Like most of the world's music listening population, my ears perk up when I hear mention of the name "Mike Patton." Although I'm sure everyone is familiar with Patton's work (last time I checked, his first solo album, 1996's Adult Themes for Voice, was certified triple-platinum and Fantomas' July release, The Director's Cut, was bouncing between one and two on the Billboard 200), here's a brief timeline for the uninitiated. Patton formed the wildly popular Mr. Bungle in 1985, and also spent time fronting some other band. You know, they sang that song - "You want it all ... It's in your face" - or something like that. Patton's first real taste of global success and acclaim came in 1996, when he decided to fly solo with the aforementioned Adult Themes for Voice, followed a year later by the equally popular Pranzo Oltranzista. And who can forget Fantomas, fresh off an arena-sized US tour (supported by relatively unknown modern rockers, Tool). Simply put, you can't turn on the TV, radio, or read the newspaper without hearing mention of Patton or one of the numerous projects he's involved with.

And then I woke up.

In a perfect world, a world where record sales depend on album quality, and labels believe in the long lost art of artist development, the preceding paragraph would be purely factual. Sadly, that scenario is far from reality in today's flavor-of-the-week commercial music industry. Pre-packaged, antiseptic teen pop, and its doppelganger, rough-and-tumble, expletive-laden hip-hop, rule the charts, leaving some of our time's most amazing music unheard. As a both a journalist and a humanitarian, I feel that it's my duty to introduce you to Tomahawk, Mike Patton's latest brainchild. While chances are it won't break any sales records, it is easily one of the best releases of 2001.

Formed in early 2000 along with ex-Jesus Lizard/current Hank Williams III guitarist Duane Denison, Tomahawk is another Patton fronted super group. Bassist Kevin Rutmanis (Melvins) and drummer John Stanier (ex-Helmet) round out the band. As far as production is concerned, Tomahawk owes a lot to Fantomas - the drum sound and guitar tones are almost identical. However, for those of you who believe that song is defined verse-chorus-verse, Tomahawk is the answer to your prayers. Basically, if you were one of those Faith No More fans who never got into Mr. Bungle, and scratched your head upon first hearing Fantomas, this is the moment you've been waiting for. And of course, if you've been a Patton fan all along, this is another can't miss album.

Tomahawk is a 45-minute rock-and-roll extravaganza. There's a little something for everyone: modern rock ("Laredo"), country ("Cul de Sac") and Melvinsesque dirges ("Sir Yes Sir", "God Hates Coward"). Above all, Tomahawk is a tour-de-force of Patton's vocal talents. Sprinkled across the disc are all the required mouth noises, as well as actually harmonies and melodies and - get this - lyrics... in English! Also showcased is Patton's infamous wit; he drops tongue-in-cheek couplets like there's no tomorrow. Take, for example, the standout track "POP 1," where Patton alternately sings and screams, "This beat could win me a Grammy." Mike, I assure you, if there was any justice in this world, it would.

It needs to be said that Patton fanatics may find parts of Tomahawk a bit predictable. An "I've heard this before" vibe seems to permeate the album. Nonetheless, compared to anything on MTV or Top-40/Modern Rock radio, Tomahawk is without peer.

Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Driving