Mike Patton is one of rock’s few contemporary iconoclasts. After accidentally creating the blueprint for nu-metal with Faith No More in the 80s and 90s, he kept himself busy during the band’s hiatus by taking on odd jobs including a stint as frontman for grindcore act Dillinger Escape Plan, as well as composing the score for Jason Statham’s cardiac arrest-based action film Crank 2. Sol Invictus sees him and Faith No More return with their first studio album since 1997, and Patton – who once famously slammed Wolfmother’s atavistic Led Zep-lite routine – seems to have lost none of his urge to experiment. More than two decades after he developed his throat-shredding vocal shtick, some elements of it do sound a bit over-familiar – on Cone of Shame, his growling delivery feels like a pastiche of James Hetfield and Meatloaf. Still, he’s still capable of performing more shrieking vocal feats in the space of one song than most frontmen try in a whole career. Sol Invictus is not quite Faith No More at their eccentric peak, but Matador, Sunny Side Up and From the Dead see them get close. A welcome return from the band that refuse to be bland.
