Throughout his 37-year musical career, Mike Patton has been involved in numerous collaborations with bands and artists who prefer to create and play the unusual music. Mike is well known primarily for his work in Faith No More, but his resume also features such notable acts as Mr. Bungle, Tomahawk, Dead Cross, Peeping Tom, Fantômas, Lovage, and many others. Whether Patton plays jazz, Italian pop, experimental rock, or experimental anything, he always holds the reputation of the unforgettable live singer—especially when the music pushes him to deliver expressive and heavy performance. You can listen to some of Mike Patton’s heavier live performances below:
1. Faith No More – “Surprise! You’re Dead”
Album: The Real Thing (1989)
Year of Performance: 1995
Level of Heaviness: 8
It is extremely hard to describe the distinguishable sound of Faith No More and other San Francisco bands of their ilk without using the adjective “heavy.” Despite the fact that they have never been a metal band, Faith No More’s peculiar melodies and rhythms contain a certain dose of heaviness on pretty much every album—especially the ones made with Patton. After stepping in for the vocalist Chuck Mosley in 1988, Mike would gradually start to impress the fans with distortion in his 6-octave voice, even while singing the songs that originally contained no screams in studio versions. A great example of this difference was filmed during the tour for promoting Faith No More’s arguably the best album King for a Day… Fool for a Lifetime.
Faith No More – “Surprise! You’re Dead!” – Monsters Of Rock ’95’ – Santiago, Chile
[Video: FNM4EVER]
2. Mr. Bungle – “Goodbye Sober Day”
Album: California (1999)
Year of Performance: 2000
Level of Heaviness: 6
It is not a secret that Mike Patton’s first band was Mr. Bungle. The group was formed in Northern California in 1985. According to Mike, he had been part of this bizarre project since his high school years. When Mike was interviewed in Brazil in 1991, the reporter asked what kind of music he was playing at that time. Mike replied, “death metal [laughs].” Mr. Bungle’s heavy sound went on to influence a number of artists. Recently, Brian “Head” Welch, guitarist of nu-metal band Korn, spoke about how much Mr. Bungle influenced the sound of the his own band.
The darkest “death metal” days for Mr. Bungle were almost over when Mike gained popularity with Faith No More and went back and forth to his previous band. Nevertheless, premises of heaviness in their songs remained. A live version of “Goodbye Sober Day” is one of them
Mr. Bungle – “Goodbye Sober Day” – Astoria 2000
[Video: arstyfairie08]
3. Dead Cross – “Church of Motherfuckers”
Album: Dead Cross (2017)
Year of Performance: 2018
Level of Heaviness: 10
The most recent Mike Patton project is a hardcore band from Southern California, Dead Cross. During an interview with Henry Rollins, Mike explained how he got involved in this quartet with Dave Lombardo.
He recalled,
Lombardo told me ‘hey man, I got this new band’. I was like ‘Okay, wait, I want to put this out on my label!’. Months and months and months later, [Dave asked] ‘hey, would you might want to sing?’ I’m almost 50-year-old man and I was like ‘do I want to do a hardcore record? At this age? Can I do it?’ And 15 seconds later I said ‘Yes!’
Back in 2008-2009, Patton was part of the production for video game Left 4 Dead, voicing a number of the game’s infected characters. After comparing these hysterical and creepy sounds with the vocal parts of Dead Cross, it is easy to notice the similarity. On the whole album, Mike manages to cope with screaming in both low and high registers.
This live performance of “Church of Motherfuckers” is undeniable proof that even after 37 years of making music, Mike still has the ability to deliver expressive heaviness in his very distinctive style of singing, shouting and screaming.
Dead Cross – “Church of the Motherfuckers” – PBR Halftime Show
[Video: vithovenstyle]
[About the Author: Zack Hargrove is a professional editor who is always willing to assist anyone with writing help. Most of his topics are dedicated to music, the rock scene, and unusual ways of strengthening your scientific curiosity. You can always find him on Twitter @zackhargrovejr]