Customer Reviews

Suspended Animation

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Fantomas' "Suspended Animation" is a great record, not for everyone, certainly. Mike Patton, clearly influenced by John Zorn's Naked City project and the work of Carl Stalling, has constructed a jump cut record that is not dissimilar to much of Naked City's output-- this is one thing I've found somewhat underdocumented reading reviews of the album, but having spent a little time listening to it, this was my first impression.

Patton does, however, find his own voice as he seamlessly blends genres-- notably cartoon music in the Stalling model and endless sound effects. Like Naked City, it can be frustrating at times when you find an idea you like and its development is abandoned in exchange for something else, but the statement as a whole is what's really important. Like all Fantomas records, there's a high theatrical feels on this one as it slides between various styles, always returning to a sort of sludgey metal feel and a cartoon feel. Patton's vocals are largely wordless, though there is some lyric here and there.

One thing that I see a lot of is fans of metal seeking Fantomas material having heard its a "metal supergroup"-- if you don't like experimental music, you probably won't like this one, regardless of who's in the band-- most of these guys have been associated with Zorn's work more recently than with metal bands, and it shows. On the other hand, if you are a metal fan and you're a bit open minded, there may be enough here to latch onto to allow you to develop an appreciation for it, but Fantomas is not something that will come easy-- you sort of have to get used to hearing it before it makes sense.

If you're a fan of Patton's work with Fantomas (even if you disliked "Delerium Cordia") or for that matter with Mr. Bungle, this is a good one to check out. I'd also recommend this to John Zorn/Naked City fans, they'll find quite a bit to like on this one (ditto for "General Patton vs. the X-ecutioners"). Conversely, if you did like this, check out Zorn's Naked City band, I think you'll find it very rewarding.

Warning: The below album is an experience, and an intense one. It should not be listened to if your mind isn't open.

Okay, enough of that.

In early 2004, Fantômas produced the dark, mesmerizing "Delirium Cordia," a strange concept album with only one epic song... which happened to be 74 minutes long. It was a risk, and it paid off. So after something like that, what can a band do that doesn't sound like backsliding? Well, do the reverse.

Enter "Suspended Animation," an odd concept album built around the month of April. The band opts for faster, more cartoony songs this time around, but retains the mad-genius-doing-prog-metal-on-acid sound. It's the sort of music that one can't have mixed opinions on -- either you love this stuff, or you loathe it.

Frontman Mike Patton imbues "Suspended Animation with hints of blues, weird synth, jazz, metal, post-rock, strange sound effects and just about every other kind of sound, with some bombastic drums and razor-sharp riffs. The music should be a complete mess, but instead it sounds like Patton has managed to trap some rabid sound waves in a box. It's chaos, but controlled chaos -- the type that fascinates rather than repels.

And soaring over it all is the voice of Patton himself, sounding a bit demented. He's got an almost impossibly flexible voice, and the man puts it to extremely good use here. He's backed by the excellent Buzz Osbourne, guitarist for the Melvins, and nearly-as-good Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo.

Since the album is centered on the month of April there are... thirty tracks. Not one. Not ten. Thirty. Patton keeps things moving with cartoonish sounds and quick cuts from one song to the next. It's sillier than the morbid "Delirium Cordia" was, but by no means is it goofy or lightweight. Despite the closing sample, that is.

It may not be dark and sprawling, but "Suspended Animation" is just as good as its predecessor. Mad, whirling and bursting with chaotic energies.

Imagine a prog-metal alchemist with an obsession for classic Warner Brothers cartoons and old video games, pasting together a jump-cut soundtrack to a campy horror movie, and you still wouldn't be able to conceive of this bizarre little album from Fantomas. This disc is essentially a pastiche of sonic experiments, laid out arbitrarily over 30 tracks representing each of the days in April 2005. Brutal speed metal riffs blast their way into a creepily silly soundscape of effects and samples from the aforementioned cartoons and toys, with Mike Patton's unconventional vocal exercises working as inhuman sound effects themselves, with discernable lyrics only popping up occasionally, like in "04/10/05 Sunday." Fantomas throws in a lot of unexpected musical ingredients amidst all this hubbub, including a melancholy mellotron melody in "04/03/05 Sunday," mutated acid jazz in "04/02/05 Saturday" and "04/27/05 Wednesday," chilling trance in "04/20/05 Wednesday," and even a lullaby in "04/21/05 Thursday." My favorite musical moment of the album is the otherworldly kid's chorus over tribal percussion in "04/16/05 Saturday." But while this album is relentlessly fascinating, it's also fractured. Nothing here lasts more than about 20 seconds, and every time an interesting riff or rhythm pops up, it's almost immediately overcome by more samples and sound effects. That makes this album a success in experimentation and construction, but a little problematic in the listenability department. However, I really doubt that anything else on Earth sounds like this, and that's a good thing in itself. [~doomsdayer520~]

