Mike Patton is definitely one of the most versatile singers in the history of music, and the most schizophrenic as well. One minute soulful and crooning like Sinatra or Al Green, and the next as metal / punk as anything Sepultura or Black Flag ever cranked out on wax. Impressively enough these differences occurred in the same song, and It worked too. That's the reason why I love FNM, they were always mixed bag of sonic offerings You never know what the formative mold was because they broke it every time with every album. Give a listen if you haven't yet to “The Real Thing”, “Angel Dust”, and “King For A Day”, they embraced every form of music; metal, alternative , soul, pop trip hop,..and did it with style.

Now, they are back since 1997's “Album Of The Year” release with “Sol Invictus”. The results? A bit uneven but truthfully after almost twenty years in limbo, this reviewer will take this album over most of the shit that is out there presently. This outing seems to befit a more 'mature' FNM.. Personally I liked it better when they threw shit against the wall and saw what stuck musically. This time seems a bit more calculated and safe. For longtime fans like myself it won’t be on regular rotation on my CD player , but sadly I can see some beardo hipsters gravitating to this album like fly’s on shit that didn't catch on during the good old days.

The highlights are definitely songs like ‘Cone of Shame’, ‘Sol Invictus’, ‘Rise of the Fall’, and ‘Superhero’ which sounds like it was an outtake from 1995's “King for A Day”, stripped down and angry with a hint of the later Patton years in Tomahawk in the chorus. Mikes’s voice never sounded better if not more conservative in some songs. While you can't take anything away from Mike Bordin, Billy Gould, Jon Hudson or Roddy Bottum's musical chops as they all have had successful careers post FNM as session musicians and with bands like Ozzy, Brujaria and Imperial Teen respectively, it can't be denied that Patton's solo career influence here is paramount. It has the feel of more like a Mike Patton all star revue and not FNM itself which is the only drawback. As I wasn't expecting a band to rest on their laurels and vomit out another “Angel Dust” or “Real Thing” just to move units , the rest of the band just seem like back up musicians just playing what Patton wanted played. Mikes's quirky musical posturing sort of gets in the way with the cohesiveness of some of the songs too. Songs ramp up and slow down or vice versa.. Not a bad thing, mind you, but, I wish the band had more to say than Mike musically. It seems all the shots were called by Mike in production and orchestration terms which makes some sense because this LP is on Ipecac, Patton’s homespun label to which bands like the Melvins, Fantomas and Tomahawk all call home.

The best track is ‘Black Friday’ which is an acoustic - metal - alt rocker that just has a great vibe and just kills it musically. If there were more songs with this approach it would be a 10/10 album. My least fav song oddly enough is ‘Motherfucker’. I liked it first spin but after a while it just felt a contrived way of trying to catch the 'edginess 'of 1990's FNM back Like your dad's friend with the diamond stud earring and rockabilly flamed bowling shirt telling a dirty joke to try and come off hip to your younger friends, but ends up coming off like a jerkoff. All and all at the end of the day this album is like meeting old friends again. You may not want them staying for days at your flat for days on end drinking your beers but it was good run into them again at the bar.