Faith No More

Faith No More cultivated a devoted cult audience through their distinctive blend of heavy metal, funk, hip-hop, and progressive rock. Already cycling through multiple lead singers by the time they cut their debut album in 1985—including a stint by Courtney Love—the group delivered We Care a Lot, whose raw, abrasive vocals came from Chuck Mosley while Jim Martin supplied its metallic guitar drive. Their follow-up, Introduce Yourself, arrived in 1987 and presented a noticeably tighter, more assured statement in which the rap and metal components no longer seemed to clash.

The band dismissed Mosley in 1988 and brought in Bay Area vocalist Mike Patton to finish The Real Thing. Patton proved far more versatile, gliding between rapping and melodic singing while injecting the lyrics with a markedly stranger sensibility. With the rest of the lineup sharpening its focus, the album yielded the genre-defying hit single “Epic,” which placed Faith No More among the leading hard-rock acts of the era.

Sustaining that momentum proved difficult. The 1992 release Angel Dust turned out to be one of the most intricate and deliberately disorienting albums ever issued by a major label. Although it achieved solid sales, the record lacked the broad crossover appeal of its predecessor. During the supporting tour, friction between the band and Martin intensified, and reports surfaced that portions of his guitar tracks had been removed from the final mixes of Angel Dust. While the group worked on its fifth album in early 1994, it became official that Martin had been let go.

Faith No More completed King for a Day, Fool for a Lifetime with Mr. Bungle guitarist Trey Spruance. Before touring began, Spruance stepped aside for Dean Menta, who remained only through that album’s cycle and was succeeded by Jon Hudson for 1997’s Album of the Year. After the tour wrapped, Faith No More declared their breakup in April 1998. Patton, who had already led Mr. Bungle and pursued avant-garde collaborations with John Zorn, launched the new project Fantômas alongside Melvins guitarist Buzz Osbourne, Mr. Bungle bassist Trevor Dunn, and former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo. Roddy Bottum stayed active with Imperial Teen, whose debut album Seasick came out in 1996. A retrospective collection, Who Cares a Lot, appeared posthumously in late 1998.

Following an eleven-year hiatus, Faith No More mounted a reunion tour in 2009 that included European festivals and select American shows. Jim Martin did not take part, yet Jon Hudson joined the remaining members of the 1988 lineup. Continued live appearances fueled speculation about new material, which the band confirmed in November 2014 by issuing the characteristically irreverent single “Motherfucker.” In May 2015 they delivered Sol Invictus—their first studio album since 1997—via Reclamation Records, a label distributed through Patton’s Ipecac imprint, and backed the release with an extensive trek across the United States, Europe, and South America.