No More Faith No More
During Faith No More’s fifteen-year run, they spent nearly as much
time diffusing break-up rumors as they did making music. As of
today, they no longer have to worry about either. The band
officially announced its break-up eleven months after the release
of its sixth album, the optimistically-titled, but
critically-panned and commercially-lackluster Album of the
Year.
In a prepared statement, the band said: “By breaking up, the
decision among the members is mutual, and there will be no pointing
of fingers, no naming of names, other than stating, for the record,
that ‘Puffy started it.'” The band is currently in the process of
canceling dates for a spring European tour.
FNM reached the height of their popularity in 1989 when vocalist
Mike Patton replaced original frontman Chuck Mosely. Soon after,
the funk metal outfit released the multi-platinum The Real
Thing and, more importantly, provided the music industry a
needed respite from glam and classic rock. Unfortunately for FNM,
the group didn’t get the chance to ride the coattails of the new
music revolution for long. By the release of their next album,
1992’s Angel Dust, grunge had already taken the U.S by
storm, and FNM went from being music pioneers to just another metal
band — a label they seemed to embrace by opening for Metallica and
Guns n’ Roses on a ’92 summer stadium tour. To date, Album of
the Year has sold a mere 164,000 copies in the U.S.
Still, the more FNM’s audience dwindled it the U.S., the greater
it grew in Europe. So, instead of packing it in, FNM toured long
and hard overseas and persevered with four different guitarists,
two vocalists and a good deal of in-fighting. In January ’97,
bassist Billy Gould told Rolling Stone Network, “there’s definitely
tension in the band. There’s been some arguments. But, I think
Faith No More has been a priority for everybody for so many years
that this is the time for everybody to do their thing.”
Throughout FNM’s reign, nearly every member split their time
with various projects: Mike Patton fronts the experimental band Mr.
Bungle; drummer Mike Bordin toured with Ozzy Osbourne and Black
Sabbath; keyboardist Roddy Bottum plays with Imperial Teen; and
Billy Gould did remixes for bands like Rammstein and is currently
working on a solo project.
As far as any unreleased FNM in the offering, Gould says it will
see the light of day, “but it’s all kind of new to talk about.”