Jim Martin - Milk & Blood (1995)

Ex-Faith No More guitarist Jim Martin may have been the gonzoid crunch that beefed up Faith No More's records, but his solo project 'Milk & Blood' is akin to sleep paralysis. I'm guessing he only got a record contract because of his FNM connections, but I expected alot more, and despite enlisting the help of chums James Hetfield and Jason Newsted, this is a pretty dire record indeed. Jim's distinctive guitar sound made FNM more metallic, but it also complimented the wondrous keyboards of Roddy Bottum, the bolshy bass of Billy Gould, the thudding drums of Mike Bordin and of course, Mike Patton's schizo vocals, but on 'milk...' the guitar sound, altough still distinctive is bland, and the vocals watery, proof that 'Big' Jim is no vocalist and that the record, with its FNM-inspired 'odd' cover is a stale one which floats along without any effect. Jim's guitars aren't sharp or heavyweight, instead they pale in their simplicity, making this record so dull and predictable that it sounds more suited to an early '90s band that clearly had no imagination or identity to succeed. Hell, he even throws in a cover of FNM's 'Surrpise You're Dead' a track which Jim did indeed write but which here, exists as a lifeless parody. 'Milk & Blood' is a pointless record. 3/10