Fantomas

If I have to choose one record that, for me, is the missing link between heavy metal and opera it is Delirium Cordia (2004) from avant-garde metal band Fantomas. A project from Mike Patton (Faith No More) with Dave Lombardo (ex-Slayer) on drums. The record changed the way I listened to music. It exposed me to something different and intangible but fascinated me enough to want to give it repeated listens. There was no pulse in the music but there was a lot of atmosphere without becoming Pink Floyd. Not so much a rock album but more a soundtrack (which posed some challlenges, also for fans familiar with the work of Mike Patton - the view on the faces of some in audience with Faith No More t-shirts, years ago during a Fantomas gig in Amsterdam, who were staring at the stage as if a lorry load of manure had been poured over them was pure gold). It was not love on first hearing but it opened doors for me. And one of those doors was opera. (WdM) 

Delirium Cordia