Surprise! Your Dead! - Faith No More - MP3 instrumental karaoke

In 1988, after dropping an initial pair of albums – We Care A Lot (1985) and Introduce Yourself (1987) – Faith No More distanced themselves from erratic frontman Chuck Mosely and duly signed Mike Patton up as their new singer. Two weeks after joining the band, he had penned all the lyrics for the songs on the Grammy award-nominated LP The Real Thing, which was released in June 1989 and put Faith No More on America's rock 'n' roll map. Emblazoned with striking cover art from pioneering photographer Harold Edgerton, the album – nominated for Best Heavy Metal Performance in 1989 – brought funk and personality to heavy music and "Surprise! You're Dead" is among the tracks that made this happen. Actually written in the 1970s by Jim Martin when he was in a band called Agents of Misfortune, the Halloween-primed song is thought to be about a vampire goading the lover he has turned ("Surprise! you're dead! / Ha ha! open your eyes").