Fantômas
The one and only supergroup led by Faith No More's mastermind Mike Patton. How could you go wrong when you've got The Melvins' octopus-haired, axe-wielding maniac Buzz Osborne on guitars, the "it's old-school so it's cool" ex-Slayer drum work of Dave Lombardo and school chum and Mr. Bungle colleague Trevor Dunn on bass as well? Is fail-safe? Or is it? As much I enjoy Fantômas' music, they still have this novelty feel which I find bothersome. Patton's on-going obsession with the Naked City sound is so up-front on this project that some of the material's own originality rapidly fades on repeated listens.
Most of the group's records are incredibly fun to listen to with interesting concepts behind them, but somehow they leave me hungry for more (which I guess is a good thing?). It's only when these artists stray as far away from the Naked City sound as they can that I find them most interesting. The rapid pace at which the songs are being morphed is exhausting and as well realized as on any Naked City record, but by staying in this mold, they simply become a new Naked City record with the added "heavy metal" touch. I get the impression many people will be pissed off at me for saying this, Mike Patton seems to be the alternative scene's "untouchable", with a huge cult following behind him (heck I was a card carrying member myself at one point), but as time goes, I have become somewhat disenchanted with his work. I still get a kick out of it, the man has an incredible voice and has a knack at re-working other's ideas, but I don't see him as the genius I once thought he was.


FantômasLabel: Ipecac Recordings Release: 1998 Format: CD Cat. no: IPC-1 |
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Suspended AnimationLabel: Ipecac Recordings Release: 2005 Format: CD Cat. no: IPC 062 |
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