Faith No More

Biography

Faith No More (1979-1998, 2009-present): a Funk Metal band from San Francisco, California, USA.

F

using funk, rap, heavy metal and hardcore metal (metalcore), Billy Gould (bass), Chuck Moseley (vocals), Roddy Bottum (keyboards), Jim Martin (guitar) and Mike Bordin (drums) got together in 1979 to form Faith No More. They were not known by this name initially, however. Under the name Sharp Young Men, they recorded Quiet in Heaven/Song of Liberty, released in 1983 in Matt Wallace's parents' garage, where Wallace had set up and been running a recording studio along with Mike Morris, Billy Gould, Mike Bordin and Wade Worthington. Worthington left shortly thereafter. They then changed their name to Faith No Man for the release of the single, which featured two of the three songs, but hired Roddy Bottum to replace Worthington. Bottum, Gould and Bordin quit the band shortly after to form Faith No More. They chose the name to accentuate the fact that "The Man" (Mike Morris) was "No More". They didn't have any constant guitarists or vocalists until they eventually settled on Chuck Mosley in 1983 and later Jim Martin (later also of Spastik Children).

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It would take until 1985, however, before their eponymous debut on the indie 'Mordam' label arrived. We Care a Lot, an EP lifted from the album got the attention of 'Slash Records' who released the follow-up Introduce Yourself (1987).

Moseley was released from the band with Mike Patton assuming his responsibilities. Pattonas it turned out proved to be an impressive acquisition for the band for his vocal theatrics and live persona; a talent expressed fully on The Real Thing (1989), an album whose lyrics he penned and an album that made 11 in the US/30 UK With tracks like Epic, and a cover version of Black Sabbath's War Pigs amongst its midst the album came across as a badly needed addition to the heavy metal world and went on to sell over a million copies.

The follow-up, Angel Dust (1992), was a mish-mash of styles, sort of Korn meets Red Hot Chili Peppers, even more so than its predecessor with everything from pop friendly tracks to those that were an aural assault. Tracks like the rhythmic Midlife Crisis mixed with the equally groovy but more sexualized Be Aggressive stood out boldly, the album even boasting a cover of the Commodore's I'm Easy. The platter was well played, for after a tour with Guns N' Roses it sailed up the charts to land at an even 10 in the US & 2 in the UK.

By the release of King For a Day - Fool For a Lifetime (1995) Jim Martin was gone for a solo effort while Trey Spruance took his place (to be subsequently replaced by Dean Menta after the release). The album was a massive wash of hardcore venom spewing aural assaults at every opportunity. The album nonetheless made a solid showing with a 31 US/5 UK position. While the band had always claimed they were a rock band and nothing more it was clear they had full intentions to buck every trend they could and carve their own niche and remain the genre's outsiders and audio outlaws, and although the follow-up album Album of the Year (1997) failed to live up to its namesake they still maintained their own path and sound. The album featured new replacement Jon Hudson on guitar to replace Menta and managed a very respectable 41 US/7UK position but it would prove to be their epitaph for they broke up a year later.

During the reign of Faith No More, Patton, along with Tray Dunn (bass) and William Winmant (percussion) released a side project one-off titled Mr. Bungle (1991), named after his newly formed side act; the album that made 57 in the UK. This project was abandoned until 1996 when it was restarted by Patton to release Disco Volante (1996) to little notice with the odd membership of Patton, Spruance, Theo, Uncooked Meat Prior To State Vector Collapse, Clinton McKinnon + I Quit. It shows evidence that there may have been internal trouble brewing in Faith No More if two prominent members are resuming projects outside and, indeed, that was the case discovered later. The album was followed-up after Faith No More's demise with California (1999) to similar appeal.

Likewise on separate projects was Roddy Bottum (vocals/guitar) who recruited Will Schwartz(vocals), Jone Stebbings (ex-Wrecks; bass) and Lynn Perko (ex-Dicks/ex-Sister Double Happiness; drums) to release Seasick (1996) and What Is Not To Love (1998) under the moniker Imperial Teen.

On February 24, 2009 after months of speculation and rumors, Faith No More announced they would be reforming with a line-up identical to the Album of the Year era. To coincide with the band's reunion tour, 'Rhino' released the band's sixth compilation, The Very Best Definitive Ultimate Greatest Hits Collection, a double album that included their hit singles, b-sides & rarities.

On July 4, 2014, Faith No More played their first show in two years at Hyde Park in London, supporting Black Sabbath. At that show, Faith No More debuted two new songs Motherfucker and Superhero (also known by fans as "Leader of Men").

Faith No More released their seventh studio album, Sol Invictus, in May 2015. The album tracks influenced by The Cramps, Link Wray and Siouxsie and the Banshees.

Chuck Mosley died Thursday, November 9th, 2017.


Footnote: There is also a legend that the band name was actually taken from the name of the dog that came in first they had bet on at the races in desperation to raise money in their early days.

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Promotional media photo for Faith No More in 1989.
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