Probably the most musically-versatile rock bands of the ’90s additionally occurs to be one of many extra influential ones. After all, I’m speaking about Religion No Extra, who on such ’90s classics as Angel Mud and King for a Day…Idiot for a Lifetime took on a myriad of kinds: various, metallic, rap, funk, experimental, simple listening, Center Jap, and so forth.
And because of this, the band discovered themselves on payments with all kinds of artists: Soundgarden, Voivod, Robert Plant, Billy Idol, Weapons N’ Roses, Metallica, and so forth. And subsequently, being listed as an affect from many famend artists (Korn, System of a Down, Deftones, Slipknot, Dillinger Escape Plan, and so forth.).
Bottum spoke with Various Nation simply earlier than the discharge of his autobiography, The Royal We, on November 4, 2025 through Akashic, and was prepared to debate the guide, his profession, and what it was like for FNM to tour with a band like G n’ R again within the day. That is half 1 of our multi-part interview, which is able to embody a full Religion No Extra biography.
Various Nation: Now that it’s been just a few years for the reason that launch of Religion No Extra’s final album, Sol Invictus, what do you consider it now?
Roddy Bottum: I haven’t listened to it for some time. I feel, like perhaps 4 years in the past, we had been going to do some reunion exhibits that didn’t occur…or some simply common exhibits that didn’t occur proper on the onset of Covid. I began listening to it once more, simply to kind of put together myself, and rehearse the songs on keyboards, and get my a part of it collectively. And I appreciated it – I appreciated that report. I just like the piano on it fairly a bit. Billy [Gould] wrote a giant a part of that report, and a variety of it’s kind of a testomony to his kind of like, prowess. However yeah, I prefer it.
Various Nation: What do you recall about Religion No Extra’s reunion exhibits?
Roddy Bottum: After we did the primary reunion tour, we had damaged up for like…nearly 15 years. And it was form of like, I used to have desires after I was youthful – I get to highschool and, “Oh my God, I forgot to review for the check!” After which the check is true then, and I’m like, “Oh my God, I’m gonna fail!” Sooner or later after Religion No Extra broke up, I saved having these desires that I might present up, “Oh my God. Religion No Extra was doing a reunion tour, and I forgot to be taught the songs!” It turned this factor that kind of changed that dream situation for me. So, I saved having these desires. That was a nightmare I saved having.
After which we structured a complete tour and realized the songs and performed the songs and did the tour, and it’s like, I used to be capable of tackle that nightmare in an actual, precise bodily sense. And I feel it was key in transferring ahead in my life in some bizarre method. Plus, it was simply actually enjoyable. Billy and I’ve been buddies since we had been, like, I don’t know, 9 or 10 years outdated. So, it was enjoyable to kind of faucet again into that friendship and simply hang around.
Various Nation: Are you in contact together with your FNM band mates?
Roddy Bottum: Positive.
Various Nation: Would you contemplate taking part in exhibits once more with them if the chance arose?
Roddy Bottum: I don’t assume so. No.
Various Nation: Is there a particular cause why you wouldn’t?
Roddy Bottum: It’s not simply me. I don’t assume anybody’s kind of up for it at this level. We had a bunch of exhibits that we had been gonna play, and so they obtained canceled, only for varied causes. However I don’t assume the course that we had been on has mounted itself. I simply don’t see it taking place once more, truthfully. I feel we did a extremely good job. We performed a bunch of reunion excursions, and I feel we did what we form of got down to do.
So I don’t assume anybody’s upset about it or something. However I imply, for certain, getting again collectively would imply a giant paycheck, however I feel all of us are fairly good with what we did, kind of similar to, artistically with the band and committing to ourselves and taking part in with one another. I feel we’re all fairly good with the selections that we’ve made so far, and I don’t see what might actually occur extra getting again collectively and doing extra exhibits.
Various Nation: What about if the day comes that Religion No Extra will get into the Rock and Roll Corridor of Fame?
Roddy Bottum: I don’t see that taking place. I imply, we had been such a bizarre band. I don’t actually see a giant establishment like that taking us on. We had been very offbeat and bizarre and unorthodox, and we by no means performed by the principles. I don’t see an establishment like that accepting us into their kind of spectrum.