This album was chosen as the classic album to review at my local music club and my appetite was wetted after I read the reviews on AMG and on here. Indeed, a startling 36 out of 37 Amazon reviewers have given this a five star rating. Don't get me wrong - I wasn't expecting to love this album as a result. Amazon's album ratings have got to be the most generous in all media. There are a few reasons for this but I think the main one is that people are more likely to submit a review if they really like an album. Another reason why my expectation levels were kept in check is that 'Rap Metal' isn't one of my favourite genres. That said, though, I approached Angel Dust with an open mind as other albums chosen for review at the music club, which I wouldn't otherwise have listened to, I have loved.
Anyway, what do I think? Well, the three star rating answers that in part but I think the album can be summed up by the inclusion of the cover of Midnight Cowboy which I find is a bit of a double edged sword. On the face of it, such a great piece of music can only enhance Angel Dust but its presence, especially at the end of the album, actually accentuates the lack of melodies and harmonies in most of their self penned tracks. But maybe FNM meant that as an artistic statement as I have read that Angel Dust was deliberately anti-commercial after the success of their previous album, The Real Thing, in which case all credit to them.
Overall, I find Angel Dust very good in parts, tracks 3 and 4 especially, but the album wasn't good enough to make me re-assess my ambivalence of the genre.