If you don’t know much about Faith No More there’s a high chance you think they’re either a second rate Red Hot Chilli Peppers or a first rate Lionel Richie. The truth is, they’re neither. They’re a musical curiosity. Beloved by everyone from King Buzzo to Danny DeVito for their audacious experiments that sit loosely in the ‘metal’ framework and, of course, their unerring sense of humour.

On Sol Invictus – their first album in 18 years – Mike Patton’s tongue remains firmly in his cheek. The histrionic track Matador is almost parodical in just how Patton its ostentatious madness actually is. His players are still pushing their genre’s boundaries in strange (and marvellous) directions. The thunderous slap-bass on tracks like Superhero recall the metal oddness of the band’s 1989 mega-hit Epic. There’s even reggae vibrations and enough Pungi to charm a decent-sized snake on Rise of the Fall and a healthy dose of Tomahawk-style theatrics on Motherfucker.

Tomahawk, I should add, is just one of Patton’s many, many side projects. His sabbatical from FNM has been filled with bands, production and various – often confusing – collaborations. While you’d think this would seep into his vision, 18 years of playing away hasn’t really changed Patton’s approach to Faith No More.

The upshot is that Sol Invictus is a solid Faith No More album. The only real mystery is quite why it took them 18 years to make it.

Billy Black