Faith No More "The Real Thing"

The Real Thing is the third studio album by American rock band Faith No More, released on June 20, 1989 by Slash and Reprise Records. It was the first major release by the band not to feature vocalist Chuck Mosley. Instead, the album featured Mike Patton from the experimental/funk band Mr. Bungle. On this album, Faith No More continued to advance their sound range, combining thrash metal, funk, hip hop, progressive rock, synthpop, carousel music, and hard rock, along with what has been described as "a black sense of humor".

Faith No More underwent several line-up changes before releasing their first album, We Care a Lot, released in 1985 and distributed through San Francisco-based label Mordam Records. On the original vinyl release, the band is credited as "Faith. No More" on the album's liner notes, back cover, and on the record itself. Within a year the band signed up with Slash Records. The debut album's title track "We Care a Lot" was later rerecorded, for their follow-up album Introduce Yourself in 1987, and released as their first single. Membership remained stable until vocalist Chuck Mosley was replaced by Mike Patton in 1988.

Many consider Faith No More to be the fathers of the "alternative metal" genre. Their popularity grew with the 1989 now-legendary album The Real Thing containing their well-known hit "Epic". The band remains a dominant influence on the genre they helped create.


The first album to feature Mike Patton on vocals, previously of Mr. Bungle, with whom he would record again later. 

The music for the album was fully written before Mike Patton joined. Mike wrote all the lyrics for it in two weeks.

Recorded at Studio D, Sausalito, CA. During December 1988
Mixed at Blue Canyon, Studio City, CA. During January 1989

Mastered at K-Disk, Los Angeles, CA.

"Epic" was ranked number thirty on VH1's 40 Greatest Metal Songs, and number sixty-seven on their 100 Greatest One-hit Wonders list.

The Real Thing was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance category in 1989 and "Epic" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1991.