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Let me first say that Mike Patton is one of my favorite and most
respected artists working in music today. The man is truly like
Forrest Gump once said "Like a box of chocolates......you
never know what you are going to get". Well, maybe that's
not entirely true.....Patton has done almost everything possible
with his voice and style within the context of his many projects
( Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, FANTOMAS, and several
others ) He raps, he screams, he makes odd inhuman noises, he
growls, he bellows........or he might just sing soulfully with
a lovely croon, almost sounding like a soul/r&b singer. So,
as I say.....you never know what you are going to get. However
with Patton.......one thing is ALWAYS guaranteed.............insanity!!!!!
Gloriously wacky, nutty, laugh your ass off at times insanity.
In a lot of cases he makes excellent use of a sort of dark humor.
You are scared and laughing at the same time!!! Such is the case
with this band, FANTOMAS ...
The group consists of Mike Patton doing the vocals and other strange
sounds, Dave Lombardo (Formerly of Slayer, now playing in Grip
Inc.) on drums, Buzz Osbourne (The Melvins) on guitar, and Trevor
Dunn (Mr. Bungle) on bass. These individuals should need no introduction
and they all put on a hell of a performance here. Their label
says that the main influences in FANTOMAS are
hardcore death metal, cartoon music, and film soundtracks. The
listener can definitely notice these traits, too!!! On their first
album, a self titled record released by Ipecac in 1999 the guys
ran through 30 tracks of audio insanity in about 43 minutes. The
band set this release up like a comic book, basically. The CD
calls the tracks "pages" and it is like each sound effect
is a different frame almost. And let me tell you now.....the self
titled is a weird, yet action packed album!!
On this release the band has set to the task of covering the themes
from some well known and less known films. Some of the film theme
tunes up for butchery here include The Godfather, Twin Peaks-
Fire Walk With Me, Cape Fear, and Rosemary's Baby. God, how I
would love to see the looks on the faces of the composers of these
themes when they would get a listen to this album!!! It's hard
to say whether they would be nauseated or fall in love! The band
employs many different musical styles in covering these songs
(Much like Patton's other excellent band, Mr. Bungle) . Some lounge,
some trip-hop, some death metal, some grind, some noise, some
jazz.... like I mentioned earlier.......you never know what may
be lurking around the next corner. And that I think is the fun
in Patton's releases. They all play almost like movies.....switching
moods and scenes at the drop of a hat.
I would recommend this only to certain fans of Patton's former
and most well-known band, Faith No More. DEFINITELY NOT for the
fans of the popular Faith No More MTV and radio hits (ie. Epic,
Falling To Pieces, etc.) No, I would recommend this more to fans
of the all out dark comedic insanity showcased on Faith No More's
1992 album, Angel Dust. And for Faith No More "fans"
that don't own Angel Dust........stop reading and go buy it now!!!!!
Oh yeah, we were talking about FANTOMA'S new
album The Director's Cut weren't we?
I simply love this release, but I am huge mark for Mike Patton.
I know alot of people that like Faith No More, but simply don't
"get" the vibe that Patton goes for with Mr. Bungle
and even more so, FANTOMAS. So, I will make this
recommendation to Patton fans, fans of The Melvins, or someone
who wants to hear something a little crazy, entertaining as hell,
and different. Insanity has never been so fun!!!!!
Check out Ipecac
Records for more info.
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