Why Faith No More is not touring

One of the most influential bands from the last decades, Faith No More sold an estimated amount of more than 20 million records worldwide and were always known for their incredible live performances. The band was first active from 1979 to 1998 and then reunited in 2009. Since then the band toured until 2012, released the album “Sol Invictus” in 2015 and toured to promote that record.

Their most recent concert happened in 2016 but the band even announced their return to the road in 2019 and had many concerts scheduled for 2020. But the Covid-19 Pandemic forced them to postpone all the dates. But in 2021 when they would finally return, their shows were again canceled. Why the band is not touring?

Why Faith No More is not touring

Faith No More is currently not touring because of Mike Patton‘s mental health. The vocalist was diagnosed with Agoraphobia, which is the fear of being in crowded places or leaving home. The musician said that in an interview with Rolling Stone in 2022 that it was better to cancel the upcoming dates than having a nervous breakdown on the road with the group.

Since then the band is inactive but Patton already toured a lot with his other smaller projects like Mr. Bungle. So he started probably to overcome that issue with his side projects since the crowds wouldn’t be as big if he was performing with Faith No More.

In the conversation with Rolling Stone he talked about the issue, saying: “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 fucking great. I can stay home and record.’ I’ve got a home studio. So I was like, ‘Yeah, what’s the big deal?’ Then something clicked. I became completely isolated and almost antisocial [and] afraid of people.”

He continued:

“That sort of anxiety, or whatever you want to call it, led to other issues, which I choose not to discuss. But I got some professionals helping me. Now I’m feeling better and getting closer to diving back in.” That’s what Mike Patton said about touring with Mr. Bungle again at the time.

Until now there is no information about a possible return of Faith No More. But Mr Bungle has many scheduled tour dates in 2024, so Patton might be feeling better. So that could maybe open the door for a reunion in the following years.

Besides the singer, the band’s current line-up has: Mike Bordin (Drums), Billy Gould (Bass), Roddy Bottum (Keyboards) and Jon Hudson (Guitar).