“When you've been in a band you’re always, in the back of your head, thinking, 'Well, maybe this is it.' And I don't mind that feeling. I don't see it as a sad thing”: Mike Patton on feeling closure at the end of Faith No More

Mike Patton has been talking about Faith No More about how he doesn’t mind if that really is it for the 90s rock icons.

The band haven’t performed live since 2016, although they were due to play some gigs in September 2021 before these cancelled when Patton said he couldn’t go through with them, citing “mental health reasons exacerbated by the pandemic.”

Patton was appearing on Kyle Meredith’s podcast when he was asked by the host if he felt “closure” after the band’s last tour back in 2015/16. “I didn't really think so at the time, but, yeah, maybe,” he replied. 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 went on to explain that he is still active musically, and that he sees Faith No More as just another project of many. "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.”

Faith No More - Midlife Crisis (Official Music Video) [4K] - YouTube

Watch On

“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."

So, it increasingly looks as if Faith No More have to be viewed in the past tense. In an interview with Greg Prato of Alternative Nation last October, keyboard player Roddy Bottum said he would not consider doing shows again with the band. “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. But I mean, for sure, getting back together would mean a big paycheque, but I think all of us are pretty good with what we did."