Faith No More was a rock music group, formed in San Francisco, California in 1982, and disbanding in 1998. They first performed as 'The Chicken Fuckers'. They are probably best known for the singles "Epic" and "Falling to Pieces" off of their 1989 album The Real Thing, and for their cover version of the Commodores' classic Easy.
Their music is difficult to categorize neatly, but is rooted in heavy metal, and in some ways they anticipated the nu metal of the late 1990s, as it combined angular, distorted guitars with big pop choruses, and heavy doses of rap-style vocals. Faith No More have been classified as alternative metal, demonstrating their talent for incorporating elements of funk, rap, soul and even country into their sound.
Faith No More formed in 1982. The instrumentalists were established early-on, but a number of singers passed through, including a brief stint by Courtney Love, who never recorded with the group. Chuck Mosley became the full time singer, and appeared on their first two records. "We Care A Lot"--a song satirizing the prevailence of charity-related rock efforts (Live Aid, "We Are The World")--is probably their best known song from this era.
The band gained a reputation for in fighting and friction that sometimes went way beyond the limits of "creative differences." In a notorious interview in 1987, Mosley claimed that Martin had hit him with a bottle, and there were frequent rumours of physical confrontations between band members. Indeed, in a short history of the band in one issue, the UK music newspaper Melody Maker observed that the band's internal relationships had descended into "pathological hatred". Bordin in particular seemed to be very much the "whipping boy" of the band and the butt of numerous cruel pranks and practical jokes. It is doubtful that the band would have stayed together had they not been successful after "Introduce Yourself."
Mosley was fired in 1988, and replaced with singer Mike Patton. Patton would prove a more versatile singer than the monotone Mosley. At the time, he was singing with his high school band Mr. Bungle (and would continue to do so during his Faith No More years), and dropped out of Humboldt State University to join Faith No More. His first record with the group, The Real Thing, was a major hit, selling over a million copies.
Patton's astonishing vocal range was, arguably, the salvation of Faith No More. Although never formally trained, the young ex student was able to veer wildly from a deep, operatic bass through to screeching banshee death metal yowls and all the way up to soulful, almost feminine drawling, usually in the space of one album. For example, the exuberant rap on "Epic" and the sleazy jazz vocals of "Edge Of the World" (on the 1990 album "The Real Thing") are wildly different, yet both belong to Patton. This burgeoning singing ability enabled the band to expand and develop far further than they would have done with the (in comparison) laughable vocal technique of Mosley. keyboardist Bottum memorably described his new colleague as "A pair of lungs on legs."
The video for "Epic" received extensive airplay on MTV. The end of this video features slow motion footage of a fish flopping out of water, a sight which provoked anger from animal rights activists in the summer of 1990. The Real Thing also featured a cover of Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" and the album has been described as "not quite early Brian Eno joins Led Zeppelin and Funkadelic, but it's closer than might be thought." http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:a8jgtq9ztu48~T1
That same year, Faith No More gave memorable performances at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards (September 6th) and on Saturday Night Live (December 1st).
Faith No More displayed a distinctly experimental bent on Angel Dust. One critic writes that the album is "one of the more complex and simply confounding records ever released by a major label," http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:m7rvad5kv8wo~T1 and another writes that "'A Small Victory,' which seems to run Madame Butterfly through Metallica and Nile Rodgers ... reveals a developing facility for combining unlikely elements into startlingly original concoctions." http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=faith_no_more Angel Dust featured the "Midlife Crisis" and "A Small Victory", as well as a re-recording of the theme to the film Midnight Cowboy. Later pressings of the album also included their cover of "Easy" which in some parts of the world became the bands' biggest hit.
After touring to support Angel Dust in the summer of 1992, (including tours with Metallica and Guns N' Roses), longtime guitarist Jim Martin was fired (although he claims he quit) during the early stages of recording their follow-up, King For A Day... Fool For a Lifetime from 1995 where he was replaced by Mr. Bungle guitarist Trey Spruance. However, when the subsequent world tour was about to begin Trey Spruance jumped ship, leaving the band to recruit their keyboard roadie Dean Mantia to handle guitar duties. Album of the Year was released in 1997 which featured yet another new guitarist, Jon Hudson who was a former roommate of Billy Gould.
In 1991, the Faith No More song "Perfect Crime" appeared on the soundtrack for Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey.
Faith No More collaborated with the Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. for the song "Another Body Murdered" on the 1993 Judgment Night soundtrack.
In 1998, the Sparks album Plagarism was released featuring two collaborations with Faith No More ("This Town Ain't Big Enough for the Both of Us" and "Something for the Girl with Everything").
"Midlife Crisis" appeared on the soundtracks for Tony Hawk's Underground 2 and , which was released on various platforms in 2004 and 2005.
We Care A Lot (1985)
Introduce Yourself (1987)
The Real Thing (1989)
Live At The Brixton Academy (1990)
Angel Dust (1992)
King For A Day... Fool For A Lifetime (1995)
Album of the Year (1997)
Who Cares A Lot? - GH (1998)
(2003)
FNM.com - home to FAQ, band history
Their music is difficult to categorize neatly, but is rooted in heavy metal, and in some ways they anticipated the nu metal of the late 1990s, as it combined angular, distorted guitars with big pop choruses, and heavy doses of rap-style vocals. Faith No More have been classified as alternative metal, demonstrating their talent for incorporating elements of funk, rap, soul and even country into their sound.
Career
Faith No More formed in 1982. The instrumentalists were established early-on, but a number of singers passed through, including a brief stint by Courtney Love, who never recorded with the group. Chuck Mosley became the full time singer, and appeared on their first two records. "We Care A Lot"--a song satirizing the prevailence of charity-related rock efforts (Live Aid, "We Are The World")--is probably their best known song from this era.
