American alternative metal band Faith No More has had nearly fifteen band members, many for such a short period of time they were not documented, including: five vocalists, eight guitarists, as well as two keyboardists; one drummer; and one bassist.
The band, consisting of Mike Morris, Billy Gould, Wade Worthington, and Mike Bordin, first formed in 1979 under the name Faith No Man, recording just one release. Wade left shortly afterward and was replaced by Roddy Bottum. In 1982 the band, minus Mike Morris, quit to form Faith No More. During this time they went through the majority of their long list of vocalists and guitarists, Courtney Love being the third and longest-standing vocalist at the time. [1] They then settled on Chuck Mosley and Jim Martin, with whom they recorded and released their first two studio albums, We Care a Lot and Introduce Yourself . After the tour for Introduce Yourself the band fired Mosley and hired Mike Patton from the experimental band Mr. Bungle. This was Faith No More's longest-standing lineup and featured the most releases, including the studio albums The Real Thing and Angel Dust . Following the departure of Jim Martin in late 1993 the band went without a guitarist until starting the writing of the follow-up to Angel Dust, King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime , for which they hired Trey Spruance, also of Mr. Bungle. Spruance left before the tour and was replaced by Dean Menta. Menta was then replaced by Jon Hudson before the recording of the band's final album, Album of the Year . Faith No More split up in 1998. [2]
In February 2009, Faith No More announced they would be re-forming for a European tour that began in June in Brixton Academy, London, and then Download Festival in Donington Park, the UK's biggest rock festival. [3] Since their reformation, the lineup has been identical to the final lineup prior to the band's 1998 breakup.
Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
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Billy Gould |
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| All releases | |
Mike Bordin |
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Roddy Bottum |
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Mike Patton |
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| All releases since The Real Thing (1989) | |
Jon Hudson |
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Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
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Mike Morris | 1979–1983 |
| "Quiet in Heaven", "Song of Liberty" (1982) (as Faith No Man) | |
Wade Worthington |
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Paula Frazer | 1984 | vocals | none | |
Courtney Love [4] | ||||
Mark Bowen | 1983–1984 | guitars | ||
Jim Martin | 1983–1993 |
| All releases from We Care a Lot (1985) to Angel Dust (1992) | |
Chuck Mosley | 1984 [5] –1988 (guest; 2010, 2015, 2016) (died 2017) | lead vocals |
| |
Trey Spruance | 1993–1994 (guest; 2011) [6] | guitars | King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime (1995) | |
Dean Menta | 1995–1996 | King for a Day single b-sides |
Period | Members | Releases |
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1979–1983 |
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1983 |
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1983–1984 |
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1984 |
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1984 |
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1984 |
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1984–1988 |
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1988–1993 |
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1993 |
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1993–1994 |
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1995–1996 |
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1996–1998 |
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Disbanded 1998–2009 | ||
2009–present |
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Faith No More is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. Before September 1983, the band performed under the names Sharp Young Men and later Faith No Man. 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. The band underwent several early lineup changes, and some major changes later. The lineup of Faith No More consists of Gould, Bordin, Bottum, lead guitarist Jon Hudson, and vocalist/lyricist Mike Patton.
Funk metal is a subgenre of funk rock and alternative metal that infuses heavy metal music with elements of funk and punk rock. Funk metal was part of the alternative metal movement, and has been described as a "brief but extremely media-hyped stylistic fad".
Michael Allan Patton is an American singer, songwriter, producer, and voice actor, best known as the lead vocalist of the American rock bands Faith No More and Mr. Bungle. Noted for his vocal proficiency, diverse singing techniques, wide range of projects, style-transcending influences, eccentric public image and contempt for the music industry, Patton has earned critical praise and influenced many contemporary singers. In addition to his most popular endeavor, Faith No More, Patton is also co-founder and lead vocalist of Mr. Bungle, and he has fronted and/or played with Tomahawk, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Fantômas, Moonchild Trio, Kaada/Patton, Dead Cross, Lovage, Mondo Cane, the X-ecutioners, and Peeping Tom. Consistent collaborators through his varied career include avant-garde jazz saxophonist John Zorn, hip hop producer Dan the Automator and classical violinist Eyvind Kang.
The Real Thing is the third studio album by American rock band Faith No More, released on June 20, 1989, by Slash and Reprise Records. It is the first album to feature singer Mike Patton, following the dismissal of previous vocalist Chuck Mosley. On this album, Faith No More continued to advance their sound range, combining alternative metal, funk metal, and rap metal.
