In a new interview, Faith No More frontman Mike Patton has opened up about the band’s final run of shows, suggesting that the members may have collectively sensed the end was near, even if they didn’t say it out loud.
Speaking with Kyle Meredith, the prolific vocalist was asked if there was a feeling of “closure” during the band’s last major touring cycle a decade ago. Patton admitted that while it wasn’t explicitly discussed, the vibe was present.
“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: 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 also took the opportunity to dismantle the public perception of his career “hierarchy,” rejecting the idea that his work outside of Faith No More should be classified as “side projects.”
“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.”
Faith No More reunited in 2009 after a lengthy breakup, eventually releasing the album Sol Invictus in 2015. However, the band has not performed since 2016. A planned return to the stage in 2021 was scrapped at the last minute due to Patton‘s mental health struggles, and tensions within the group appear to remain high.
In an interview last October, keyboardist Roddy Bottum was blunt when asked if he foresaw another reunion.
“I don’t think so. No. It’s not just me. I don’t think anyone’s sort of up for it at this point. We had a bunch of shows that we were gonna play, and they got canceled, just for various reasons. But I don’t think the course that we were on has fixed itself. I just don’t see it happening again, honestly. I think we did a really good job. We played a bunch of reunion tours, and I think we did what we kind of set out to do. So I don’t think anyone’s upset about it or anything.”
The frustration regarding the 2021 cancellation was detailed extensively by drummer Mike Bordin in an April 2025 appearance on the “Let There Be Talk” podcast. He described the chaotic moments before the tour was pulled.
“And it came to pass that when the gear was in the truck, when it was rolling to Chicago, 36 hours before we were supposed to be on stage, and our guy [Mike Patton] doesn’t show for the rehearsal, the one rehearsal that we’re gonna do. And we go to go see him and see what’s going on. ‘What the hell’s going on here? Our gear’s rolling already to the gig.’ And it was very clear that he was unable at that point to physically do it.”
While Bordin emphasized that the band supported Patton‘s health at the time, he noted that seeing the singer tour with Mr. Bungle in the years since has changed his perspective.
“So it’s my take, my position, my statement on it is that he’s gone from being unable to do the shows to clearly being unwilling to do shows with us. And that’s heavy. That’s a big difference. That’s a big difference. And we haven’t really had much dialogue on it. It doesn’t feel great to me. It honestly kind of hurts my feelings a little bit, but that’s personal. That’s a private thing.”
Patton has previously addressed the breakdown that led to the cancellations. In a 2022 interview with Rolling Stone, he explained that the isolation of the pandemic triggered severe agoraphobia and alcohol use.
“It’s easy to blame it on the pandemic. But I’ll be honest, man: At the beginning of the pandemic, I was like, ‘This is f**king great. I can stay home and record.’ I’ve got a home studio. So I was like, ‘Yeah, what’s the big deal?’ And then something clicked, and I became completely isolated and almost antisocial [and] afraid of people. That sort of anxiety, or whatever you want to call it, led to other issues, which I choose not to discuss.”
He admitted that the pressure of returning to Faith No More became insurmountable just days before the tour was set to begin.
“That’s when I kind of lost it, and it was ugly and not cool,” he said. “A few days before we were supposed to go on the road. I told the guys, ‘Hey, man, I don’t think I can do it.’ Somehow my confidence was broken down. I didn’t want to be in front of people, which is weird because I spent half of my life doing that. It was very hard to explain. And there were some broken feelings on both sides about it, but it’s what I had to do.
As for the current status of the band, bassist Billy Gould summed it up in January 2025 with “Radio Futuro“:
“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.”
