Faith No More

[7] Bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist/rhythm guitarist Roddy Bottum and drummer Mike Bordin are the longest-remaining members of the band, having been involved since its inception.

After releasing six studio albums, including best-selling records The Real Thing (1989) and Angel Dust (1992),[8] Faith No More officially announced its breakup on April 20, 1998.

The band's name was changed to Faith No Man for the release of the single, which featured two of the three songs recorded in Wallace's garage,[16] and Roddy Bottum replaced Worthington.

This gained the attention of Ruth Schwartz, who was then forming the independent label Mordam Records, under which the band, after getting the necessary financial support, finished and released the album.

[20] The label had recently been sold to the Warner Music Group subsidiary London Records, ensuring a widespread release for the band's following albums.

Introduce Yourself was released in April 1987, and a revamped version of their debut album's title track "We Care a Lot" saw minor success on MTV.

Incidents include him allegedly punching Billy Gould on stage,[21] the release party for the album Introduce Yourself—during which he fell asleep on stage—and one of Mosley's roadies getting into a fistfight with Martin during the European tour.

[25] One critic wrote that the album is "one of the more complex and simply confounding records ever released by a major label"[31] and another that the single "'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.

"[32] Aside from "A Small Victory" (which received a nomination for Best Art Direction at the MTV Video Music Awards), the tracks "Midlife Crisis" and "Everything's Ruined" were also released as singles.

[36] The position was filled by Mike Patton's Mr. Bungle bandmate Trey Spruance, who left after recording 1995's King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime, just before the band was to begin its world tour.

[48] During their tour, the band added covers to their repertoire including "Poker Face" by Lady Gaga, "Ben" by Michael Jackson and "Switch" by Siouxsie and the Banshees.

"[53] In November 2011, the band performed “king for a day, fool for a lifetime” album live at Maquinaria Festival in Chile with Trey Spruance on guitar.

[59][60] On August 30, Gould said that the band is "considering doing something new", and may begin work on a new studio album at some point in the not-too-distant future, explaining, "to do something creative would be a really good thing to do.

[70] On November 23, 2019, Faith No More updated its official website and social media accounts with an image of the band's eight-pointed star logo in front of a snow-covered mountain top, accompanied by a clock counting down to November 26, 2019; on the latter date, the band announced its first shows in five years set to take place in Europe in June 2020, including Sunstroke Festival in Ireland, Hellfest in France and Tons of Rock in Norway.

[74][75] The band was scheduled to play two shows at the Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles with System of a Down, Helmet and Russian Circles, which were initially set to take place May 22–23, 2020, but were postponed twice due to the pandemic,[76][77][78] and Faith No More was replaced by Korn.

[10] In a 2022 interview with The Guardian, Patton disclosed that he has not spoken to the members of Faith No More since the initial show cancellations, leaving the band's future in question.

[108] By the mid-1980s, Billy Gould stated the band were in a "weird spot", as their eclectic sound didn't fit in with the burgeoning hardcore punk and alternative rock movements of the era.

[109] Upon Mike Patton's arrival in 1989, the band began to expand their sound range even further, merging disparate genres such as synth-pop,[110] thrash metal,[31] and carousel music[31] on The Real Thing.

Rolling Stone states that by 1997, the band were "too heavy for the post-grunge pop hits of The Verve and Third Eye Blind [and] too arty to work comfortably with the nu metal knuckle-draggers they spawned.

[122][123] In a 2015 article by Artistdirect, the musicians Duff McKagan, Chino Moreno, Serj Tankian, Corey Taylor, Max Cavalera and Jonathan Davis all praised the band for their significance and influence.

[125] Robert Plant, singer of Led Zeppelin, mentioned the then Chuck Mosley-led Faith No More as one of his favorite bands in a 1988 interview with Rolling Stone.

[127][128] Alexander Julien of Vision Eternel named Faith No More as his favorite band in numerous interviews and has listed it as a major influence on his music.

[129][130][131] In interviews with The PRP, Mushroomhead,[132] Lostprophets,[133] The Dillinger Escape Plan,[134] American Head Charge,[135] Dog Fashion Disco,[136] Grüvis Malt,[137] and Vex Red[138] each listed Faith No More as a major influence.

"[142] Faith No More has also been credited for influencing nu metal bands, such as Limp Bizkit, Korn, and Sevendust,[143] primarily due to the popularity of "Epic", and other early material that featured rap and rock crossovers.

[147][148][149] Flavorwire stated in 2014 "Although the band always had a loyal fan base and Patton remains an indie hero, they only cracked the Billboard Hot 100 once, with Epic."

Others have noted that after "Epic"'s success, the band still managed to remain highly popular in regions outside North America: including Australia, South America, Europe and the U.K.[150] The band's original final record Album of the Year notably experienced high sales in countries such as Australia (where it went platinum),[151] New Zealand and Germany, while being deemed a commercial failure in their native USA.

Faith No More have been covered by prominent metal acts such as 36 Crazyfists,[152] Apocalyptica,[153] Atreyu,[154] Between the Buried and Me,[155] Disturbed,[156] Five Finger Death Punch,[157] Helloween,[158] Ill Niño,[159] Korn,[160] Machine Head,[161] Papa Roach,[162] Redemption,[163] Revocation,[164] Sentenced,[165] Slaves on Dope[166] and Trail of Tears.

It features 30 Faith No More songs covered by mostly underground and independent hardcore punk, industrial, and alternative metal acts, including Hate Dept., Tub Ring, Bile, and Yellow No.

[182] In 2023, The Lucid along with Violent J (Insane Clown Posse) released a re-imagining of "Epic" titled "Sweet Toof"; keeping the music unchanged but re-writing all lyrics and vocal melodies except for a callback to the original chorus during the outro.

Regarding the perceived conflict, Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea stated in a 1996 interview, "There was never any fight between us, that was a bunch of bullshit created by the media.

The band's classic logo, used on the 1985 debut We Care a Lot . It was originally designed by bassist Billy Gould as an homage to the Symbol of Chaos . [ 12 ]
Faith No More's singer from 1984 to 1988, Chuck Mosley (photo from 2016)
Faith No More in a promotional photo for The Real Thing , c. 1989–1990
Vocalist Mike Patton joined Faith No More in 1988, succeeding Chuck Mosley
The alternate "barking dog logo", based on the artwork for Faith No More's 1995 album King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime