Mike Patton, leader of returning metal heroes Faith No More, is due to collaborate with legendary comic book writer Alan Moore.
Faith No More are back. After more than a decade one of rock’s most inspirational bands has returned, with the group announcing a series of live shows. Of course, Faith No More will have to do without guitarist Jim Martin – who left the band in 1993 and has staunchly refused to work with them since.
The rock giants split after their ‘Fool For A Day… King For A Lifetime’ album, with lead singer Mike Patton going on to have a hugely varied solo career. Forming a multitude of groups Patton indulged his creative streak with some of the best music of his career.
However this new move is startling even for him. Mike Patton is due to team up with Alan Moore, widely regarded as one of the finest comic book writers of all time.
Moore began his working life with the British underground press, taking inspiration from Beat generation writers such as William Burroughs as well as comic book greats such as Stan Lee. Crafting a new voice for the idiom, Moore was eventually accepted by larger British presses where he wrote such series as ‘V For Vendetta’ and ‘The Ballad Of Halo Jones’.
Attracting the attention of the United States, Moore was invited to work on failing eco-title ‘Swamp Thing’ and turned what had previously been a schlock horror escapade into an award winning treatise on the environment.
Perhaps Alan Moore’s finest moment – and certainly his best known – is ‘The Watchmen’. Named by Time Magazine as one of the finest novels of the 20th century, the graphic novel was recently turned into a motion picture.
A renowned rock fan, musical references litter ‘The Watchmen’. Of course, Moore has already disowned the film adaptation – perhaps due to My Chemical Romance’s inclusion on the soundtrack.
According to Billboard, the pair are writing a two hour audio book and a follow up soundtrack album. Likely to be released in 2010, amongst the musicians recruited for the project are Justin Broadric of Godflesh.
Mike Patton / Alan Moore’s new project is due to be released on UK indie label Lex Records sometime next year.
Faith No More are due to play Download this summer, as well as a handful of British dates.
