“Superhero,” the second single off Faith No More‘s upcoming album, Sol Invictus, is now available for streaming. The song, which was produced by bassist Bill Gould and premiered on Marvel Comic‘s website, has an expected digital release date of March 31st with a limited edition 7″ vinyl of the single available for purchase March 17th. Of the title, Gould said, “While we write music…we describe scenes together and we can visualize the scene for movies that don’t exist.” The song reminded them of a superhero comic strip, so when Gould and Mike Patton began to write lyrics, they were already calling it “Superhero.”
Sol Invictus, which hits stores May 19th, is Faith No More’s first album in eighteen years and is a complete in-house affair; with production done by Gould, recording done at the band’s Oakland rehearsal space, and even being released on the band’s own imprint. When asked about the album’s sound, drummer Mike Bodin has this to say: “The Faith No More elements are there, but to me it doesn’t sound like anything we’ve ever done.”
Faith No More rose to fame with their 1989 single, “Epic,” which became a top ten hit with the video receiving extensive airplay on MTV and earning them a spot on Saturday Night Live in late 1990. The Real Thing sold over four million copies and was even nominated for a Grammy.
While their sophomore album, Angel Dust, was not as successful in the U.S., it was certified gold in Germany and even outsold The Real Thing in several countries. 1997s Album of the Year, which would be Faith No More’s last album until Sol Invictus, has sold two million copies worldwide. On April 20, 1998 a statement was released by Gould stating that a mutual decision had been made and that the band would be splitting up and pursuing individual projects. The band eventually decided to reunite in 2009 for a reunion tour, releasing a greatest hits album to coincide with the tour.
Early last September, Gould announced that they had been working on a new album and later revealed it would influenced by The Cranks, Link Wray, and Siouxsie and the Banshees. Faith No More are headlining Westfest with Soundgarden and are in the middle of a world tour.