Biography
Named for the notorious anti-hero featured in a classic series of French crime novels, Fantômas originated when Mike Patton assembled the project after Faith No More disbanded. Following an initial rough demo recorded in early 1998, Patton enlisted Melvins guitarist Buzz Osborne, Mr. Bungle bassist Trevor Dunn, and Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo to complete the lineup. Their first performance took place in San Francisco during mid-June that same year. The group’s recorded introduction arrived via a dense, noisy rendition of T. Rex’s “Chariot Choogle,” contributed to the 1998 Tzadik compilation Great Jewish Music: Marc Bolan. Extensive summer touring followed. Spring 1999 brought the self-titled debut album, issued as the inaugural release on Patton’s newly established Ipecac imprint, after which additional live dates ensued. Once the tour concluded, the members turned their attention back to their primary bands, placing Fantômas on temporary hiatus. By early 2001 the quartet reconvened to complete a second album, The Director’s Cut, which reinterpreted cinematic themes drawn from The Godfather, Cape Fear, and Rosemary’s Baby, among others; an intended version of “What a Feeling” from Flashdance was ultimately omitted because of last-minute legal obstacles. The rest of 2001 was devoted to touring in support of the record, though Patton indicated the possibility of entering the studio again before year’s end to pursue an album of original compositions. Those plans were deferred when Fantômas joined forces with Melvins for a series of shows as the seven-piece Fantômas Melvins Big Band, resulting in the April 2002 release Millennium Monsterwork. Early 2004 saw the arrival of the atmospheric, extended work Delirium Cordia. The following year brought Suspended Animation, a concept album centered on the month of April that revisited the band’s metal-horror aesthetic. Although Patton periodically reassembled the group for select live dates, no further material surfaced until 2014, when Ipecac issued the Wunderkammer box set containing fresh vinyl editions of the first five Fantômas releases together with a bonus cassette of Patton’s earliest demo recordings. That year also marked the band’s return to the stage after a six-year absence, with an appearance at the RockOut Festival in Santiago, Chile.
Albums
