BIOGRAPHY – Faith No More

Faith No More have undergone more line-up changes over the last thirty years than most metal bands, with singers and guitarists having been replaced regularly through their numerous incarnations. The group were first formed in California’s Bay Area in 1981, initially consisting of drummer Mike Bordin, bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist Wade Worthington and vocalist Mike ‘The Man’ Morris and practicising under the name Faith No Man. Their first recording would be the double single Quiet in Heaven/Song of Liberty, both of which were written by Morris and released on 7″ vinyl by Ministry of Propaganda in 1982. The following year Roddy Bottum was recruited to replace Worthington and Morris was fired, resulting in the band changing their name and auditioned potential singers, which would include Paula Frazer, Joe Pye and future Hole vocalist Courtney Love.

In 1983, Hollywood-born Chuck Mosley was hired along with Jim Martin, who would replace temporary guitarist Mark Bowen. After their four-track demo began to attract attention, Faith No More entered the studio with producer Matt Wallace to record their debut album, We Care a Lot, which was released independently by Mordam Records in 1985. This brought them to the attention of Los Angeles label Slash Records and, working once again with Wallace, commenced work on their major label debut Introduce Yourself. The band finally gained success with their singles Anne’s Song and a reworking of the track We Care a Lot, which gained some exposure on MTV and through the British press. Despite their rise in popularity, internal conflicts with Mosley eventually resulted in his dismissal and the remaining members began writing material for their third album without a frontman.

It would be Martin who would discover the man that would take over as vocalist for the band. Twenty-year-old Mike Patton had been performing and recording with his own group, Mr. Bungle, since he was in high school and had self-produced their demo The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny in 1986. Having heard a sample of their music, Martin suggested Patton to his bandmates, who would write the lyrics for the entire album in just two weeks. The Real Thing was released in the summer of 1989 and became an unexpected success, spawning the hit singles From Out of Nowhere and Epic and earning a Grammy nomination.

The album was praised by critics for its fusion of numerous genres at a time when the industry was still dominated by hair metal and they gained major acclaim for their originality and strong melodies. The Real Thing was soon followed by the live album Live at Brixton Academy (and its accompanying home video You Fat Bastards), as well as the band contributing a song to the soundtrack of the movie Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey (Martin would even make a cameo as himself). Unwilling to become typecast and merely recycle their work from The Real Thing, Faith No More began to experiment further with their sound for their next album, embracing a more mainstream style for 1992′s Angel Dust.

Having toured with the likes of Guns N’ Roses and Metallica, the band had been influenced by stadium rock, which would be most evident with their comeback single Midlife Crisis and its successor A Small Victory. The album would feature several fan favourites, including Be Aggressive, Everything’s Ruined and a rendition of the theme from Midnight Cowboy, as well as a cover of the Commodores‘ 1977 hit Easy, which would also make an appearance on the EP Songs to Make Love To. In 1993 they collaborated with hip hop group Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. for the track Another Body Murdered, a single that would be released to promote the thriller Judgment Night. Disillusioned with their experimental sound and eager to return to more traditional metal, Martin eventually parted ways with the group in 1993, prompting Patton to recruit Mr. Bungle guitarist Trey Spruance for their next album, King for a Day… Fool for a Lifetime.

Whilst Martin had been disappointed with the styles the band had explored with Angel Dust, they had begun to flirt with such genres as jazz, lounge and even gospel for their fifth record and their first without Matthew Wallace, instead opting to work with Andy Wallace, most known for producing such acts as Slayer and Sepultura. Yet unlike its predecessor, King for a Day… Fool for a Lifetime would fail to achieve the same kind of critical or commercial success.In 1997 Faith No More released what would become their final album to date. Teaming up with producer Roli Mosimann, who had been fired from both Marilyn Manson‘s Portrait of an American Family and Skinny Puppy‘s The Process, the band recorded for the first time in their native San Francisco.

Album of the Year would gain mostly positive reviews and include the tracks Ashes to Ashes and Stripsearch, both of which were regularly shown on MTV, but their record sales had begun to suffer due to both changes in taste and the band refusing to return to their early style. Although the band had been dogged by rumours of a break-up for several years, in early 1998 they finally decided to call it a day, with Patton with their final release being a cover of the 1968 Bee Gees hit I Started a Joke. would be the most active member following the split, recording albums with Mr. Bungle, Fantômas, Tomahawk and Peeping Tom, as well as his 2010 album that featured Patton singing in Italian and performing with an orchestra. After over a decade of working on numerous projects, Faith No More eventually reformed in 2009.