Once upon a time, in the early 90’s, there was an alt-metal group that dominated MTV and radio airplay with a pioneering sound and vision far ahead of the industry standard. With music videos depicting a distressed flopping fish out-of-water and a piano blown up with dynamite, something different was brewing in the declining age of glam metal. The band was Faith No More featuring Mike Patton’s bizarre vocal ranges and melodies, Jim Martin’s blazing guitars, Bill Gould’s funk-a-delic bass grooves, classically trained Roddy Bottum’s keyboards, and Mike “Puffy” Bordin’s thunderous percussion.

The Real Thing, released on June 20, 1989, is a transitional album for the band as vocalist Chuck Mosley (“We Care A Lot”) left the band citing creative differences. Patton stepped in very shortly after and provided the appropriate vision that the band sought. The resulting tracks that are now legendary and highly influential to the nü-metal movement of the mid-90’s and today’s modern rock genre, include “Epic,” “Falling To Pieces,” From Out of Nowhere,” “Surprise! Your Dead!,” and “The Real Thing.”

The legacy of The Real Thing consists of the daring fusion of heavy metal, hip-hop, funk, jazz, punk, and progressive rock that many bands today try to emulate. FNM’s music of the early 90’s had no defined boundaries which enabled them to reach a pinnacle that only a small elite group of bands will ever experience. While, FNM has announced a reunion tour for this summer, they will be without Martin’s guitars—a flaw that must be corrected to bring back the full brilliance of the band.

Track Listing:

1. “From Out of Nowhere”
2. “Epic”
3. “Falling To Pieces”
4. “Surprise! Your Dead!”
5. “Zombie Eaters”
6. “The Real Thing”
7. “Underwater Love”
8. “The Morning After”
9. “Woodpecker From Mars”
10. “War Pigs”
11. “Edge of the World”

Released on Slash Records & produced by Matt Wallace and Faith No More.