Forming in 1979 under the moniker Sharp Young Men, this San Francisco-based outfit rebranded four years later as Faith No More. With their absurd lyrics and eclectic sound, the alt-metal legends influenced everyone from Nirvana to Slipknot. After seven albums and three Grammy nominations, Faith No More has effectively been on hiatus since 2020. And five years later, bassist Billy Gould says their status remains up in the air.
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Faith No More Is On “Semi-Permanent Hiatus”
If you’re curious about what’s going on with Faith No More, you’re in good company. In a recent interview with Chile’s Radio Futuro, bassist Billy Gould revealed he would also like to know.
“I don’t know. I honestly don’t know, and you don’t have to believe me,” Gould said. “But there is really—there’s nothing right now. We’re in a really weird spot, a really strange spot, and I can’t really tell you what’s going on. I don’t know myself. I get different information from people, and I’m in the band.
The 61-year-old Californian admitted that he doesn’t call the shots, but if he did, “probably we’d be playing in Chile next week.”
Faith No More last performed publicly at the Troubadour in West Hollywood, California, in August 2016. Former frontman Chuck Moseley, who died in November 2017 at age 57, took the stage with the band for that show. Current lead singer Mike Patton hasn’t taken the stage with the band since an October 2015 gig at the Aftershock Festival in Sacramento, California.
[RELATED: How Nirvana’s ‘Unplugged In New York’ Changed MTV Forever]
In October 2024, keyboardist Roddy Bottum told his personal Substack readers that Faith No More was “kind of on semi-permanent hiatus.”
Mike Patton’s Mental Health Battle
After postponing their 2020 dates, Faith No More again canceled the rescheduled shows in 2021. Mike Patton also canceled a gig for his other band, Mr. Bungle, due to mental health reasons.
In a 2022 interview with Rolling Stone, Patton disclosed that he had been diagnosed with agoraphobia following the spring of 2020. “I became completely isolated and almost antisocial [and] afraid of people,” he said. “That sort of anxiety, or whatever you want to call it, led to other issues, which I choose not to discuss. But I got some professionals helping me, and now I’m feeling better and getting closer to diving back in.”
Featured image by Brandon Marshall/Shutterstock
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