This is the most amazing album I've bought this year (next to Isis' Panopticon, which I think came out last year). Mike Patton and his most merry band of musically accomplished miscreants are at it again on 'Suspended Animation'. It's the insane-o-flip-out-glitch-blastbeat-Mike doing-what-he-does-best, Fantomas album I was hoping for. Much more listenable (if that's a word) than its predecessor Delirium Cordia, which I love despite it's radical weirdness. Lombardo's drumming is the most impressive thing on the album, the way he 'holds the songs together', or better yet, the way he organizes the chaos instigated by Patton is reason enough to go out and buy a drum kit. Buzz's guitar work is also great as usual. Amazing, amazing stuff. The things legendary albums are made of. Listen, spazz out, pick your jaw up off the floor, repeat.

All I can say iz: OH MY GAWD...Fantomas flippin' RAWK! This review is based on seeing Fantomas last April (the album's theme!) and hearing "Suspended Animation" the ensuing days after show...( can I type: triple Whoa Brain Mania, doods!)? Strange & beautiful music; visceral & tighter than a miser w/rigor mortis. Hard & weird & angular. Mad scientific & mathematical song construction best compared to a punk/shred Zappa filtered through Dali's mustache. (OK, maybe not "best" described) Break neck pace, odd time signatures, virtuostic rock instrumentation & a telepathic band cohesiveness. Mike Patton IS THE BEST ROCK VOCALIST out there right now. PERIOD. Like there is NO COMEDY after Bill Hicks, I cannot imagine what vocal acrobats can follow what Patton now does. His truly amazing voice ( & I HATE vocalists!) ranges from a lilting chorale style for 7 ½ bars then careens on a knife edge into guttural Sasquatch scatting in the next 2 bars as it runs smack into amazing human beat box the next as he then croons like Der Bingle over the band's psychedelicore abstractions 10 seconds later. PLUS...he makes more sonic art with a confounding & outstanding use of samples and electronic SOUND MANIPULATION. His air sculpture of sound sets a theatrical back drop amidst the bands primal rawk artistry. VERY intense art rock; there's is a musical prowess muscularly hewn to the Nth degree of skill. 100s of song parts scientifically tinkered into a dizzying array post-punk math/theory/science rock. Dave Lombardo beats machine-like his 20+ piece drum/percussion kit that included perc-tools I've never seen: chimy brass sheets; a metal disc that makes metallic bean-splash ratchet noises; a trash can filled with metal shakers & then sampled to create odd rhythmic click tracks over which he frantically peppers the groove with bombastically HUGE drum percolations. Oof. Buzz (of Melvins fame) rages on his screech-N-scratch guitar through grindcore assault riffage and a turntablist's rhythmic sensibilities. He probably only soloed once and that lasted 1.3 seconds as his razor-edged shred squeaked and squealed delightfully behind Patton's intense vocalese. Bassist Trevor Dunn plies bass lines of sequoia-like marching booms all to military-quirk and almost-nonsensical time patterns...that dropped on & around the BEAT! Bam! Can't place his style anywhere but weirdly in the throng of this odd-rock monstrosity befitting Fantoma's musical & abstract godzilla of sound. Monster art rawk: a beautifully LOUD thang. "Suspended Animation" is prog- rock at it's most raw & artistic. A primal slice of rock performed by artists playing like volcanoes and this album is this Masterpiece Magma Ejecta hurled into our earholes to both confound and tickle our brains. Truly a PERFORMANCE piece both live & on CD: the listener's attention is apprehended and reprogrammed by this exceedingly progressive music that sounds little like anything else out there. Fans of twee keys and angelic choirs gird your minds with sonic flak gear because this music will assault your senses with crushingly virtuostic psychedelicore ART RAWK. Harder, louder & weirder has got to be one of this band's M.O.s - who can keep up with Fantomas?

review by Agnes "open up in there!" Steck

Ohhhh, how to describe the ineffable...

