Michael Allan Patton (born January 27, 1968, in Eureka, California) is an American singer, songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and video game voice actor, best known as the lead singer of the rock band Faith No More from 1988 to Present. He has also handled lead vocals and composed music for Mr. Bungle, Tomahawk, Lovage, Fantômas, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Moonchild Trio, Peeping Tom and many others.
Patton has earned critical praise for his diverse vocals, which touch on crooning, falsetto, death growls, rapping, chanting, mouth music, beatboxing and scatting, among other techniques; critic Greg Prato writes, "Patton could very well be one of the most versatile and talented singers in rock music."
He has many producer or co-producer credits with artists such as John Zorn, The Melvins, Melt-Banana, Kool Keith, and Björk. He co-founded Ipecac Recordings with Greg Werckman in 1999, and has run the label since.
Patton grew up in Eureka, California, where he and his friends (including long-time members Trey Spruance and Trevor Dunn) formed Mr. Bungle circa 1984. During the late 80s they recorded the cassette-only demos "The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny", "Goddammit I Love America", "Bowel of Chiley" and "OU818" (featuring tracks that would appear on their first Warner Brothers album), and earned a modest local following. Patton joined Faith No More in January 1989 and filled the vocal void left by the unreliable and recently-fired Chuck Mosely, who moved on to the band Cement. Faith No More's The Real Thing was released later the same year.
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