Jim Martin was guitarist for eclectic rock band Faith No More during their late-'80s/early-'90s heyday. He provided the group with a distinctive metallic guitar sound that was often highlighted against the band's rap elements.

But when Martin clashed with his bandmates over musical direction in 1994, he was dismissed from Faith No More. The band went through a number of short-lived replacements, eventually calling it quits in 1997.

James Blanco Martin was born 38 years ago today in Oakland, Calif. In the early '80s Martin was playing guitar in thrash band Vicious Hatred when his friend, Metallica bassist Cliff Burton, suggested he audition for a slot in another San Francisco-area band that included Burton's friend, drummer Mike Bordin.

Bordin's band was founded by bassist Billy Gould and keyboardist Roddy Bottum. Martin won the guitarist spot in the band, which was called Faith No More, reportedly in reference to a greyhound the bandmembers said they had bet on.

Faith No More went through a number of lead vocalists, including Courtney Love, before deciding on the abrasive Chuck Mosley for their debut, We Care a Lot (1985). The rap and thrash-metal influences of the band coalesced better on 1987's Introduce Yourself, which added to Faith No More's growing cult following.

But after a few tours, Mosley was fired for "unpredictable behavior" and replaced by Mike Patton, who joined in the process of recording The Real Thing. The LP eventually rose to #11 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and went platinum, thanks to the rock/rap anthem "Epic"

(RealAudio excerpt), a U.S. top-10 hit in 1990. A year later, Martin appeared in the film "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey" with Keanu Reeves. Faith No More contributed the track "The Perfect Crime" to the film's soundtrack.

But from that point the road grew rocky for Faith No More. The Songs to Make Love To EP (1993) featured Faith No More's covers of the Commodores' "Easy" and the Dead Kennedys' "Let's Lynch the Landlord."

Angel Dust (1992) received some great reviews but was decidedly uncommercial. Martin reportedly clashed with the group about musical direction and it was rumored that some of his guitar parts were stripped from the album. In any event, he was fired from the band in early 1994, during the recording of Faith No More's next album.

Faith No More finished recording King for a Day, Fool for a Lifetime (1995) with Mr. Bungle guitarist Trey Spruance. He was replaced by Dean Mentia, who was soon succeeded by Jon Hudson, who appeared on 1997's Album of the Year.

In April 1998, after touring behind Album of the Year, Faith No More announced they were disbanding.

Martin's post-Faith No More work has so far included remixing for such artists as Nine Inch Nails.

The two-disc Faith No More retrospective Who Cares a Lot? was released in December 1998. It included covers of the Bee Gees' "I Started a Joke" and the Burt Bacharach/Hal David tune "This Guy's in Love With You."

Other birthdays: Yusef Islam (formerly Cat Stevens), 52; Larry Tolbert (Raydio), 49; and Emerson Hart (Tonic), 30.