The Fantômas had a surprise reunion in Oakland, California on Wednesday night (May 24) during the final show of Mr. Bungle’s “Geek Show” tour with the Melvins.
Considering that three of the band’s four members — Mike Patton, Trevor Dunn, and Dave Lombardo — are currently at Mr. Bungle, a reunion isn’t out of the question. Once Melvins’ Buzz Osborne took the stage, the supergroup’s lineup was complete, along with Bungle guitarists Trey Spruance and Scott Ian.
Osborne and Mr. Bungle sit together and perform Anger of the Easter Bunny Demonstration The track “Sudden Death” before the band entered Fantômas to cover Henri Mancini’s “Experiment in Terror” (from the band’s 2001 album) Director’s Cut). Fan footage captured the performance, which flowed smoothly as the band mastered complex loud-soft dynamics.
Fantômas was originally conceived by Patton in 1998 as a solo side project, though it soon expanded into a veritable supergroup of his closest musical allies. The band released four studio albums from 1999 to 2005, exploring avant-garde and experimental territory. The Fantômas’ last tour took place in 2014, though they did play a show in 2017 (albeit with Melvins drummer Dale Crover replacing Lombardo).
With the US spring tour wrapped up, Mr. Bungle can turn his attention to their September shows in North America, backed by Battles.Tickets are available here.
Below you can watch footage of the Fantômas reunion and relive the pre-tour “Two for the Road” video conversation between Dave Lombardo and Dale Crover.