Ipecac Recordings Reissues Fantômas Vinyl For Label’s 25th Anniversary

Ipecac Recordings was founded by vocal anomaly, Mike Patton (Mr. Bungle, Faith No More, Tomahawk, etc) and ex-Alternative Tentacles label manager, Greg Werckman, on April 1st, 1999. That officially marks today as their 25th Anniversary. A few weeks after opening up shop, the first release would appear in the form of the FANTÔMAS self-titled debut. It was actually the formation of the experimental supergroup the previous year that led to the creation of Ipecac, with no real expectations for the scale or longevity the California-based label would eventually reach. Now, with a quarter-century under their belts, Ipecac is celebrating with the announcement of long-awaited vinyl reissues for that inaugural release and another pair of notable studio LPs from the FANTÔMAS catalog.

As with Ipecac, FANTÔMAS is the brainchild of Patton (Mr. Bungle, F aith No More, Tomahawk, etc), who rounds out the project with Buzz “King Buzzo” Osborne (Melvins) on guitar; bassist, Trevor Dunn (Mr. Bungle, Trio Convulsant, John Zorn, Melvins Lite), and Dave Lombardo (ex-Slayer, Dead Cross, Philm) behind the drum kit. Each incredibly prolific in their own right, all 4 of the members have continued to collaborate in various capacities resulting in plenty of overlap between their individual projects over the years. Many of these ventures would also find homes on Ipecac Recordings. At the time of the group’s formation, Faith No More had just dissolved and the frontman was ready to explore something entirely new, not just for him, but with his usual mission of venturing into previously unexplored territory for music in general. By assembling a roster of that caliber with such impressive range and extensive resumes, they came equipped with the perfect foundation to accomplish just that.

The avant-metal, grindcore, noise quartet released a total of 4 studio albums between 1999 and 2005, while demonstrating a strong penchant for concept albums. Outside the Wunderkammer box set created for Record Store Day Black Friday 10 years ago, the 3 titles getting the reissue treatment are being offered individually on vinyl with the original artwork for the first time ever. Each release will come in “four variants including Black, Indie Exclusive Silver Streak, Ipecac Exclusive Puke Green and a Blixt/Bandcamp limited-edition color.” I’ll break down a little something about each release below.

Naming the band after “an anti-hero from a series of pre-WWI French crime novels, sometimes dubbed the “lord of terror,” Patton composed and produced the group’s eponymous debut by himself. Clocking in just short of 43 minutes, the studio effort is divided into 30 tracks, half of which are only one minute or less in length. Each “song” title is a chronological page number  — “Page 1” through “Page 30”  — as the release is intended to unfold like a “soundtrack” to a comic book that, as far as I know, doesn’t actually exist. Each of the color variants will be reissued as a single LP with a fold-out poster.

Their 2001 sophomore effort, Director’s Cut, was the first to catch my attention and is, arguably, the most accessible of the lot. Consisting of 16 covers from various films, primarily in the horror genre, Patton and company doesn’t fail to take plenty of artistic liberties, injecting their metal influences and experimental tendencies into beloved compositions from themes to Rosemary’s Baby and The Omen to The Godfather and Twin Peak: Fire Walk With Me. This will also arrive as a single LP with fold-out poster.

Their final album, Suspended Animation, is a 30-track smorgasbord of mish-mashed styles with plenty of cartoon samples swirled in. The deluxe release came in a limited edition spiral-bound mini calendar, designed by renowned artist Yoshitomo Nara, to coincide with the fact that each song title is named after a date from April 2005, the month it was released. This will also be reissued as a single LP, but feature a 32pg mini calendar instead of a fold-out poster. Additionally, there will be a fifth webstore-only version for Suspended Animation. Limited to 1000 copies, this deluxe variant will be pressed on “Strawberry Jam” Vinyl and packaged in a wide-spine jacket with a full-sized calendar.

Noticeably missing from this list is the band’s third album, Delìrium Còrdia [2004]. The 74-minute single-track behemoth was intended as some sort of invasive surgery-themed horror soundtrack. It previously received a vinyl pressing back in 2004, but only as a picture disc. The packaging for the album included some graphic, yet beautiful, high-contrast photographs of surgery. Hopefully, we may see a new reissue for that one, as well, in the future.

All reissues are slated to drop officially on May 17th. Click here for the current pre-order links available

In addition to the vinyl reissues, FANTÔMAS & IPECAC 25 MERCH has returned to the official BLIXT US STORE. The EU Merch store is promising to get on board soon enough.