Chuck Mosley and VUA-will rap over hard rock for food

2009

Singer Mosley left Faith no more back in 1988 and shortly thereafter he band hired Mike Patton as a replacement. Rather quickly they went from cult band to MTV and radio darlings. Mosley had a short stint with the Bad Brains in the early 90's. Then he got to watch as a number of other acts picked up on the metal/rap approach. Whether or not you think Mosley deserves credit or blame for his cotribution to that style depends on how much you like that sound. Mosley admits that he learned how to sing in tune since being ousted from Faith no more over two decades ago. That certainly shows on this album, but not so much that it takes away form the personality that he always been able to bring to his sound. Mosley does a decent job of mixing up the styles here with far more variety than I was expecting. There are some heavier tracks and several much more mellow songs as well. I don't think the slow songs work nearly as well as the heavier tracks. Joining him for this outing are such guest artists as Jonathan Davis (lead singer of Korn), John 5 (formerly of Marilyn Manson and currently of Rob Zombie), Michael Cartellone (current drummer for what’s left of Lynyrd Skynyrd), and even former Faith no more alumnus Roddy Bottum. This is not an album that is not going to appeal to everyone. Chuck Mosley aims for a wider a range than he had ever done before and it's more hit than miss, but it probably would have turned out better if he had stuck to the heavier songs that are his strength.