Legend would have it that Mike Patton recorded a single demo for his new project (on which he played all the instruments) and that he sent this tape to his favorite guitarist, bassist and drummer (respectively Buzz Osborne of the Melvins, Trevor Dunn of Mr.Bungle and Dave Lombardo of Slayer). Each one then responded by sending a new recording illustrating the vision they had of their instruments in the heart of the project. Little importance should be given to the veracity of this anecdote on the birth of Fantômas and of the album of the same name; one thing is evident upon listening to it: Patton's signature. He uses the experiments of Adult Themes for Voice and his experience producing two solo albums. While the axis of these two albums was on experimentation, with a music-in-the-making aspect, Fantômas emerges as a premeditated and complete work. Even if the other musicians might have contributed to its making, one can easily recognize Patton's style: the production as well as the writing, the themes and the concept (the pieces-pages remind one of Pranzo Oltranzista's recipes and the hotel rooms of Adult Themes for Voice).
At its root, the project is interesting and ambitious: create a musical adaptation (composition) of a Fantômas comic in which each piece illustrates a page of comic strips. Contrary to John Zorn's Spillane (a musical portrait of author Mickey Spillane and his work), the narrative elements are not very numerous (a few screams and shots, footsteps, sirens..) and fairly scattered except on Page 4 [11 frames] (used as a trigger, reminding the listeners they are listening to an adventure of Fantômas - an adventure that doesn't feature linearity. If the listeners seek a story they must fully imagine it, using a few narrative elements as tracks on this imagined creation).
There are neither lyrics nor narration to go with this musical illustration. The voice of Patton is strictly used as an instrument. Fantômas is four instruments that work together and respond to each other (for example Page 23 [17 frames] in which the instruments follow each other in some sort of rhythmic duel). Each musician brillantly masters his instrument and can't help pushing the sonorous research further in order to give Fantômas a daring and original sound. It's worth a listen, but not for a sensitive ear, given the baggage of the implicated musicians.
This free style (a little bit messy) could have easily been perceived as improvised, what is not the case at all. Fantômas leaves the impression of a hyper calculated album, quasi-mathematical. The musicians' virtuoisity allows them to impose stops and changes in direction on close calls that do not cease to surprise. The result suscribes to postmodernism, mixing mediums (music, comics, a certain cinematographic narration..) and styles (heavy, ambiant and some experimental jazz).
This is an Ipecac Recordings release, Mike Patton and Greg Werckman's new baby.
Fantômas Fantômas
