Avant-garde, funk metal, post-apocalyptic lounge … however one chooses to describe Faith No More, odds are good he or she will be right, in some capacity or another. Born as Faith No Man in 1981, with four notable lead vocalists and enumerable stylistic shifts, worldwide acclaim through genres galore never sounded so engrossingly, pleasantly bizarre.
Fronted initially by singer Mike Morris, he was later abandoned by Billy Gould, Roddy Bottum, Jim Martin, and Mike Bordin in 1982, who quickly reformed under the moniker Faith No More. After a then-unknown Courtney Love tried her hand at leadership, Chuck Mosley was put at the helm for two LPs before getting fired due to erratic stage behavior and heavy drug use.
Ultimately, it was Mr. Bungle’s Mike Patton who earned mainstay traction and over two weeks had constructed every lyric that inevitably became Faith No More’s breakout hit, 1989’s The Real Thing. Single upon video single garnered major renown, skyrocketing FNM into alt-metal superstardom, one oddly-shaped LP at a time.
As each subsequent release became more sonically foreign to major labels and mainstream audiences, and a string of varied guitarists came and went, Faith No More sadly disbanded following 1997’s Album of the Year. Mike Patton, no worse for the wear, had begun numerous side-projects in the meantime, including a stint with his previous act. The rest was history, until 2009’s Download Festival reunion performance spurned rumors of new material, thus culminating in 2015’s independent release, Sol Invictus.
To commemorate their triumphant return, we’ve sorted through 126 album cuts, official performances, singles, and soundtracks to bring you raw, uncut Faith No More, from worst to best. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the real thing, and if you like your rock and roll on the weird, wild side, look no further.
Note: No bootlegs or remixes have been included, so Courtney Love’s only known recorded contribution did not appear. However, as an honorable mention, you can find her 1984 rendition of “Blood” on YouTube.
