Mike Patton has been a musician that I’ve been following for the better part of my life. From the days of Mr.Bungle and Faith No More to his operatic Italian albums and film work as creature noise generator, very little of his material has disappointed me. Many friends have deemed me a “fanboy” over the years but frankly his body of material is so vast and varied that if someone can’t appreciate it on some level there must be something seriously wrong with their tastes. As a friendship eliminator, not liking Patton is the equivalent of “not getting” Evil Dead 2.
Fantomas: The Director’s Cut – (2001)
So what do you get when you mix the adventurous vocal insanity that is Mike Patton with two members of the Melvins and the drummer of Slayer? Absolute carnage. The Director’s Cut is oddly the most refined and streamlined that this band would ever sound and this is partially due to the theme of the record itself. Every song on this album is based off a film theme or something similar. What it includes is a monstrously frantic and oftentimes insane collection of songs. Some, like The Godfather aren’t even taken from horror films. With the combined efforts of this powerful group they quickly become absolutely gnarled renditions of their source materials. It is a trip.
Among my absolute favorites on this collection is the retelling of the Jewish folklore legend The Golem. Though, this adaptation is more likely taken from the partially lost 1915 German film entitled The Golem or Der Golem as it appears here. As I’ve said in previous writings, I’m a giant sucker for all things old, black and white and horror. The way Patton recreates the pained sound of the clay abomination is nothing short of brilliant and the outro played frenetically by the band is disturbing and abrupt. Every song on this thing was carefully crafted and thrilling. With expert musicians such as these it is no surprise that this is inventive, raw and on point.
There is just no way of explaining how mind blowing this entire album is. It is more than a self-obsessed group of musicians combining forces to make a few bucks, I’m looking at you every band from the oughts who partnered up to sell a hit single. At times the guitar work of Buzz Osborne is virtually unidentifiable. This isn’t one of the Melvin’s spin-off bands nor is this Mr.Bungle Sr. or Faith With More. I have zero nit-picks to contribute to this fanboy recommendation. Just grab yourself a copy and listen to it loud on this unholiest of months. Or, as an official copy is getting expensive these days, stream it. The Godfather has never sounded so frightening. Well, the third Godfather film still exists so maybe that’s not true. Might I suggest The Omen instead?
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