Delirium Cordia

Album Review

The third release by Fantômas, Delirium Cordia, turns a bit of a different direction from the band's previous releases. Delirium Cordia is one track clocking in at 74 minutes. The record is always haunting; giving one a sense of the grizzly images of the insert booklet — photos of surgeries in action. The music has film score qualities, a feeling of being lost in a hospital at night, a hospital much like that of Lars Von Trier's The Kingdom, while Hellraiser demons watch and wait from afar. Where Director's Cut was a variation of different '70s film themes, Delirium Cordia is a score to Patton's own horror-filled imagination. Fantômas are open and free, but always maintain a rhythmic through-line, whether a bass, samples, or percussion. Many styles weave throughout the disc: '60s easy listening, dark metal, Gothic chanting, and world inflections. And all of these styles now come to mind when thinking of Mike Patton's projects, from Mr. Bungle to Faith No More to Fantômas. Clicks and glitches lie at various levels in the mix, created by percussion or samples to taunt the listener, giving a tension and dissonance that really never gets resolved. Fantômas use many instruments to create layers of unease, everything from full metal-band instrumentation to whistling and backwards whispering with piano and bells, ringing the same melody creating chills up the back with the death chimes and chants. In the many turns that twist in surprise and mood, the metal — that could be attributed to familiarity of the members of Fantômas — Buzz Osborne of the Melvins, Dave Lombardo of Slayer, Trevor Dunn of Mr. Bungle, and, of course, Mike Patton — creeps into the mix every once in awhile and is totally tight, appropriate, and on-point. As soon as one begins to feel comfortable with their unease, Fantômas always puts the listener in check, mingling atmospheric and terrifying levels in the music. The end of Delirium Cordia sounds like a looped groove of a vinyl record with no one to mind the needle, setting us up for a sequel. Mike Patton and crew give us another great work, leaving us to wonder what lies around the corner.