Introduce Yourself

Album Review

On Faith No More's major-label debut, Introduce Yourself, the Faith No More that you've grown to know and love finally rears it's ugly head (much more so than on their 1985 independent release We Care a Lot). All the ingredients are there, but like its predecessor there's one crucial item missing, super-vocalist Mike Patton. This would be original singer Chuck Mosley's last outing with the band, before he was ejected due to erratic and unpredictable behavior. Still, the album is consistent and interesting, with Mosley's out-of-tune vocals being an acquired taste to most. "The Crab Song" is one of their most underrated tracks, which packs quite a wallop when guitarist Jim Martin's heavily saturated guitar kicks in. The title track is an enjoyable and brief rant, and the loopy bass and irresistible melodicism of "Anne's Song" should have been a hit. There's also a slightly updated version of "We Care a Lot" included, and the resulting video gave the band their first taste of MTV success (but nothing compared to what they'd experience with their heavily rotated breakthrough "Epic"). A step in the right direction toward the deliciously twisted sound they'd achieve on later releases.