Tomahawk (band)
Encyclopedia
Tomahawk is an experimental
alternative metal
/alternative rock
supergroup
from the United States
. They formed in 2000 when Fantômas
, ex-Mr. Bungle
and Faith No More
singer/keyboardist Mike Patton
and ex-The Jesus Lizard
guitar player Duane Denison
started swapping tapes with the intention of collaborating. Duane Denison then recruited ex-Helmet
drummer John Stanier
(currently playing with Battles
), while Mike Patton brought Melvins
/Cows bass player Kevin Rutmanis
into the fold.
, produced by Joe Funderburk. The band recorded their next album, Mit Gas
, with producer Joe Barresi
in 2003. Both albums were issued by Ipecac Recordings
.
Tomahawk have toured extensively, playing in many countries around the world, including the United States
, Australia
, Europe
and Japan
. They generally headline shows but have been the supporting act for bands such as Tool
. Tomahawk took part in the "Geek Tour", which featured labelmates The Melvins
and Fantômas
. Tomahawk have also played at various festivals, including the Big Day Out
festival in Australia.
The band's third album, Anonymous, was released on June 19, 2007 through Ipecac Recordings
. Kevin Rutmanis left the band during the recording; reasons for his departure are unknown. In July, 2011, Mike Patton told Rolling Stone
magazine that a fourth Tomahawk album is in the works. In November 2011, the band announced on Facebook that a new album was coming soon.
Experimental rock
Experimental rock or avant-garde rock is a type of music based on rock which experiments with the basic elements of the genre, or which pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique....
alternative metal
Alternative metal
Alternative metal is a genre of alternative rock and heavy metal that gained popularity in the early 1990s. Most notably, alternative metal bands are characterized by heavy guitar riffs and experimental approaches to heavy music.-Origins:...
/alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
supergroup
Supergroup (music)
In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups"....
from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. They formed in 2000 when Fantômas
Fantômas (band)
Fantômas is an avant-garde metal supergroup formed in 1998 in California, United States. The band is named after Fantômas, a supervillain featured in a series of crime novels popular in France before World War I and in film, most notably in the 60s French movie series.-History:Fantômas began just...
, ex-Mr. Bungle
Mr. Bungle
Mr. Bungle was an experimental band from Northern California. The band was formed in 1985 while the members were still in high school and was named after a children's educational film. Mr. Bungle released four demo tapes in the mid to late 1980s before being signed to Warner Bros. Records and...
and Faith No More
Faith No More
Faith No More is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed originally as Faith No Man in 1981 by bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist Wade Worthington, vocalist Michael Morris and drummer Mike Bordin. A year later when Worthington was replaced by keyboardist Roddy Bottum, and Mike...
singer/keyboardist Mike Patton
Mike Patton
Michael Allan "Mike" Patton is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and actor, best known as the lead singer of the metal/experimental rock band Faith No More. He has also sung for Mr...
and ex-The Jesus Lizard
The Jesus Lizard
The Jesus Lizard was an American alternative rock and noise rock band formed in 1987 in Austin, Texas. They were "a leading noise rock band in the American independent underground…[who] turned out a series of independent records filled with scathing, disembowelling, guitar-driven pseudo-industrial...
guitar player Duane Denison
Duane Denison
Duane Denison is an American guitarist. Denison currently plays for Th' Legendary Shack Shakers, The Jesus Lizard, which he recently re-united with after a 9-year break-up, and Tomahawk. He has played for Firewater. He began his musical career by studying classical guitar. Denison and ex-Ministry...
started swapping tapes with the intention of collaborating. Duane Denison then recruited ex-Helmet
Helmet (band)
Helmet is an alternative metal band from New York City formed in 1989. Founded by vocalist and lead guitarist Page Hamilton, Helmet has had numerous lineup changes, and Hamilton has been the only constant member....
drummer John Stanier
John Stanier (drummer)
John Stanier first came into the spotlight in 1989 as the drummer for the band Helmet. He is known for his speed, endurance, and precision as a performer....
(currently playing with Battles
Battles (band)
Battles is an American experimental rock group, founded in 2002 in New York City, comprising guitarists Ian Williams and Dave Konopka , and drummer John Stanier .-Biography:...
), while Mike Patton brought Melvins
The Melvins
The Melvins are an American band that formed in 1983. They usually perform as a trio, but in recent years have performed as a four piece with two drummers. Since 1984, singer and guitarist Buzz Osborne and drummer Dale Crover have been the band's constant members...
