms adaptation, you’ve likely already seen the liminal horror hit that managed to make audiences afraid of empty hallways and bad wallpaper. And now that so many of us have already entered the yellow labyrinth (some of us more than once), the time has come to discuss the spoiler-filled details that make the movie so fascinating in the first place.
And if there’s one element here that makes the Backrooms movie stand out from any previous lore/mythology, it has to be the genius addition of the Still Life entities. Warped recreations of real people that somehow wandered into the Complex, these misremembered creatures are responsible for some of the most disturbing imagery of 2026 – as well as laugh-out-loud memes created by one of the film’s very own concept artists.
However, true to Parsons’ word that the movie would rely heavily on practical effects, each of these distorted monsters was brought to life by real actors under heavy layers of makeup and prosthetics (with the occasional splash of CGI enhancements). While Anora and If I Had Legs I’d Kick You actress Ivy Wolk wasn’t among these performers, despite what Letterboxd might have you believe, the creature cast did benefit from veteran players with plenty of genre experience.
For starters, Alien: Romulus alumni Robert Bobroczkyi (who previously brought that film’s horrific Offspring to life during its most memorable sequence) plays the flick’s main antagonist, the Still Life version of Captain Clark. And though there was some obvious CGI involved in making the character’s peg-leg and nightmarish face more believable, Bobroczkyi’s monstrous performance and his natural 7’7″ frame helped to make that final chase sequence a clear highlight among this year’s genre offerings.
The film’s Texas-Chain-Saw-inspired “dinner” scene also features a freaky collection of less-aggressive Still Life creatures in the form of the Bearded Man, the Red-Headed Woman and, strangest of them all, the cheekily named “Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life” (who earned this title among fans and crewmembers as a reference to his apparent affinity for lamps).
While this was the first major horror outing for both Patrick Baynham (The Bearded Man) and Dana Mahmood (Archibald), Rhiannon Roberts has worked as a stunt performer in everything from Yellowjackets to HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation – which is probably why The Red-Headed Woman is the most active out of Clark’s impromptu “family.” That being said, the Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life is my personal favorite of the bunch simply because his anachronistic outfit suggests that the Backrooms phenomenon might be a lot older than the Async Foundation. I also love how hard he tries to be helpful with that little light of his!
That might be it for the Still Life entities, but I think horror fans will also be pleased to hear that the film’s Found Footage prologue stars none other than Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City star Avan Jogia as Naren Warne – and American Mary herself Katharine Isabelle also shows up in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo at Mary’s house party towards the middle of the story (though I have a feeling that she originally had a bigger part that was likely cut for time).
At the end of the day, Parsons’ Backrooms may have been an auteur-driven project motivated by the young director’s unique take on the classic creepypasta, but film has always been a collective artform, so it’s fun to see just how many talented performers it takes to bring this kind of supernatural nightmare to life in a way that connects with so many people.
You must be logged in to post a comment.