The metal genre gives us so many versatile musicians. However, there’s hardly anyone who could be as versatile and creative as Mike Patton. Joining Faith No More in 1988, he not only helped the band further define their style but also irreversibly changed the genre for good. However, things could have been even crazier and there was this slim chance of Patton joining Anthrax.
Patton and Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian are currently collaborating together in Mr. Bungle. Ian joined the band in 2019 as the second guitar player and has recorded on “The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny Demo” which is a re-recording of the band’s old demo. In a recent interview with Mixdown, Scott Ian discussed him joining Mr. Bungle and also recalled how he entertained the idea of Patton joining Anthrax.
The talk came up when Ian was asked whether he’d be up for doing the “Disco Volante” material. He replied:
“Of course. I would do anything. I have made it very clear to those guys that if they ever decide to do anything going forward, I would be thrilled to be a part of it. If they decided they were going to make a new record, if I could be a part of that, whether I was allowed to write or not. If it’s just their thing and they just need me on guitar.“
“I’m fucking stoked. If they want me to be on anything, anything, I’d be happy to just be the guitar player and be a part of it, and if I could tour and play the old stuff with them, I’m a huge fan. It’s like fucking the Make-A-Wish Foundation.”
“When Patton texted me and asked me if I wanted to do Mr. Bungle. I was like, ‘You’re fucking kidding me?‘ He’s like, ‘I told you we would work together.‘”
“Because a million years ago, I had asked him just before Joey came back to Anthrax, I had said, ‘Hey, do you want to sing on the next Anthrax record?‘ We were drunk in a bar in Melbourne, Australia on a festival together. He was with Faith No More. He was like, ‘Oh, man. You don’t want me in your band. I’m a pain in the ass.‘ I was like, ‘No, no, no. I think we could deal with it.‘”
“He goes, ‘Yeah, but I got seventy-two projects and I could never commit.‘ I’m like, ‘I know, really. I’m asking but I’m not really asking.‘ He’s like, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll do something together someday.’ So then when he hit me up, he goes, ‘Remember in Melbourne when I said we would work together?‘ I’m like, ‘Uh huh.‘ He goes, ‘Guess what?‘”
Photo: Jan Frode Haugseth (Mike Patton with Fantômas Quart Festival Norway 2005), WanderingTrad (Anthrax Tuska 2019 (1) (Cropped))
_(Cropped).jpg){kind=link}