An explosive and mind-shattering fugue of metal, punk, blues, jazz, industrial and everything in between. As he stands behind his high tech keyboard terminals, this stunning incarnation known as Mike Patton serves as the mad genius/conductor of a beautiful cacophony and wall of sound; but I've never before seen the conductor become an inextricable part of the music!

He stares menacingly at the fiercely skin-smashing percussionist. They are in sync throughout as thunderous and speedy drums give way to extra-galactic vocal eruptions and dazzling, tripped-out synth sounds across the spectrum. The inspired guitarist races to keep up with fiery string arrangements and piercing riffs. The bassist pounds away with furious intent. Cartoon noises from your childhood come back to soothe you into further states of oblivion. The complete effect is akin to the unconscious mind come to life.

Screeching across the heavenly (and ungodly) airwaves is the impossibly flexible and adept voice of Mike Patton, who becomes like the possessed, reincarnated soul of Mozart or Beethoven on acid. Is there a single sound in this universe that Patton's voice cannot sing/enunciate with perfect clarity? How does it stay so strong? That unparalleled voice magically becomes one of the more interesting instruments in the masterful display of aural majesty and chaos. Are we listening to a man, a woman or an alien? The sound is at once total precision and unbridled chaos.

They are leagues beyond most other bands in most categories of music. True inspiration and talent know no bounds, as evidenced by the infinite potential of this band. They are unrestricted and unlimited while being perfectly controlled. They push the envelope higher and higher and this in turn expands your levels of awareness and appreciation. When the music periodically stops, one does feel as if they've taken a dip in eternity and come back to talk about it: to the beyond and back on a rocket-ship. They demand not just your undivided attention but your heart, body, mind and soul. After your ego is delightfully crushed, you become one with the energy. Pure consciousness alit with flaming sounds from some other universe.

Rock has never before aspired to this magnificent level but we might as well try to hold on to the joyous and ecstatic ride. Explanations for DNA and where we are going have just been given a voice, and its name is Fantomas.

Warning: The below album is an experience, and an intense one. It should not be listened to if your mind isn't open.

Okay, enough of that.

In early 2004, Fantômas produced the dark, mesmerizing "Delirium Cordia," a strange concept album with only one epic song... which happened to be 74 minutes long. It was a risk, and it paid off. So after something like that, what can a band do that doesn't sound like backsliding? Well, do the reverse.

Enter "Suspended Animation," an odd concept album built around the month of April. The band opts for faster, more cartoony songs this time around, but retains the mad-genius-doing-prog-metal-on-acid sound. It's the sort of music that one can't have mixed opinions on -- either you love this stuff, or you loathe it.

Frontman Mike Patton imbues "Suspended Animation with hints of blues, weird synth, jazz, metal, post-rock, strange sound effects and just about every other kind of sound, with some bombastic drums and razor-sharp riffs. The music should be a complete mess, but instead it sounds like Patton has managed to trap some rabid sound waves in a box. It's chaos, but controlled chaos -- the type that fascinates rather than repels.

And soaring over it all is the voice of Patton himself, sounding a bit demented. He's got an almost impossibly flexible voice, and the man puts it to extremely good use here. He's backed by the excellent Buzz Osbourne, guitarist for the Melvins, and nearly-as-good Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo.

Since the album is centered on the month of April there are... thirty tracks. Not one. Not ten. Thirty. Patton keeps things moving with cartoonish sounds and quick cuts from one song to the next. It's sillier than the morbid "Delirium Cordia" was, but by no means is it goofy or lightweight. Despite the closing sample, that is -- it borders on goofiness here and there, but never crosses the line.

It may not be dark and sprawling, but "Suspended Animation" is just as good as its predecessor. Mad, whirling and bursting with chaotic energies.

