JayKeeley said:
I'm not sure if I understand - are you saying that Patton can play both roles and still exclude himself from mainstream?
yeah, I'm not sure if it made much sense. The mainstream wants to embrace Patton, it's really that simple. He's charasmatic, a great musician, and is easily marketable ("Former Faith No More singer!"). FNM got mainstream succes with the song "Epic" from The Real Thing, and that song was wrongfully paraded around as rap rock/metal. o other song on that album sounds like that. The rappish vocals are just one of the talents of Patton (who also does death vox on Angeldust). So, instead of fully jumping in the main$tream, FNM chose to piss on them with Angeldust, an album chock full of radio UN-friendly songs. FNM never made another "hit".
Patton's other bands have remained relatively unknown like Mr. Bungle, Tomahawk, collaberations with John Zorn, collaberations with Dillinger Escape Plan. Even his Ipecac label stays away from mainstream.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that Patton remains a mainstream figure simply because his role in FNM. And lets face it, no matter what he does, he'll always be known for the song "Epic", which is probably one of his least memorable moments. However, he dwells within the underground, but is not one of its poster-childs. He plays both roles, albeit unwillingly, while never compromising his integrity. When it comes to music scenes, Patton remains an enigma.
Also, I'm very unfamiliar with Pantera - a band that never ventured outside the USA for the most part - but what about Anselmo collaborating on stuff like the new Necrophagia?
Phil Anselmo has honorable intentions, I think. But his actions sometimes make me question where his loyalties lie. Pantera gained much fandom and press with their first two offerings, especially Vulgar Display of Power, which spawned numerous videos and constant MTV airtime. Which is fine.
Pantera then started to decline musically, probably due to Anselmo's numerous side-projects, many of which never came to fruition. Like Patton, Anselmo will always be remembered for one album, regardles of what he does. However, whereas Patton has gone on to relative unknown bands, Anselmo resurrected Down and recently released the (supposed) nu-metallish Superjoint Ritual. Add to that Anselmo's ego and big mouth, and you've got a guy that's simply trying too hard. He has become the anti-trend, instead of just playing music and letting it speak for itself.
Like I said, I think Phil has good intentions, but his ego constantly gets in the way. Anselmo's brand of jock-rock has made him a poster-child for metal, which considering some of his actions and words, is not a good thing in my estimation.
I hope all of this made sense.
