Fantomas - The Directors Cut (15 tracks) +Album Reviews

Welcome to the world of Fantomas!

Campbell Roark | from under the floorboards and through the woods.. | 09/23/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Having finally gotten around to picking up Delerium Cordia, I still find the The Director's Cut is the most interesting and mind-blowing release of Patton's post-Bungle work. Thus far. If you're a fan of Bungle's darker material but tend to furrow your brow at Patton's more esoteric vocal albums, well, this is definitely for you.

These renditions of famous cult film themes belong in a dimension all their own. From the opening notes of 'The Godfather,' (quiet Italian melodies that quickly burn away into a precision battery of Death Metal prowess...) to the earthy and turntable-fied take on Lynch's 'Twin Peaks: Fire walk With Me,' you get all pistons firing and all facets shining of Fantomas's demented and hair-raising theatrics.

The meat of this is Lombardo's drumming (anyone from Slayer is beyond reproach, in my book) and Patton's voice. As always, the man is unbelievably protean- few lyrics on this, but his vocal dynamics swing (effortlessly) from blood-curdling (The Golem) scream to ominously childlike- little-girl childlike at that- sing-song(Rosemary's Baby). In 'Cape Fear' he uses his shrieks as the string section of that film's classic theme- it works PERFECTLY! At times Patton works lines from the film into the music to add to the all-out creepy aesthetic, like where he chants "IT's EITHER YOUR OR THEM... you or them..." On the atmospheric rendering of 'Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer,' and the obvious terror of, "What have they done to it's eyes!?!" from Rosemary's Baby.

Osbourene and Dunn are capable and consistent as always. But this is Mike and Dave's show, I think. Other instruments are used from tmie to time to flesh out the tunes. Now- There are a few tracks that fall short, where the theatrics come off as corny rather than threatening. 'Vendetta' sounds more like a Scooby Doo chase sequence. And 'Spider Baby' brings Rob Zombie to mind... ugh...

Their take on the Ave Satani in 'The Omen,' is blistering speed metal. Der Golem is slower sluggish metal crawl- which works considering the subject matter. 'Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion,' really grows on you, with it's circular progression and cries of "BLAGH!" it reminds me of Disco Volante. 'Charade,' is an excellent closer that veers from eloquent singing to jittery medicine-man gibberish and madness.

It's a short monstrosity, the Cd itself clocks in around 39 minutes... Wish they had done more. Wish there was a volume 2 with more covers of Ennio Morricone. Pick this up. It's so much better than anything you'll hear on the radio.

By the by, all of these films are well-worth seeing/owning. Check em out if you haven't."

Another masterpiece from Mike Patton

Brian Collette | Orlando, FL | 07/10/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For Mike Patton fans this is definitely a 5 star album, and in case you weren't sure, there's actual lyrics/singing on a majority of the album, not just noises and screaming. For those strictly familiar with Patton's work with Faith No More or maybe even Mr. Bungle it rates more of a 4, certainly more of an aquired taste than Faith No More, though I believe that any Faith No More fan could find lots to like about this totally original (though ironically all the songs are in a sense "covers", reworked movie theme songs) album and in a perfect world there's a few "hit" songs on here definitely. Unlike the first Fantomas album, this definitely has a more mainstream-friendly sound, though you'll never hear it on MTV or Top 200 radio. Many songs could be compared to Patton's work with Faith No More on albums like "Angel Dust" or "King for a Day...", and the other songs could easily be compared to Mr. Bungle's "Disco Volante" or "California", and then of course there's a few that share the sound of the first Fantomas album. So in all, this album is a must-have for the Patton fanatic (which I'm sure there was no doubt in any of your minds about that, I don't think Patton could make an unlistenable, unintriguing record) and a possible new favorite for the person who's never heard Fantomas before or even Mr. Bungle (though I recommend listening to it first to see if it's for you)."

Perhaps the best of the Fantomas material.

Michael Stack | North Chelmsford, MA USA | 04/18/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In many ways, "The Director's Cut" is the most accessible Fantomas album-- certainly it has more coherent song structures and actual lyric singing as opposed to soley vocalizations (although there's a healthy dose of that too). Its also in many ways the best of the rather intriguing Fantomas catalog. Brainchild of vocalist Mike Patton, Fantomas is a band in the style of John Zorn's Naked City-- effortlessly moving between genres and sounds with a hardcore metal feel to hold things together, but like Naked City's "Radio", this one opts for more coherent feels on a per track basis. This allows a listener unfamiliar with this sort of style the chance to find something to latch onto-- one of the things that can make Fantomas' work difficult is that the style shifts when you're getting the hang of it, this one is a bit more coherent, style shifts have more palpable melodies to work with-- the opening track best demonstrates this, "The Godfather" theme, stated on an accordian, then reprised in spectacular death metal fashion, moving into a relatively straightforward waltz with a reprise of hardcore noise. Throughout, Patton shows us his vocalization abilities, alternately screaming and humming as appropriate.

If you're looking for something more coherent, check "Der Golem", a fairly straightforward piece with a sludge metal feel and great grunted vocal, Patton's croon over the swinging "Experiment in Terror" or the totally bizarre (and yet extraordinarily catchy) "Spider Baby".

One other thing about Fantomas that bears mention-- they're traditionally an over-the-top band, with theaterical elements in the music heavily emphasized, this album is no exception, take the middle of the album, with the totally over-the-top "Cape Fear", "Rosemary's Baby" and "The Devil Rides Out" covers. And Patton skips track 13, just in case sonic theatrics was not enough. Although nothing will probably compare to the intonation Patton pulls out for "The Omen (Ave Satani)"-- so theatrical as to border on goofy, but somehow it manages to work.

