FAITH NO MORE Was drummer 'Puffy' Bordin to blame?
FAITH NO MORE have officially split up, ending two years of mounting speculation that the band was running out of steam.
Despite being offered - and initially accepting - the chance to join Aerosmith on a European tour this summer, the pioneering San Francisco band were finally forced to call it quits last week, after almost a month of rumours that the band was over.
True to a career which has seen FNM never directly state facts, the split was announced in a terse, three-sentence statement, which simply says: "After 15 long and fruitful years, Faith No More have decided to put an end to speculation regarding their imminent break-up... by breaking up. The decision among the members is mutual, and there will be no pointing of fingers, no naming of names, other than stating, for the record, that 'Puffy' (drummer Mike Bordin) started it!"
Furthermore, the split will now enable each member to pursue his individual projects) unhindered. Lastly, and most importantly, the band would like to thank all of those fans and associates that have stuck with and supported the band throughout its history." Whether or not the reference to Bordin is a joke, there is strong speculation that his decision to rejoin Ozzy Osbourne's band for his summer tour was the straw that broke the camel's back. But even though both vocalist Mike Patton and keyboard player Roddy Bottum had been privately airing their dissatisfaction with the group, they were understood to have committed to the dates with Aerosmith.
At this point the split appears irreconcilable, ending a career which climaxed with the band enjoying multi-platinum success internationally with 1989 s seminal album The Real Thing.
Their off-beat LPs continued to be hugely successful in Europe, where the band regularly sold out tours, but in recent years their American sales suffered. They were once tagged unfairly as funk metal' when the reality of their sound was far edgier and more aggressive, laying the groundwork for bands such as Korn and Deftones.
In all, FNM released six studio albums, the last being 1997's ironically titled 'Album Of The Year'.
