While not an intentional outcome, alternative metal stars Faith No More are widely credited with being the godfathers of the nü-metal genre. It’s an obvious distinction to make, given that the band’s endeavors melding the worlds of rap and metal in the 80s became one of the first outfits to gain mainstream success in doing so. Just a few weeks ago, Metal Hammer published this piece, in which Korn guitarist Brian “Head” Welch charted how crucial Faith No More was to his own personal musical evolution as well as that of Korn.
Countless other nü-metal outfits have cited Faith No More as being an core influence, though it’s safe to say that the band’s frontman Mike Patton hasn’t always exactly been a fan of the genre. In 2001, he told Metal Hammer:
“I’m not sure why these nü-metal bands say Faith No More influenced them. I mean, do you hear anything of what we did in what they’re doing now? I think it’s quite a stretch of the imagination. I think it’s just an era thing. They’re kids and probably around the time we were in the public eye, those kids figured out they wanted to start a band too. I personally don’t want to be held responsible for the swill they’re putting out into the world.”
Presumably his stance has since changed, as Faith No More has booked shows with the likes of Korn and more. Now, ahead of the Patton-fronted Tomahawk‘s summer tour with Melvins, the latter’s Buzz Osborne and Tomahawk‘s Duane Denison (also of The Jesus Lizard, etc.) linked up for a chat for Consequence. In it, the pair spoke about the influence their respective works have had on other artists over the years. Denison got the ball rolling, stating [transcribed by theprp.com]:
“I think that the word influence is misused. I think maybe we inspire them to play, but I don’t think we influence their music. I think that, you know, people, they tend to name-drop when they use the word influence. And they, ‘Oh I’m influenced by Stockhausen and Miles Davis.’ And then you go to their house and it’s all Mott The Hoople and you know Bob Seger, or whatever.
I think an influence is maybe the guy at the record store, when you were a kid, who said, ‘Hey, listen to this.’ Or the guy’s house you’d go over to when you were who always… This guy who worked at the gas station, but he always had the latest records for some reason, and you’d hear stuff that you wouldn’t have heard if you hadn’t gone to his house.
Those are the people that to me truly influence you. Or maybe you took a lesson at the local guitar shop and you look on the floor and there’s the Eric Clapton with the Blues Breakers album, and he goes, ‘You should listen to that. It’s better than Cream.’ And then you listen to it like, ‘Oh, okay.’ So to me, those are people who are truly influential.”
Osborne then went on to state the following his and the Melvins‘ influence on grunge and his thoughts on nü-metal:
“I used to have a joke with [Mike] Patton, ’cause he’s called influential as well. And I would go, ‘I’ll take Nirvana and Soundgarden and you can have Limp Bizkit and Korn.’ He’s like, ‘Fuck you.’ [laughter] That was always funny. But I mean the whole nü-metal thing to me it all sounded like Helmet ultimately. It just all sounded like Helmet. That’s what I thought, anyway.”
Osborne continued:
“The first thing I always want to say when somebody says it is don’t blame me. [laughter] I didn’t make you make this music… This is the seeds of what I’ve sown and it’s far worse than what I could have ever imagined. [laughter] But, you know, you can’t help that kind of stuff. It’s whatever. I mean, I’m glad. I guess you could call it, you know, happy accidents.
I’m certainly not thinking of that when I’m writing music; ‘This is going to be so influential’ — I don’t think about that at all, but I think about all the stuff that influenced me. Sure. I can name a thousand bands that I’ve taken something from or got inspired by.
