Faith No More guitarist Jim Martin has finally broken his 15-year silence on why he quit the band at the peak of their success.

Martin also explained that he didn't take part in their 2009 reunion because they didn't consult him before plans to reunite moved forward.

He felt that the album they had released at the time, "Angel Dust", was "more contrived musically than I thought was necessary." He says that pressure from management and the record company made them rush the album, whereas he wanted to spend more time in the studio.

"Producer Matt Wallace [and the ] management and the record company were calling me complaining about Mike Patton’s performance and desire for outside projects," said Martin (via Classic Rock). Patton eventually left the band to focus on a raft of side projects.
Martin continued: "The record company president came in the studio and said: 'I hope nobody bought houses.' All the air got sucked out of the room. That was one of those great moments when reality slaps you in the face.

"The pressure was on, and everyone wanted to be in the studio with me while I recorded... I had to kick everyone out, and even though it was not a new concept it really pissed everyone off."

The pressure eventually drove him to quit, though until that point he still enjoyed playing live, where their recordings took a heavier edge.

So why didn't Martin decide to come back for their reunion shows? Here's his side of the story:

"In February 2009, Roddy Bottum called and said they were just beginning to think of putting something together, and just now feeling out everyone, and what did I think?

"I said I was interested - I also told him I knew the tour was already booked, they were on the eve of announcing it, and it was time to sign the deals. I told him to send over the contracts so I could review them and started pressing management for details.

"Several days later, I was able to get management on the phone who told me they decided to use someone else. I know it's odd - no, you didn’t miss anything. It happened just like that.

"In an effort to preclude any sloppy misinformation, I made the announcement that I would not be participating in the rumoured reunion dates, several days before they made their announcement."

Regretfully, he's ruled out any future appearances at any future Faith No More reunions, but would like to work on his own musical projects when he and his associates find time between raising families.

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