Claiming that Faith No More’s work with Mosley is inferior to their work with Patton is not controversial. The esteem with which fans hold the band’s work in the later ’90s, however, is. While 1995’s King For A Day … Fool For A Lifetime, and its successor, 1997’s Album Of The Year, have their vocal proponents, they carry the stigma of failing to live up to the expectations set by Angel Dust. Both records offered diminishing sales, and neither features guitarist Jim Martin, who feuded with the rest of the band, especially Patton, during the recording of Angel Dust. Following that album’s disappointing sales, Martin was fired (reportedly via fax), leaving the band to record an album without him for the first time (Mark Bowen had left prior to We Care A Lot). To fill the void, and remembering the fighting that plagued the Angel Dust sessions, the band turned to Trey Spruance, who had worked with Patton in Mr. Bungle. Through Spruance had a history of genre experimentation, he brought out the most straightforward heavy metal elements in Faith No More — songs like “Ricochet” and “The Gentle Art Of Making Enemies” sound at times reminiscent of Metallica’s self-titled album, perhaps as an open attempt at greater radio play.

While Martin’s departure fuels much of the consternation fans have with later Faith No More, it’s not his absence that is felt most deeply on King For A Day. Bottum left the band for most of the recording session following the deaths of both his father and Kurt Cobain (Courtney Love and Bottum were close friends at the time). Martin had been contributing less and less to Faith No More over the years, but Bottum was a founding member and key part of the songwriting process. Without him, the band’s previously madcap flirtations with other genres tapered back, resulting in their most obvious album, even with Patton screaming like a maniac, singing in Italian, and spouting gibberish. Yes, there’s a dip into bossa nova on “Caralho Voador,” which also showcases Patton’s growing fascination with non-English-language pop music, but that song stands out in the album’s lineup. The band cast a wider, more eclectic net, but did so fewer times.

To compound matters, Spruance, Bordin, and Patton were involved in a car accident early on in the recording process. Patton had been driving, and while he’s been reluctant to discuss himself too personally in interviews, Patton was a known partier earlier in his career, and it’s fitting that there’s a song on the record called “Take This Bottle,” one that’s remarkably heartfelt by Patton’s standards.

The result was an album that sounds somber and relatively stark, but that doesn’t mean it’s all straitlaced. “The Gentle Art Of Making Enemies” takes the homoerotic overtones of Angel Dust and shifts them into high gear on one of the band’s most rollicking numbers. “Digging The Grave” is less humorous and zany, but still as supple as the group’s best work. Things excel most with Bottum involved, as his penchant for melody brings out the best in Patton, as well as the most exotic, as evidenced on the aforementioned “Caralho Voador” and “Star A.D.,” a fun flirtation with oldies.

Even when Faith No More broke from the rock formula on this album, they played it straight. For all the band’s obvious love of R&B, it took them this long to write an unabashed funk-pop tune. “Evidence” is a no-frills soul jam, as well as the finest cut on the album, perhaps the result of a confidence boost pursuant to their successful cover of “Easy” and its commercial success.

King For A Day … Fool For A Lifetime is a rough successor to a masterpiece, as well as an overly long record, but when it’s at its best, it showcases a more congealed and put-together outfit than before, one less inclined to douse their songs with effects and samples. The lessons learned in making the record would pay off on its follow-up.