While funk-metal’s legacy has been eclipsed somewhat by grunge in modern media, there’s no denying its impact creatively, culturally and commercially.Īfter firebrands FNM and Rage Against The Machine fizzled out in the late ‘90s, others, like Incubus, took up the torch, while nu-metal bands like Korn and Limp Bizkit added their own spin to take it into the 21st century. Me-and indeed-ow! The bad blood remains to this day, but hopefully the bridge-loving Chilis will build one one of these days to get over it. eventually.
In America, it’s a different story, people are aware of the profound influence we had on them.” “Especially in the UK where FNM is much better known than us. RHCP’s singer Anthony Kiedis was less than amused though, as he felt Faith No More’s newly installed frontman Mike Patton (who replaced the legendary Chuck Mosley) was just a copycat. “What a drag if people get the idea that I’m actually ripping him off,” offered Anthony in a Kerrang interview at the time. 1989 was a big year for the scene, but with success comes controversy, and the Chili Peppers and Faith No More became embroiled in a “who did it first” pissing contest.įNM were riding high on a wave of success thanks to their single ‘Epic’ and its stunning, MTV-friendly video. Even some hair-metal bands like Extreme and crossover thrash-punk acts like Suicidal Tendencies got in on the bass slappin’. RHCP’s self titled ‘84 debut is considered the first funk-metal album, and from there, a slew of new acts were born. Drawing on hard-rock, hip-hop, punk, thrash, and of course funk, acts like Fishbone and New York’s Living Colour took a buzzsaw to pigeonholes.
It may have looked backto Jimi Hendrix, but funk metal came properly to life in mid-‘80s California, and featured a gang of musicians who wanted to create something fresh. It is a genre that encompasses multi-million selling heavyweights including Red Hot Chili Peppers, Faith No More and Rage Against The Machine: loud and proud square-pegs-in-round-holes who created a litany of knockout albums. However, there was one scene which took the phrase punching above its weight to heart – the mainstream-cracking, misunderstood monster often called funk-metal. There were myriad of movements through the ‘80s and ‘90s, many of them promising. New styles were created, exciting record labels were founded, and many musical partnerships were forged that last to this day. The 1980s was hotbed of activity when it came to rock and all of its sub-genres.