Faith No More, a San Francisco-based band, have recorded approximately 100 songs over the course of their career; this includes material from six studio albums, one live album, and numerous
B-side tracks and out-takes. Faith No More were founded in 1981 as Sharp Young Men,[1] and changed their name to Faith. No Man before releasing the 1982 double A-side single
"Quiet in Heaven" / "Song of Liberty".[2] Upon assuming the name Faith No More, the band's first two full-length albums, We Care a Lot and Introduce Yourself, were driven mostly by new vocalist
Chuck Mosley and the "metallic guitar" of
Jim Martin, blending elements of
rap and
heavy metal music.[3] Mosley was later replaced by
Mr. Bungle vocalist
Mike Patton,[4] who added lyrics to the already-written music for 1989's The Real Thing.[5] Their next studio album, Angel Dust, moved away from the band's rap-influenced sound to experiment with different musical genres;[6] a trend which became much more pronounced on the 1995 album King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime.[7]
Between the recording of the latter two albums, Martin left the band. Reports are mixed as to whether he quit or was fired;[8] however he had stopped contributing to the band's output during the recording of Angel Dust,[9] leaving bass player
Billy Gould to record guitar parts for "
Another Body Murdered", the band's contribution to the
Judgment Night soundtrack.[10] Martin's guitarist role was filled during the recording for King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime by Patton's Mr. Bungle bandmate
Trey Spruance, and on the accompanying tour by roadie
Dean Menta.[11] While recording their final album, Album of the Year, the band was joined by guitarist
Jon Hudson. Hudson was also present for the band's collaboration with
Sparks,[3] which produced two songs, including the single "
This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us".[12] In 1998, they released the compilation Who Cares a Lot?, which contains a number of previously unreleased songs.[13]
Among Faith No More's best known songs are "
We Care a Lot", an "antiprotest"[14] song which exists in a different version on each of the Mosley-fronted albums;[15] "
Epic", a breakthrough hit which spent three weeks at number one in Australia and made the top ten in the United States;[16][17] and "
Midlife Crisis", which has featured in the 2004 video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.[18] The band officially split up in April 1998, reforming again in 2009 for a series of tours.[3] The band's first album since reuniting, Sol Invictus, was released in 2015,[19] preceded by the single "
Motherfucker".[20]