/Cows bass player Kevin Rutmanis
Kevin Rutmanis
Kevin Rutmanis is an American bass guitarist. He is of Latvian descent. In late 1985, along with his younger brother Sandris Rutmanis, Thor Eisentrager, and then Jayhawks drummer Norm Rogers started the band The Cows. After the dissolution of The Cows, Rutmanis was the bass guitar player for The...
into the fold.
History
In 2001 the band released their first album, the self-titled TomahawkTomahawk (album)
Tomahawk is the debut album by Mike Patton's supergroup of the same name. The album is somewhat of a concept album, documenting the events, emotions, and psychology of a serial killer. The opening track, "Flashback" is chronologically the final part of the story...
, produced by Joe Funderburk. The band recorded their next album, Mit Gas
Mit Gas
Mit Gas is the second studio album by American rock band Tomahawk, released on May 6, 2003 through Mike Patton's independent record label Ipecac Recordings...
, with producer Joe Barresi
Joe Barresi
Joe Barresi is an American record engineer and producer who has worked with bands such as Kyuss, The Melvins, Tool, Queens of the Stone Age, Coheed and Cambria, Tomahawk, L7, The Jesus Lizard, Parkway Drive and Bad Religion.-Biography:...
in 2003. Both albums were issued by Ipecac Recordings
Ipecac Recordings
Ipecac Recordings is an independent record label based in California. It was founded on April 1, 1999 by Greg Werckman and Mike Patton Ipecac Recordings is an independent record label based in California. It was founded on April 1, 1999 by Greg Werckman (ex-label manager of Alternative Tentacles,...
.
Tomahawk have toured extensively, playing in many countries around the world, including the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. They generally headline shows but have been the supporting act for bands such as Tool
Tool (band)
Tool is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1990, the group's line-up has included drummer Danny Carey, guitarist Adam Jones, and vocalist Maynard James Keenan. Since 1995, Justin Chancellor has been the band's bassist, replacing their original bassist Paul D'Amour...
. Tomahawk took part in the "Geek Tour", which featured labelmates The Melvins
The Melvins
The Melvins are an American band that formed in 1983. They usually perform as a trio, but in recent years have performed as a four piece with two drummers. Since 1984, singer and guitarist Buzz Osborne and drummer Dale Crover have been the band's constant members...
and Fantômas
Fantômas (band)
Fantômas is an avant-garde metal supergroup formed in 1998 in California, United States. The band is named after Fantômas, a supervillain featured in a series of crime novels popular in France before World War I and in film, most notably in the 60s French movie series.-History:Fantômas began just...
. Tomahawk have also played at various festivals, including the Big Day Out
Big Day Out
The Big Day Out is an annual music festival held in several cities in Australia and New Zealand in late January. It started in Sydney in 1992, spread to Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth by 1993, with the Gold Coast and Auckland joining in 1994...
festival in Australia.
The band's third album, Anonymous, was released on June 19, 2007 through Ipecac Recordings
Ipecac Recordings
Ipecac Recordings is an independent record label based in California. It was founded on April 1, 1999 by Greg Werckman and Mike Patton Ipecac Recordings is an independent record label based in California. It was founded on April 1, 1999 by Greg Werckman (ex-label manager of Alternative Tentacles,...
. Kevin Rutmanis left the band during the recording; reasons for his departure are unknown. In July, 2011, Mike Patton told Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine that a fourth Tomahawk album is in the works. In November 2011, the band announced on Facebook that a new album was coming soon.
Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
US Heat. Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical... |
US Ind. Independent Albums The Billboard Independent Albums is a chart of the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays in the United States, compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is used to list artists who are not signed to major labels... |
AUS ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
NOR VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
||||
| 2001 | Tomahawk Tomahawk (album) Tomahawk is the debut album by Mike Patton's supergroup of the same name. The album is somewhat of a concept album, documenting the events, emotions, and psychology of a serial killer. The opening track, "Flashback" is chronologically the final part of the story...
|
— | 31 | 20 | 37 | — | — | ||
| 2003 | Mit Gas Mit Gas Mit Gas is the second studio album by American rock band Tomahawk, released on May 6, 2003 through Mike Patton's independent record label Ipecac Recordings... |
137 | 3 | 7 | 28 | 17 | 98 | ||
| 2007 | Anonymous
|
158 | 2 | 12 | 32 | 31 | — | ||
| "—" denotes a release that did not chart. | |||||||||
Singles
| Year | Title | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | "Sun Dance" | Anonymous |