FAITH NO MORE Keyboardist Explains Original Guitarist JIM MARTIN's Absence From Reunion

According to The Pulse Of Radio, FAITH NO MORE keyboardist Roddy Bottum was asked in a recent interview with Noisey if original guitarist Jim Martin, who left the band in 1993, was asked to participate in the current reunion which started in 2009. Bottum answered, "Oh, we totally reached out to him. I was of the mind that, of course, we would not do this without Jim. There's no way. I think we all felt pretty strongly about that initially — well, some of us maybe more strongly than others. Jim was a real contentious person in the band, but I loved him… I wanted him to do it, and I actually talked to him about it. I thought it was going that way, but it just didn't work out."

Bottum was also asked if Martin had interest in returning. He replied, "I think he had interest. But I think he also had really pent-up resentments about the way we broke up. I think it was difficult for him to come back into the fold, and he set it up in such a way that… I think, unconsciously, he was gonna cut off his nose to spite his face. Like he was so damaged from resentment that he dug a hole and didn't come out of it. Which is a shame. That's my take."

Martin departed after completing the touring cycle for the band's fourth album, "Angel Dust". He was followed by a short succession of guitarists, including Trey Spruance, Dean Menta and Jon Hudson, who was the band's last axeman when it broke up in 1998.

Hudson was also in the lineup for the current reunion and plays on the band's upcoming album, "Sol Invictus".

The disc, the group's first collection of new music in 18 years, is set to arrive on May 19 through the band's Reclamation Recordings.

FAITH NO MORE has also confirmed its first North American shows since 2010 with a spring outing kicking off April 15 in Vancouver.