Delirium Cordia, Fantômas’ third collaborative effort between Mike Patton (Faith No More), Buzz Osbourne (Melvins), Trevor Dunn (Mr. Bungle), and Dave Lombardo (Slayer) is a nightmarishly haunting experience that, like their previous work, has been executed with surgical precision. The ride you are about to take is one that will lull you into a complacent state of consciousness, while it intermittently yanks you from your content psyche to rattle your emotions. Over the course of this lengthy one-song album, you’ll find it shifts moods very frequently leaving you to never be quite sure of when it’s okay to fall asleep. As with previous works by Fantômas, their visually creative music, attention to detail, and elaborate CD packaging is what makes them an artistic force to reckon with.
There are at least a hundred different words one could use to describe the multitude of decadent layers in this dark and fantastic album. In essence, it’s an improvisational nightmare that leaves you feeling extremely uncomfortable for an entire hour, while concurrently having you wish you could lie down to listen. It sometimes reiterates some of the clowned-out, demonic tones of Patton’s work with his first band, Mr. Bungle; however, we never get to hear him sing. Infrequently, he will utilize his voice as an instrument to make noises that do not typically come out of a human. The most accurate words to describe Delirium Cordia, however, would be an uneasy listening experience with touches of ambient landscapes. If you’ve ever watched a horror flick, which I’m sure you have, this album will create many images in your head. I believe I even heard a spot from Hitchcock’s Psycho. Some of the other images I get from the album are of old gothic churches and old houses with windows slamming open and shut due to high winds. Mostly, these are images of places I’d rather not be.
With this album being the volatile experience it is, you may find yourself becoming worn out by the time you reach the halfway point. Don’t think I wasn’t one of them the first time I heard it. It’s somewhere between background music and something that needs to be studied. Everything about it is a dichotomy. For sure, it’s an album that should be enjoyed with headphones to catch all the quiet little sounds that lurk deep in the background. Dunn, Osbourne, and Lombardo bring a very dense rhythm section to the table and match the field recordings of Patton. After listening to this album several times, though, I still can’t help but wonder what it must be like to be inside Mike Patton’s disturbed head. Is he a man of genius or a man of trouble? Delirium Cordia shows that he is both.
1. Delirium Cordia
More about: Fantômas
