I’m pretty certain that Mike Patton is the most compelling figure in contemporary music. It’s a courageous declaration, I know, but after watching him scratch, cleave, cut, contort, and mutilate the art of music on the brilliantly insane Fantômas/Melvins Live From London 2006 DVD, you can count me amongst the converted.
Clad in a Disneyland shirt, Patton moves about persistently behind a bureau stacked with equipment. Keyboards, voice machines, and a range of noisemakers are his weapons and he uses them uncompromisingly throughout the show. Patton is the motivating force behind this monstrous piece, but he’s positively not the only guest at the party.
Recorded on May 1, 2006 at the Kentish Town Forum, the swarm of Londonites was treated to a show that combined the majestic and peculiar Fantômas and the stunning and outlandish Melvins. So with a comprehensive troop of Patton, Buzz Osborne, Dave Lombardo, Trevor Dunn, Dale Crover, and Sir David Fucking Scott Stone on stage all at once, you can imagine the sort of ferocious vigour coursing through the wires on such an exceptional night.
For anyone familiar with Patton and Fantômas, the senselessness of explaining one of their live shows by referencing a setlist is obvious. Adding the Melvins to the mix doesn’t hone things very much, as the “songs” sort of bump and fiddle with one another mischievously.
Starting with the murmur of the lingering “Sacrifice,” the Melvins and Fantômas rip through a multifaceted collection of stocky and deafening rock segments, wacky shrieking, passionate drum solos, extraordinary and agonizing instrumentations, macabre screams, picturesque moments of harmonious ecstasy, and growling.
And it’s all just another fucking day at the office for these guys.
Along with the show, there’s a commentary that is well worth checking out. With Ipecac co-owner Greg Werckman, agent Robby Fraser, Crover and Osborne from the Melvins, and Danny DeVito (yes, that Danny DeVito), the commentary is an uncultivated and funny tête-à-tête that has little, if anything, to do with the actual concert. Predominantly consisting of discussions about the music industry, the film industry, and Marlon Brando’s love for Chinese girls, DeVito and the gang attach an out of the ordinary component to the DVD.
The production is eye-catching, as the recording was shot by three cameramen (Douglas Pledger, Matthew Rozenik, and Alex Gunnis) who capture the live experience on an assortment of levels with a few imaginative camera tricks and some smart but straightforward effects.
All in all, the Fantômas/Melvins Live From London 2006 DVD is a must-have for fans of unconventional metal supergroups and those with a flavour for something just a little odd.
Article comments
1 - Capt. Fruitcake
One of the most important free-form avant garde metal releases of the 21st century. In the same league (but definitely not the same genre) with Miles Davis circa '74-'75, right before his retirement. Totally unreal stuff.