Bands That Owe Their Entire Careers to Faith No More
Faith No More helped create new trends. The band emerged from San Francisco’s underground scene in the 1980s and became known for breaking every rule in rock. They mixed funk, metal, punk, and pop into an unpredictable but instantly recognizable sound. Their fearless approach to genre made them one of the most influential alternative bands of their era. The 10 artists below owe much of their sound — and spirit — to the wild, genre-defying blueprint Faith No More left behind.
Deftones Got Permission To Get Weird
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Chino Moreno never hid his admiration for Angel Dust. Deftones took Faith No More’s anything-goes approach and used it to carve out their own experimental path. Even their album White Pony leans on the mix of beauty and aggression Patton mastered. Moreno once recorded a cover of Zombie Eaters with Ill Niño.
Korn Heard The Real Thing And Changed Direction
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Before Korn reinvented metal in the mid-’90s, they were just another band influenced by glam and thrash. That shifted after The Real Thing came out. Guitarist Brian “Head” Welch said it pushed them into stranger, more emotional territory. You can hear the low-end influence of Billy Gould in Fieldy’s bass tone.
System Of A Down Took The Chaos And Ran With It
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System Of A Down never really stuck to rules, which is exactly the kind of band Faith No More made space for. Vocalist Serj Tankian has openly credited Patton’s unpredictability as a major influence. Touring with Mr. Bungle only deepened that connection.
Slipknot’s Origin Story Includes A TV Performance
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Corey Taylor has said that watching Faith No More perform Epic on TV snapped him out of a dark spiral. Musically, Slipknot borrows their use of abrupt shifts and sung choruses amid chaos mirrors FNM’s early blueprint.
Dog Fashion Disco Turned The Influence Into Theatre
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Dog Fashion Disco built a whole aesthetic on the wild theatricality Faith No More flirted with. The band ran Patton’s genre-bending ideas through a carnival filter by adding saxophones and horror lyrics. Later, members formed Polkadot Cadaver, which leaned even closer to the King For A Day sound.
Killswitch Engage Found Melody Through Mike Patton
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Before Jesse Leach joined Killswitch Engage, he only screamed. After hearing Angel Dust, he realized singing could be just as intense. In interviews, Leach described memorizing every lyric and practicing them obsessively. The shift directly impacted Killswitch’s melodic direction.
Incubus Stretched Genre Boundaries Thanks To Faith No More
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Early Incubus recordings wore their influences on their sleeves, and Faith No More was stitched into every track. Brandon Boyd’s vocal style, especially on songs like Pardon Me, shows echoes of Patton’s phrasing. They followed the weird but made it accessible.
Dillinger Escape Plan Didn’t Just Admire—They Collaborated
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When Dillinger Escape Plan dropped their debut, the chaos immediately drew comparisons to Mr. Bungle and Faith No More. Patton himself took notice. He brought them on tour and recorded the Irony Is A Dead Scene EP with them in 2002.
Coheed And Cambria Took Notes From Angel Dust
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At first glance, it’s hard to imagine how a prog-rock space opera outfit connects to Faith No More. However, both Claudio Sanchez and Travis Stever said Angel Dust shaped their early musical identity. The song Al the Killer was written with FNM’s off-kilter vibe in mind.
Limp Bizkit Took The Blueprint And Cashed In
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Fred Durst opened for Faith No More in the late ’90s and got booed nightly. That didn’t stop Limp Bizkit from borrowing elements — the swagger, the rap-rock blend, the big hooks. Guitarist Wes Borland called touring with them a big deal, even if the respect wasn’t mutual.