Metal Reviews

This is the kind of thing that I thought would have been done before but I can't find an already existing thread...

I suppose I am a pseudo-Patton fanboy, in that I am inclined to expect everything he releases to be good, but don't mind admitting if they are not.

So anyway, for those that like him, what are your favourite 5 records that feature Mike Patton?

Here are mine:

Mr Bungle- California
Fantomas/Melvins Big Band- Millenium Monsterwork
TDEP- Irony is a Dead Scene (by far their best work, because of Pattons input, IMO)
Faith No More- Angel Dust
Solo project- Pranzo Oltranzista. (I choose this because it is very different, and has some cool Zorn soloing on, although I listen to "the directors cut" more frequently)

Ok..

1. Delirium Cordia
2. Disco Volante
3. Amenaza al Mundo
4. Angel Dust
5. Suspended Animation

I have a couple of his odd releases, too.. Lovage, Romances.. I couldn't stand the Zorn collaboration and I'm still to hear the Maldoror release. And his solo, voice only stuff is too grating to really listen to very often. Medullah and the DEP release was great, too.

I honestly think that Fantomas blows away his previous work..

I'm a Patton fan-boy!

My absolute favorite is Mr. Bungle - Disco Volante

And the other 4 in no particular order:

Fantômas - Suspended Animation
Faith No More - King for a Day, Fool for a Lifetime
Fantômas - Director's Cut
Patton / Kaada - Romances

Patton is overrated. I've heard Patton fanboys tell me "Adult Themes In Voice" is a brilliant album!! Pfffffffffft! Please. I think Mr. Bungle has some brilliant moments, but overall is simply inaccessible. Faith No More is easily the best thing Patton has ever been a part of. Tomahawk is OK, but they come off as a second-rate Faith No More.

The rest of what Patton has done has simply not impressed me much at all. He's an AMAZING vocalist but I just find myself constantly disappointed in his work, a wasted talent.

Opinion, of course, and one going against the grain, I know, but it is what it is.

you're only going against the grain of this thread, sir.. ask a random metal head who mike patton is and they'll probably reply, "Who?" or "a fag." Most of his stuff isn't meant to be accessible; ever heard of the RIO movement? Seen a chainmail sock and wondered why? He's arguably the current source and leader of that sound..

I'm a huge fan when he's working with a project that actually makes music, instead of indulging in self-pleasing sound sample wankery or various meandering panders to people who like crap like Sunn O))) on general principle, so I guess I'm in between the two extreme camps.

My top 5 therefore, is not as Fantomas and side-project heavy as you guys', and would be made up of some combination of FNM, Tomahawk, and California. You could say I don't get it or whatever, I could say I'm picky about how much I let Mike Patton get away with

I agree with Rio that Irony is DEP's best work, especially when compared to the pile that is Miss Machine. It's odd that combining a guy with no sort of creative boundaries at all and a band as out there as DEP was for the time resulted in some of the better, more cohesive, memorable material either would release within years of it.

A chainmail sock...hahahaha!

So far, I only have FNM-The Real Thing, and I'm going to get the rest of that, as well as the other Patton stuff.

A few q's:

1) FNM did an album before The Real Thing, without Mike. Is it any good?

2) Patton's voice only stuff on Tzadik. Any good, anywhere I can get samples? And is all of the Tzadik stuff good, any to be avoided?

3) General Patton and the X-ecutioners. Any good?

actually, they did 2 :
-We Care A Lot, good but kinda new wavy
-Introduce Yourself, where the band begins to sound more alike The Real Thing era
the voice is not as good as it is with Patton but there are still some killer songs



DC++ for samples !
I think it's good but in the weird kinda way, don't expect anything easy to listen to....



if you can stomach hip hop and like Patton's voice, you can go for this one... dload it first though... 8)

Gracias. I'll have a look-see.

I think "adult themes..." is the only solo vocal stuff he's done, on Tzadik at least. Unless I've missed a release in the last year or so. I borrowed it off someone but didn't get into it especially... I preferred Pranzo Oltranzista, another solo work on Tzadik, but with a band. It's really cool- a series of "surrealist recipes", for example chunks of beef which have to be eaten in between saxophone blasts played by the customer...

So this record is not "fun" to listen to, but it is just interesting to listen closely and try to see what he's describing in sound.

Correct. I actually enjoy these albums, but my main issue is the vocals. The dude's lisp is just terrible! Hahaha.

I'm a Patton fanboy and I can't stomach some of that stuff so proceed with causion.



That one is awesome. Killer Hip-Hop beats and scratches, amazing arrangements, samples and mainly music. Some of Patton's best vocals ever AND NO RAPPING!

Get it.

Patton has produced a lot of great music over the years, but unfortunately some of it has been excrutiatingly annoying. IMO his best band was Mr. Bungle followed closely by Fantomas. I don't know why but I can't stand Faith No More, especially the song "Epic", which i thought at first was Aerosmith.

OK, a question. Tomahawk. I've heard the samples on Ipecac's webiste, and they're OK, but is there much variation?

And General Patton vs The X-Ecutioners is pretty good, from the (again) sample at Ipecac.

I think Tomahawk is his best post-FNM project. Of course, I find it to be quite similar to FNM most of the time. It seems that Patton finally realized FNM was the only truly, consistently good project he's been a part of.

There's certainly a lot of variety on Tomahawk albums, Zad. No need to worry there. However, I own "Mit Gas" but I rarely listen to it, and I'm not tempted to buy anything else by that band. I don't think it can touch the best Fantomas stuff- although Fantomas is still more inconsistent.

Oh, and for Tzadik stuff in general, I've found it to be pretty hit and miss- but Zorns Masada stuff should be great. I don't own any but I'm just about familiar enough to recommend it.

I like Irony Is a Dead Scene, California and Angel Dust. The rest of his stuff I find interesting but not especially good.