Overall, this is a superb (if a bit short) album, definitely worth checking out."

The Art of Restoration

Snow Leopard | Urbana, IL | 09/12/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The idea of a director's cut is the restoration of an artist's vision after some outside pressure has caused it to be cut, edited or changed in ways not in keeping with her or his vision. And it is precisely restoration, I think, that lies at the heart of this project.This is an album of movie music covers, mostly older horror films ("The Omen", "Rosemary's Baby" and the like). Just a couple of songs into my first listening of it, though, and my whole sense of the word "heavy" in heavy metal had already been altered. Musical styles changed before my ears, without warning, in ways I'd never heard before--superamped thrash death segued to stuff that reminded me of more psychotic versions of Alice Cooper's "Steven" trilogy, to spaghetti westerns and lounge music, to indescribable stuff. Vocals from lilting falsetto to Tasmanian devil scat. Guitars that made me realize Buzz Osborne is far more talented than I ever gave him credit (and I already give him a lot of credit). I sat, amazed and mesmerized, as music and what I understood as music were reinvented and renovated for me. This doesn't happen often, and I knew that I had found the coolest thing I would find for quite some time. (Which wasn't true...I got Fantomas' first album very shortly after.)Other reviewers prefer this album (to Fantomas' first) because the songs are more song-like, which only exposes their own limited definition of song--a definition Fantomas as a band delights in twisting, abusing, turning inside out and so forth. Besides that, cover tunes will inevitably be more tune-like, since the originals are. Other reviewers constantly draw comparisons with the bands from which the Fantomas members have come, partly in order to characterise the sound, I suppose, but often with a note of disappointment. Fantomas is so much more than the sum of its parts that the parts hardly play into it anymore. One reviewer remarks that, as much as he likes the members of Fantomas' original bands, Fantomas kicks their [butt] soundly. This is exactly true.Other reviewers complain that the swerve on this disc towards accessibility is an unhappy step in the wrong direction. Some have said that these covers are nothing more than parodies, which artists of Fantomas' caliber should not sully themselves by stooping to. Perhaps it would help to remember that Fantomas' debut was also a soundtrack (to a fictional comic book). It is, then, a perfectly logical step (not wanting to repeat themselves) to cover soundtracks for their second album. Moreover, the whole point of the debut was to rescue that [thing] of music (the soundtrack) from its second-class citizenship as a mere accessory to the visual content it accompanies. Which is exactly again what they are doing by covering "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer" and other soundtracks. And the technique they use, to borrow a term from literary criticism, is "defamiliarization"--the process of making the familiar strange, and thereby restoring it, renewing one's experience of the medium so treated (in this case music). Not that there is anything inherently inartistic in parody in the traditional sense (Papa Bach regularly parodied himself, for instance), but Fantomas' method here is not parody in any sense. For one, there is less humor on this album (their debut, by contrast, cracks me up over and over), but parody is not about comedy or humor either. Defamiliarization presupposes that there is something you are familiar with in the first place--namely, the songs from the movies chosen. It is an almost sure bet that most people will recognize one or more of the originals here, and it is from that point of familiarity (and the many radical departures from it) that one experiences again that thing called music. And even if you don't, the more conventional nature of the originals here will serve as the point of familiarity. The apparent step in the direction of accessibility, therefore, is a byproduct of the method, not its end. As surrealism warped the familiar in order to display the thing anew, so are these directorial restorations of soundtracks designed to make us hear music renewed.As with most of the reviews of this album, I've avoided specifically describing any of the songs. Most simply say, "This is so and so's best album ever" and then point to a previous album as the aptest touchstone for what this Director's Cut is like. Well, I own the touchstone now as well (of course), but the comparison just fails. Besides which, if you already know about so and so, you don't need a review to be persuaded to buy this album. In fact, the main reason individual songs are not described is because they generally defy description, and because there are so many styles here that to describe one song seems to leave too many others out.The bottom line is, apart from all this palaver about the intentions and meaning of the album, is that it's one of the heaviest, manicest, creepiest, -est albums I have heard in a long time. It hangs together in the same weird, hard to pin down way that Fantomas did. It's speed sludge-metal for people with brains, or at least that people with brains can appreciate. Right now, the only thing better to me is Fantomas' first album."

A Band With This Much Talent Cannot Go Wrong

Troy Polidori | Tujunga, CA United States | 09/22/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If I were to pick my dream band it would consist of every member of Fantomas except Trevor Dunn (who is still a magnificent bassist). Mike Patton, along with being unquestionably the best vocalist in rock music, is my idol. Melvins (another of my favorite bands) guitarist King Buzzo is unrelenting with his blistering guitar riffs. Trevor Dunn does get drowned out at times, but is still an amazing bassist, whether playing an electric or standup bass. Dave Lombardo is just amazing. All I can say is listen to "One Step Beyond", and you will understand what I mean. Put all these pieces together, and the product is utter perfection. With this album Patton and the boys decide to take some of their favorite musical pieces from motion pictures and re-create them in a speed/death metal style. Unlike their first album, Directors Cut actually has lyrics rather than only using the vocals as another strange sounding instrument. Fantomas even throws in a pop number, "Experiment In Terror", just to set you up for the blistering, "One Step Beyond". Now, I will admit that Directors Cut is not for everyone. Many Patton fans will be turned off by Fantomas. But, if you are disgusted with all the untalented dung being played on every radio station these days, then Fantomas is your savior."

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