SUSPENDED ANIMATION

I went to Borders looking for numerous artists and when all was said and done, I walked away with Fantomas' Suspended Animation. I was excited to get the album after reading many good reviews, but when I listened to the album, I fail to see the acclaimed greatness. I don't know if it's so original I'm missing, the point or it really isn't that great. Here's how I break it down.

The overall musicality certainly shows creativity, but it doesn't show knowledge of how to compose a song. The album never really gets to a point where it "develops". It seems like this album is forty-five minutes of an intros and outros to great tunes.

The guitar playing shows a lot of versitility. Once again, I must say it doesn't sound developed. Buzz just never kicks into the groove. The effects are creative, the tones are musical, but the playing never kicks into musical form.

The vocals from Mike Patton never seems to really show off his singing talents. Much like the guitars, it's very effects driven and doesn't seem to establish any kind of flow or purpose to the album.

The bass playing is one of the better parts of the album. Out of all the musical skill on the album, the bass seems to be in more of a groove than the rest of the band.

The drums are much the same way as the bass. The drums and bass seem to groove a little better throughout the album. I can't say I hear any phoenomenal drumming, but when the groove is more or less established, the drums are a pleasant experience.

The production is excellent. The effects are clear and quality. The effects are quite creative and give the album a unqiue sound. I think their are a few too many of them though. It would be much better to see the effects take a back seat to groove in the music. Everything sounds great, but it's hard to distinguish where the serious musical composition begins and ends.

It's not a terrible album, but I certainly don't think this album deserves the praise it recieves.

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