Fantomas is a metal "supergroup" fronted by Faith No More vocalist Mike Patton, along with Trevor Dunn, Buzz Osborne of the Melvins and Dave Lombardo of Slayer fame. An odd cast of characters on paper for an avant garde metal project. The Director's Cut Live, interesting on principal alone, is an ambitious project to interpret so many well known movie themes. This live recording of their 2001 album is from a New Year's Eve concert filmed in San Francisco.
I think I know about half of the original versions of the themes presented here, and there's a large selection from 1960s and 70s horror films. Patton's vocal delivery in Fantomas is often far from singing, but because of the song selection, there's a lot of singing mixed with the screaming and other odd sounds that can come out of that man. The rest of the band are performing in top notch form as well. By in large the music seems almost improvised as it shifts between crushing guitars and crooning vocal melodies, but it never falls apart. Breaks in quirky noises abound, only to seamlessly be swallowed by a return to the main theme of a given song. Obviously these guys can communicate on stage.
This review is just for the audio recording, but I'm sure the DVD is worth checking out. Patton alone is a spectacle to behold. It's not for everybody. You've got to enjoy some chaos to sit and listen to the whole thing. But if you can, it's an interesting look at an unlikely group of artists doing unnatural things to some well known songs.
Track Listing
1. The Godfather
2. Night Of The Hunter
3. Cape Fear
4. One Step Beyond
5. Rosemary's Baby
6. The Devil Rides Out
7. Spider Baby
8. The Omen
9. Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer
10. Vendetta
11. Investigation Of A Citizen Above Suspicion
12. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me
13. Der Golem
14. Charade
15. Intermission
16. Simply Beautiful
17. Chariot Choogle
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