NEW DOUBLE LP
New sealed copy. 2025 reissue. Gatefold jacket. Includes the original album remastered on LP1, and previously unreleased bonus tracks on LP 2.
Album of the Year marked both a culmination and a turning point for Faith No More. Released in 1997, it was the band’s sixth studio album and their last before a decade-long hiatus. The record saw the arrival of guitarist Jon Hudson, and while internally strained and pulled in different directions by members' side projects, the band managed to channel its disjointed energy into one of its most diverse and atmospheric releases.
Musically, Album of the Year blends haunting melancholy with bursts of aggression, taking a more restrained and cinematic approach compared to the explosive unpredictability of its predecessor, King for a Day… Fool for a Lifetime. Across its runtime, the band fuses heavy metal, R&B, trip-hop, punk, and lounge jazz, creating an eclectic sound that feels both world-weary and composed. Standouts like “Ashes to Ashes” and “Last Cup of Sorrow” balance crushing riffs with soaring, introspective choruses, while deeper cuts like “Stripsearch” and “Mouth to Mouth” push further into electronic textures and Middle Eastern motifs.
Lyrically, the album leans into themes of disillusionment, emotional decay, and alienation — perhaps mirroring the band’s own fragmented state at the time. Mike Patton’s vocals alternate between soulful crooning, whispering menace, and unhinged screams, bringing personality to each stylistic shift. “Helpless,” “She Loves Me Not,” and “Home Sick Home” are among the more unconventional moments, highlighting the band’s refusal to settle into a single identity.
Though Album of the Year found considerable international success — hitting number one in Australia and New Zealand and later going Platinum — it was met with mixed reviews upon release in North America. Some critics felt the band had lost its edge or direction, while others praised its layered, mature sound. Over time, however, the album has been reevaluated as a worthy, and at times brilliant, final statement from Faith No More’s original run.
The record’s somber mood and eclecticism made it something of a swan song, and in retrospect, the title Album of the Year reads both as self-aware humor and a defiant claim. Faith No More disbanded shortly after the album’s tour cycle in 1998. They would not release another studio album until Sol Invictus in 2015.
TRACKLIST:
Record One: Album Of The Year
A1 Collision
A2 Stripsearch
A3 Last Cup Of Sorrow
A4 Naked In Front Of The Computer
A5 Helpless
A6 Mouth To Mouth
B1 Ashes To Ashes
B2 She Loves Me Not
B3 Got That Feeling
B4 Paths Of Glory
B5 Home Sick Home
B6 Pristina
Record Two: Bonus Tracks
C1 Pristina (Billy Gould Mix)
C2 Last Cup Of Sorrow (Roli Mosimann Mix)
C3 She Loves Me Not (Spinna Main Mix)
C4 Ashes To Ashes (DJ Icey & Maestro Mix)
D1 Light Up And Let Go
D2 The Big Kahuna
D3 This Guy’s In Love With You (Live)
D4 Collision (Live)
