Metal, Hardcore, Indie, Rock
In a recently shared chat on Kyle Meredith With…, Mike Patton is the main guest, as per theprp. When he and the band reunited in 2009 for a run that ended abruptly in 2021, Meredith questioned the well-known alternative metal vocalist—who is recognized for his work in Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, and numerous other projects—if he felt a sense of closure with Faith No More.
I didn’t really think so at the time, but, yeah, maybe. And I think that we all kind of felt it, but it was unspoken. And it’s funny, just when you’ve been in a band or a musical situation for a period of time, you always, in the back of your head, you’re kind of thinking, ‘Well, maybe this is it.’ And I don’t mind that feeling. I don’t see it as a sad thing. I see it as being present and being able to really appreciate it while it’s happening.
Patton said this in response to Meredith’s question about whether he thought Faith No More was more of a pause in his musical career between his many other endeavors than a kind of career fulcrum.
I’d never really understood, and I had to figure this out very early on, was the concept of a side project, that’s assuming that there’s a main one. And for me, I really never had one. There were projects like Faith No More where I spent more time on, in terms of touring and promoting, quote-unquote, if you will.
But everything that I’ve done was of equal importance to me. They just weren’t viewed that way. And the public, for whatever reason, needs to have a hierarchy kind of built in there, just to make themselves feel better about it, I guess. I don’t know.
With a cancelled tour during the epidemic being their final indication of life, Faith No More‘s current condition is at best hazy. Later on, Patton would disclose that he had experienced mental health issues during that time, which prompted him to seek professional assistance for agoraphobia. Since then, Patton has made multiple appearances on the road with Mr. Bungle, but Faith No More has remained inactive, presumably due to disagreements between Patton and the band. Mike “Puffy” Bordin, the drummer for Faith No More, discussed the situation this past April, saying that although the band chose to help Patton during their difficult time and postpone many of their performances, their connection with him as a group seemed to deteriorate.