Angel Dust is the fourth studio album by American rock band Faith No More, released on June 8, 1992, by Slash and Reprise Records. It is the follow-up to 1989's highly successful The Real Thing, and was the band's final album to feature guitarist Jim Martin. It was also the first album where vocalist Mike Patton had any substantial influence on the band's music, having been hired after the other band members had written and recorded everything for The Real Thing except vocals and most of the lyrics. The band stated that they wanted to move away from the funk metal style of their prior releases, towards a more "theatrical" sound.
Charles Henry Mosley III was an American musician, singer and songwriter, who was the frontman for Faith No More from 1984 to 1988. During his tenure with the band, they released two albums, We Care a Lot and Introduce Yourself.
William David Gould is an American musician and producer. He is best known as the bassist of Faith No More.
Preston Lea "Trey" Spruance III is an American composer, producer, and musician who co-founded the experimental rock band Mr. Bungle. He is also leader of the multi-genre outfit Secret Chiefs 3. Originally a guitarist and trumpeter, in the early 90s Spruance began playing vintage electronic organs, analog synthesizers, saz, santur, electric sitar, tar, and various other string and percussion instruments. In the mid 90s he founded Forking Paths Studio where his production techniques were applied to Mr. Bungle and Secret Chiefs 3 records among many others. Since 2007 Spruance's Secret Chiefs 3 has been a very active live entity, performing well over 500 shows in more than 50 countries.
James Blanco Martin is an American guitarist who played with the rock band Faith No More from 1983 to late 1993.
Introduce Yourself is the second studio album by American rock band Faith No More, released in 1987. Due to the limited availability of the first album, We Care a Lot, many, including the band, once considered this Faith No More's true debut album. Being the group's major label debut, this album features better production than its predecessor, which is most evident on this album's version of the song "We Care a Lot," which also features updated, more topical, lyrics. It is the final album to feature vocalist Chuck Mosley before he was fired from Faith No More in 1988.
California is the third studio album by American experimental rock band Mr. Bungle. It was released on July 13, 1999, through Warner Bros.
We Care a Lot is the debut studio album by American rock band Faith No More, originally released in 1985 and distributed through Mordam Records. On the original vinyl release, the band is credited as Faith. No More. on the album's liner notes, back cover, and on the record itself.
Dean Menta is an American music editor and composer living in Los Angeles, California.
"Digging the Grave" is a 1995 single by Faith No More, from their fifth studio album, King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime. Produced by Andy Wallace in the Bearsville Studios, the song was born out of a period of transition for the group, as they were dealing with the absence of keyboard player Roddy Bottum—who was grieving the deaths of his father and of friend Kurt Cobain—and had recently fired their previous guitar player Jim Martin.
Who Cares a Lot? The Greatest Videos is a greatest hits retrospective compilation video album by American rock band Faith No More. It was released on video home system following the band's April 1998 breakup and is a companion to the greatest hits album Who Cares a Lot? The Greatest Hits.
"Ricochet" is a 1995 single by Faith No More, taken from their fifth studio album King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime. Produced by Andy Wallace in the Bearsville Studios, the song was borne out of a period of transition for the group, who had recently fired their previous guitar player Jim Martin, and were dealing with the absence of keyboard player Roddy Bottum, who was grieving the death of his friend Kurt Cobain.
"Evidence" is a 1995 single by "Faith No More", taken from their fifth studio album, King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime. Recorded in Bearsville Studios and produced by Andy Wallace, the song was born out of a period of transition for the group, who had recently fired their previous guitar player Jim Martin and were dealing with the absence of keyboard player Roddy Bottum, who was grieving several recent deaths.
"Quiet in Heaven"/"Song of Liberty" is a 1983 double A-side single by California-based post-punk group Faith. No Man. Recorded at producer Matt Wallace's home studio, the single was the band's only release before the majority of its members left to form Faith No More the following year; keyboard player Wade Worthington had already been replaced between the single's recording and its release.
King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime is the fifth studio album by American rock band Faith No More, released on March 13, 1995, by Slash and Reprise Records. It was their first album recorded without longtime guitarist Jim Martin. The album showcased a variety of musical genres, with Rolling Stone calling the result a "genre shuffle". King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime spawned three singles: "Digging the Grave", "Ricochet" and "Evidence".