Faith No More King For A Day, Fool For A Lifetime CD

Live Recording

Faith No More: Mike Patton (vocals); Roddy Bottum (keyboards); Billy Gould (bass); Mike Bordin (drums).
Additional personnel: Trey Spruance (guitar).
Recorded at Bearsville Studios, Bearsville, New York.
Personnel: Trey Spruance (guitar); Roddy Bottum (keyboards); Bill Gould (bass guitar); Mike Bordin (drums).
Recording information: Bearsville Studios, Bearsvill, NY.
Illustrator: Eric Drooker.
Unknown Contributor Roles: Danny Wilensky; Anthony Kadleck; Stephanie Gelfan; Marla Rathbun; Teresa Miller; Marlon Mundy; Michelle Morehead; Robert Moe; Lynette Golbert; Abby Newton; Loris Holland; Onita Boone; Danny Levin.
Longtime Faith No More guitarist Jim Martin split from the band under less-than-amicable circumstances in 1994. Consequently, the group hired Trey Spruance (the guitarist from Mike Patton's other band, Mr. Bungle) to handle six-string duties for 1995's King for a Day, Fool for a Lifetime. While it wasn't exactly the mind-bending masterpiece that 1992's Angel Dust was, it was easily their most musically straightforward album and was another challenging, exceptional release. As on Angel Dust, Patton truly shines on vocals, as he tackles any genre put in front of him -- romantic love songs (the soulful smooth funk of "Evidence"), bile-spitting rants of hate ("The Gentle Art of Making Enemies"), cacophonous freak-outs ("Ugly in the Morning"), gospel (the lighthearted album closer, "Just a Man"), and breezy pop ("Caralho Voador"). But there was also plenty of FNM's signature heavy sound to go around -- the furious opener "Get Out," "Ricochet," "Cuckoo for Caca," "Digging the Grave," "The Last to Know," and the almost progressive title track. While Spruance did a masterful job of filling in the shoes of an integral founding member, he abruptly split from the band himself on the eve of the album's ensuing worldwide tour (replaced by roadie Dean Mentia). King for a Day, Fool for a Lifetime remains one of Faith No More's underrated releases. ~ Greg Prato
Faith No More's fifth full-length effort, 1995's KING FOR A DAY/FOOL FOR A LIFETIME, was the band's most straightforward work to date. Trey Spruance, the guitarist for FNM singer Mike Patton's side band, Mr. Bungle, who replaced Jim Martin after ANGEL DUST, fit in perfectly with the band--as proven by such highlights as "Ricochet," "Evidence," "The Gentle Art of Making Enemies," "Digging the Grave," and the epic title track. Unfortunately, Spruance's tenure with the band was short-lived--he departed just prior to the start of the album-supporting tour.

Spin (5/95, p.97) - 6 - Good - "...Though the music careens from genre to genre as casually as most bands go from chord to chord...KING FOR A DAY is never less than coherent....Faith No More does for speed metal what REO Speedwagon did for the regular kind of metal more than 20 years ago..."
Q (7/95, p.135) - 3 Stars - Good - "...satisfies but fails to take the listener to strange new places..."
Musician (6/95, pp.71-72) - "...more accomplished, ambitious, out there and even restrained than any of its predecessors....enough surprising sentiment to lasso a few new cynics..."