The band gained a reputation for in fighting and friction that sometimes went way beyond the limits of "creative differences." In a notorious interview in 1987, Mosley claimed that Martin had hit him with a bottle, and there were frequent rumours of physical confrontations between band members. Indeed, in a short history of the band in one issue, the UK music newspaper Melody Maker observed that the band's internal relationships had descended into "pathological hatred". Bordin in particular seemed to be very much the "whipping boy" of the band and the butt of numerous cruel pranks and practical jokes. It is doubtful that the band would have stayed together had they not been successful after "Introduce Yourself."
Mosley was fired in 1988, and replaced with singer Mike Patton. Patton would prove a more versatile singer than the monotone Mosley. At the time, he was singing with his high school band Mr. Bungle (and would continue to do so during his Faith No More years), and dropped out of Humboldt State University to join Faith No More. His first record with the group, The Real Thing, was a major hit, selling over a million copies.
Patton's astonishing vocal range was, arguably, the salvation of Faith No More. Although never formally trained, the young ex student was able to veer wildly from a deep, operatic bass through to screeching banshee death metal yowls and all the way up to soulful, almost feminine drawling, usually in the space of one album. For example, the exuberant rap on "Epic" and the sleazy jazz vocals of "Edge Of the World" (on the 1990 album "The Real Thing") are wildly different, yet both belong to Patton. This burgeoning singing ability enabled the band to expand and develop far further than they would have done with the (in comparison) laughable vocal technique of Mosley. keyboardist Bottum memorably described his new colleague as "A pair of lungs on legs."
The video for "Epic" received extensive airplay on MTV. The end of this video features slow motion footage of a fish flopping out of water, a sight which provoked anger from animal rights activists in the summer of 1990. The Real Thing also featured a cover of Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" and the album has been described as "not quite early Brian Eno joins Led Zeppelin and Funkadelic, but it's closer than might be thought." http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:a8jgtq9ztu48~T1
That same year, Faith No More gave memorable performances at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards (September 6th) and on Saturday Night Live (December 1st).
Faith No More displayed a distinctly experimental bent on Angel Dust. One critic writes that the album is "one of the more complex and simply confounding records ever released by a major label," http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:m7rvad5kv8wo~T1 and another writes that "'A Small Victory,' which seems to run Madame Butterfly through Metallica and Nile Rodgers ... reveals a developing facility for combining unlikely elements into startlingly original concoctions." http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=faith_no_more Angel Dust featured the "Midlife Crisis" and "A Small Victory", as well as a re-recording of the theme to the film Midnight Cowboy. Later pressings of the album also included their cover of "Easy" which in some parts of the world became the bands' biggest hit.
After touring to support Angel Dust in the summer of 1992, (including tours with Metallica and Guns N' Roses), longtime guitarist Jim Martin was fired (although he claims he quit) during the early stages of recording their follow-up, King For A Day... Fool For a Lifetime from 1995 where he was replaced by Mr. Bungle guitarist Trey Spruance. However, when the subsequent world tour was about to begin Trey Spruance jumped ship, leaving the band to recruit their keyboard roadie Dean Mantia to handle guitar duties. Album of the Year was released in 1997 which featured yet another new guitarist, Jon Hudson who was a former roommate of Billy Gould.
In April 1998, after 16 years as a band, Faith No More dissolved. Although the break-up went by with limited media attention, many rumors had surfaced as to the reason, some which included infighting within the group, disagreement over the amount of side-projects (since the line-up had consistently changed), and even the band's growing popularity, which had been attributed as a main influence for many nu-metal bands who would ascend to the mainstream at the end of the decade.
Patton went on to collaborate with John Zorn, and has been active with several other groups, including Tomahawk and Fantômas. Keyboardist Roddy Bottum formed Imperial Teen, whos sunny pop music seemed very different from Faith No More. Mike Bordin regularly performs as a member of Ozzy Osbourne's band, as well as Black Sabbath. Billy Gould is a member of Brujeria, as well as founder of Kool Arrow Records, and has also overseen the releases of various Faith No More compilations. Jim Martin now has the 235th largest pumpkin ever grown, and has made guest appearences on various records as well as relased solo album entitled Milk and Blood (1996).
Despite being extinct for some years, this band still manages to influence and inspire musicians worldwide. The somewhat experimental and psychedelic tone of Faith No More's unique style, combined with Mike Patton's amazing vocals will never be forgotten.
Side projects and collaborations
In 1991, the Faith No More song "Perfect Crime" appeared on the soundtrack for Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey.
Faith No More collaborated with the Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. for the song "Another Body Murdered" on the 1993 Judgment Night soundtrack.
In 1998, the Sparks album Plagarism was released featuring two collaborations with Faith No More ("This Town Ain't Big Enough for the Both of Us" and "Something for the Girl with Everything").
"Midlife Crisis" appeared on the soundtracks for Tony Hawk's Underground 2 and , which was released on various platforms in 2004 and 2005.
Band members
| Band member | Instrument(s) | Dates | Albums recorded |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roddy Bottum | keyboards | 1982-1998 | all |
| Billy Gould | bass | 1982-1998 | all |
| Mike "Puffy" Bordin | drums | 1982-1998 | all |
| "Big" Jim Martin | guitar | 1983-1993 |
|
| Mike Patton | vocals | 1988-1998 |
|
| Chuck Mosley | vocals | 1983-1988 |
|
| Jon Hudson | guitar | 1997 | Album of the Year |
| Dean Menta | guitar | 1995-1997 | none |
| Trey Spruance | guitar | 1995 | King For A Day... Fool For a Lifetime |
| Mark Bowen | guitar | 1983 | none |
| Courtney Love | vocals | 1983 | none |