Faith No More Tease Something New, And We Care A Lot

As the world of rock woke up today, our socials were abuzz with a tease of something afoot from the Faith No More Camp. Mike Patton et al shared a simple logo, their star-shaped graphic with Faith No More 2027, and we fans got straight onto the socials sharing this news.  

Having worked with Faith No More for over 30 years and being a fan from the beginning, I got straight onto Spotify to blast out the truly apt Album Of The Year in honour of my all-time favourite band. 

I interviewed the truly enigmatic keyboard legend, Roddy Bottum, last year for MetalTalk whilst he was over with Man On Man, his sublime side project with partner Joey Holman, who were over to rock London and promote his must-read book The Royal We.

We touched on the subject of a possible Faith No More tour or recording, and he said the band were “very much talking” on their WhatsApp group, but nothing further than that.  

I caught up with drummer extraordinaire, Mike Bordin, at Ozzy’s farewell, and he also mentioned that infamous Faith No More WhatsApp group, which did set me hoping and dreaming.

Singer Mike Patton, who could literally sing a phone book or WhatsApp message and make it sound like you have been aurally blessed, took a well-publicised hiatus after COVID and all the shit that went with that.

But after some hugely successful gigs with The Avett Brothers, aka AVTT/PTTN, as well as his other side hustles, could we be hearing those dulcet tones again mixed with that screaming, playing of the Theremin through a pedal and that child toy-like mouth key-tar?   

The announcement today was that Faith No More had teamed up with Brazilian brand 30e.

“30e feels like a company that wants to dent into the status quo, and as artists we understand the value of that,” Faith No More said in a statement. “Their approach doesn’t feel like the usual machinery. It feels like it’s coming from a different place, with a different kind of energy, and we are willing to get behind that.”

“Faith No More have always been synonymous with disruption. They shaped entire generations precisely because they refused to play by the market’s obvious rules, and it is that same audacious spirit that drives 30e,” said Pepeu Correa, CEO of 30e. “This agreement aims to jointly build a platform for global experiences that respects the band’s transgressive DNA and presents our vision of entertainment to the world.”

I have been honoured to work with the Faith No More dudes from back in my MTV Headbangers Ball days with Queen of Metal presenter, Vanessa Warwick, where we were invited to Mike Bordin’s Californian home and summoned to the set of their video for Ashes To Ashes.

This was filmed downtown in Los Angeles and was the setting for that iconic scene in Se7en, that super scary film featuring Brad Pitt, Gwyneth Paltrow and Morgan Freeman.  It was one of the best days of my life getting to hang out with them all dressed in gorgeous tuxedos, singing what was to be my sing-along anthem for many a year.   

I have so many memories of being on tour or at festivals, looking after Mike Bordin’s tour bus houseplants, Mike Patton berating me for not wanting to eat fish, rushing to the hospital when he cut his head open at the Astoria, and taking Davina McCall to see them in Cambridge. Dodgy photos included. If only we had iPhones in those days.

But my funniest tale has to be that of myself and Roddy Bottum. The band were playing Download festival and literally were the first people I bumped into. After a huge group hug, they went off to perform.

Roddy came over after the stonking performance and said, “Which hotel are you staying at, Sara?” To which I replied The Hilton. He suggested we meet up at midnight and have a jacuzzi/sauna moment, to which I replied Hell yes.

So at midnight I scuttled down to the spa with my towelling robe and hold-it-all in swimsuit and headed into the jacuzzi. Soon, four very large, hirsute German men got in with me, and let’s just say I was feeling very awkward as they had more back hair than a carpet superstore in a whirling pool of ass soup.

Sooooooo as the minutes ticked by, I got hotter and hotter, and these Germans were not going anywhere, so I decided to head up to the bar for a drink with the legendary Scream team. Still no sign of Roddy, so I thought I had been stood up and comforted myself with a dry sherry or two.

Fast forward to a year later, when I saw Roddy again at an event, and he came rushing over to me and said, “Where were you that night? I waited till 2 am.”

We were both trying to work out where it had all gone wrong. It turned out I was at the East Midlands Hilton, and he was in the Birmingham one. Doh.  

But the one gig I will never forget is their reunion, when the band played O2 Academy Brixton, and they came on stage in Peach suits and sang Reunited.

I cried, I laughed, we all rocked out all night and were all just so happy to see this epic band one more time.

If this is a chance to witness my favourite live band once again, I will be there, and Roddy, see you in the correct Hilton jacuzzi this time.

The post Faith No More Tease Something New, And We Care A Lot first appeared on MetalTalk - Heavy Metal News, Reviews and Interviews.