DAVE MUSTAINE Says FAITH NO MORE's Mike Patton Is 'An Unprofessional Jerk'
He admitted he liked Faith No More's music but couldn't tolerate their frontman.
Summary
- Dave Mustaine slammed Mike Patton as an ‘unprofessional jerk’ in a 1991 interview with Bizz magazine.
- Mustaine praised Faith No More’s music but couldn’t stand their frontman’s habit of badmouthing others.
- While Megadeth keeps rolling, Faith No More has been on hiatus again since 2021.
Dave Mustaine has spent over 40 years running the Megadeth machine as guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, and self-appointed keeper of thrash metal’s purity. In that time, he’s built not only an impressive discography, but a side hustle in speaking his mind with the grace of a sledgehammer.
Albums like Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying? (1986), Rust in Peace (1990), and Countdown to Extinction (1992) cemented his place in metal history. Still, what kept Mustaine’s name floating around wasn’t just the riffs. It was his uncanny ability to light up interviews with quotes that ranged from blunt honesty to nuclear-level shade.
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During a chat with Brazil’s Bizz magazine in March 1991, Mustaine found a fresh target for his signature brand of verbal target practice: Mike Patton, frontman of Faith No More. Never one to sugarcoat, Mustaine laid it out with surgical pettiness:
“I really like the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I think Faith No More is a good band, but I can’t stand their singer, an unprofessional jerk who badmouths everybody.”
Apparently Patton’s habit of running his mouth didn’t sit well. Mustaine, already fluent in the language of public feuds, wasn’t interested in playing nice. He called out what he saw as bad form, arrogance, and a general lack of class from Patton.
While warming up, Mustaine tossed a few more logs on the fire, aiming squarely at bands he viewed as embarrassingly stuck in some peace-and-love acid flashback fantasy.
“These idiots need to check the calendar and realize it’s not 1970 anymore. Thrash isn’t like that, it’s serious, aggressive, violent, songs about life and death. I’m proud to do this.”
Time has managed to sand down some of Mustaine’s rough edges, though not entirely. He’s still steering Megadeth, keeping the band firmly planted among thrash metal’s upper echelon. Meanwhile, Patton is once again on pause, as Faith No More slipped into yet another hiatus beginning in late 2021. Some things never change.
Megadeth 2025 European Tour Dates
- September 28 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Royal Arena
- October 1 - Dusseldorf, Germany - PSD Bank Dome
- October 3 - Stuttgart, Germany - Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle
- October 4 - Zurich, Switzerland - Hallenstadion
- October 6 - Budapest, Hungary - Arena
- October 7 - Prague, Czech Republic - O2 Arena
- October 10 - Krakow, Poland - Tauron Arena
- October 12 - Paris, France - Zenith
- October 14 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Ziggo Dome
- October 15 - Brussels, Belgium - Forest National Arena
- October 17 - Munich, Germany - Olympiahalle
- October 18 - Berlin, Germany - Velodrome
- October 20 - Birmingham, UK - Utilita Arena
- October 22 - Dublin, Ireland - 3Arena
- October 24 - Manchester, UK - AO Arena
- October 26 - London, UK - The O2
- October 28 - Glasgow, UK - OVO Hydro
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