Those who hated the previous album and are hesitant to get the new one can lay their fears to rest. Each Fantomas release has sounded different from the last, but Suspended Animation goes back to the debut-which I'm sure people were hoping for. Basically, if you like the first album, you're gonna like this coz it's very similar. The only difference being there are alot more sound fx. There's Hannah-Barbara/ Looney Tunes sounds all throughout the album, usually at the same time as the music. There's also sounds of clocks, phones, singing children, etc. All of these sounds give it a more silly and less darker feel than the first album, but this is NOT light and fluffy stuff. Vocally, it's the Mike Patton Fantomas gibberish we all love, but at two or three points he actually does sing a line or two. Patton must have exhausted most of most of his shrieks and howls on the first album, coz he really doesn't break any new ground here, but that's not gonna matter to fans. After all, there's only so much you can do with the human voice, and Patton has stretched it as far as it can go. Fantomas have been getting more and more creative with their themes and packaging. This is probably the most creative yet. The debut was a comic theme, the second was movie themes and the third was a surgery soundtrack(!). Suspended Animation is actually two different concepts-The first being animation of course. The second being the cd packaging in the form of a calendar for April 2005. I'm assuming that after this month the cd will come in a regular cd case, so get it now! Each of the 30 tracks represents a single day of April. Pretty cool stuff. Should you get this cd? If you like Fantomas, hell yes! If you like Papa Roach, I wouldn't advise it. Plus, if you find yourself in a stereo war with your neighbor, the cd guarantees you'll come out the victor.

If we didn't have Mike Patton and his ship of lost souls sailing into the sunset I think the boundaries of what can be considered popular music would be severely limited. Suspended Animation is a strange beast, closer to the debut Fantoma's album yet very different - happier, more sadistic.

What makes Mike Patton projects so good is that he is more than happy to slice and dice the most amazing sound scapes with impunity, much to the annoyance of the listener. Like always there are some real gems buried in the album, bits you wished went on and were developed but are sacrificed - for the greater good though. That's the beauty of Suspended Animation.

This album won't appeal to everyone, and it will take a number of times to grow on most listeners. Not a five star album to be realistic, but a damn good one. Far less mainstream than Mr. Pattons recent General Patton vs. The Xecutioners but just as good.

I'll skip the redundant comparisons to other Patton projects as well as any attempt to counter the hilarious moanings of the resident John Zorn fan-club (a group of geeks so irritating and closeminded they almost tarnish my love for an incredible artist) and get right to the point : Suspended Animation is a great album.

That seems like a pretty simple statement, but I think the fact of the matter is the astronomical quality of this new outing single-handedly solidifies the longevity of a group that might have otherwise banged and shrieked it's way into a corner. If you're reading these reviews you're probably already aware of the format. Thirty songs, each about one to two minutes in length, of schizophrenic freak music. Maybe that's a stupid classification, but I won't bother with something as useless as genres. In essence Suspended Animation holds the closest resemblance to the group's debut, and fans of that album are almost garunteed to enjoy this one, but the sound is a more fleshed out, more focused beast.

What makes Suspended Animation so cool is the framework provided it by the "cartoon music" theme. While listening to the first album the comic-book concept seemed like more of an afterthought, or at the most a cool idea, than a real controlling factor. Not so here. The insane jump-start style of the music, Patton's tasmanian-devil vocals, and the integration of quirky Stalling-esque structures and effects beautifully reflects the Saturday-Morning aspirations. The juxtaposition of humor and ominous, brooding atmosphere is something I've always loved about Fantomas, and it's perfected here. This is like Looney Tunes meets Natural Born Killers by way of The Twilight Zone.

Sound wise the boys are at the top of their game. The relatively pop sensibility of the Director's Cut and the expert manipulation of soundscapes in Delerium Cordia have given Patton the songwriting experience to fully utilize his ability. His supergroup, likewise, is tighter than ever. The intensity has been refined and educated, keeping up with the furious pace and carving out an incredible array of brutal jazz and metal theatrics.

Maybe if people listened to music like they watched movies Fantomas wouldn't be such a controversial project. The month is April and the dilemna is nothing less than the total breakdown of the Japanese Interzone in the midst of human madness. Each song spans a day and by the time the thirtieth track rolls by you've been dragged and kicked through a documentary on cartoon anxiety so interesting the music alone is imagery enough.

If every album was this fun we wouldn't need the television entertainment that inspired it. Quite a paradox.