From Out of Nowhere (song)

"From Out of Nowhere" is the first track on Faith No More's third studio album, The Real Thing (1989). It was also the first single to be released from it and to feature Mike Patton on vocals. It was first released in the United Kingdom on October 30, 1989, but did not appear on the UK Singles Chart. It was re-released on April 2, 1990, after the success of "Epic", and it reached number 23 on the UK chart.

"From Out of Nowhere"
Artwork for European releases
Single by Faith No More
from the album The Real Thing
B-side	"Cowboy Song" "The Grade"
Released	October 30, 1989 (1989-10-30)
Studio	Studio D (Sausalito, California)
Genre	Alternative metal[1] funk metal[2] pop metal[3]
Length	3:22
Label	Slash London
Songwriter(s)	Billy Gould Roddy Bottum Mike Patton
Producer(s)	Matt Wallace
Faith No More singles chronology
"Anne's Song" (1988) "From Out of Nowhere" (1989) "Epic" (1990)
The Real Thing track listing
"From Out of Nowhere" "Epic" "Falling to Pieces" "Surprise! You're Dead!" "Zombie Eaters" "The Real Thing" "Underwater Love" "The Morning After" "Woodpecker from Mars" "War Pigs" "Edge of the World"

Music video

There are two very different versions of this video.^[4] The first version features Mike Patton in camouflage shorts, a black undershirt, and sunglasses. Words come across the screen a few times during the video, and there are a few shots of exteriors at the beginning and end. In the second version, Patton is wearing spandex shorts and a black and blue coat. Billy Gould is using a different bass, and there are many more exterior shots, as well as more words going across the screen. Only a few shots are kept from the first version, being some of the shots of Mike Bordin. This latter version was used on the video releases.^[5][6] The band has said of the video that "[They] didn't know what [they] were doing".^[5]

Track listings

UK and European issue

1. "From Out of Nowhere" – 3:23
2. "Cowboy Song" – 5:12
3. "The Grade" – 2:03

Australian issue

1. "From Out of Nowhere" – 3:23
2. "Edge of the World" – 4:10
3. "From Out of Nowhere" (Live at Brixton) – 3:24

UK and European reissue

1. "From Out of Nowhere" (7-inch version†) / "From Out Of Nowhere (Extended Remix††)
2. "Woodpecker from Mars" (live †††)
3. "The Real Thing" (live †††)
4. "Epic" (live †††)

† The 7-inch version was used on the CD, cassette and 7-inch editions of the reissue.^[7]

†† The Extended Remix was used on the 12-inch and 12-inch picture disc editions of the reissue.^[7]

††† Recorded in Norwich, February 6, 1990. Broadcast by The BBC Radio 1 "Rockshow", March 2, 1990. The profanity is obscured and the songs fade out.

Charts

Chart (1990)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)[8]	83
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[9]	58
UK Singles (OCC)[10]	23

Release history

Region	Version	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United Kingdom	Original	October 30, 1989	7-inch vinyl 12-inch vinyl	Slash London	[11][12]
	Reissue	April 2, 1990	7-inch vinyl 12-inch vinyl CD cassette		[13]

Cover versions

• "From Out of Nowhere" was covered by German power metal band Helloween in 1998 for their cover album Metal Jukebox, and was featured in the single for their cover of ABBA's "Lay All Your Love On Me".
• Danish electronic metal band Raunchy covered it in 2004 and officially released it as part of the reissue of their first album "Velvet Noise"
• Italian power metal band Eldritch presented their version of the song as a bonus track in their album Neighbourhell, released in 2006.
• Heavy metal band Five Finger Death Punch covered the song that appeared on The Way Of The Fist: Iron Fist Edition of their debut album and as a bonus track for the UK and Canada release. This version was later included on the soundtrack to the 2012 superhero film The Avengers.
• Finnish classical/cello metal band Apocalyptica covered this song for their 1998 album Inquisition Symphony.
• Skindred covered the song on the 2015 album Kerrang! Ultimate Rock Heroes.^[14]
• The Birthday Massacre covered the song on their 2016 compilation album Imagica.

In popular culture

• The song was used in the video games Madden NFL 2005^[15] and NHL 2005.