# Phantom Head > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Phantom_Head > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Phantom_Head.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantom_Head > Source revision: 1337957869 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox album | name = Phantom Head | type = studio | artist = [the Scaramanga Six](/source/the_Scaramanga_Six) | cover = Phantom Head.jpg|border=yes | alt = | released = 2013 | recorded = | venue = | studio = | genre = * [Alternative rock](/source/Alternative_rock) * [art rock](/source/art_rock) * [psychobilly](/source/psychobilly) | length = 54:39 | label = [Wrath](/source/Wrath_Records) | producer = [Steve Albini](/source/Steve_Albini) | prev_title = [Cursed](/source/Cursed_(Scaramanga_Six_album)) | prev_year = 2011 | next_title = [Scenes of Mild Peril – The Scaramanga Six Live in Session 2013–2014](/source/Scenes_of_Mild_Peril) | next_year = 2014 }} '''''Phantom Head''''' is the seventh album by English rock group [the Scaramanga Six](/source/the_Scaramanga_Six). ==Background== {{unreferenced section|date=November 2014}} In 2012, the Scaramanga Six used a crowd-sourcing initiative to raise funds to travel to [Chicago](/source/Chicago) and record with [Steve Albini](/source/Steve_Albini). For these sessions, the band expanded to a sextet for the first time since 2002, with the usual quartet of the Morricone brothers, Julia Arnez and Gareth Champion augmented by a second drummer ([Steve Gilchrist](/source/Stephen_Gilchrist), who'd played stints with the band on previous occasions) and James Kenosha on piano (who'd previously both produced and drummed for the band) In keeping with [Albini](/source/Albini)'s ''audio verité'' production ethos, the band recorded live to two-track tape. The session involved few overdubs. A follow-up session was recorded later in the year, with further vocals being recorded. The completed ''Phantom Head'' was released in April 2013. The six-piece lineup of the Scaramanga Six played concerts to support the album before reverting to the standard quartet lineup in 2014. ==Reception== The album was well received by press. In the national media, ''[The Sun](/source/The_Sun_(United_Kingdom))'' gave ''Phantom Head'' a four-out-of-five rating and said "this self-styled evil pop-group persist in producing great albums that demand loudly – to be heard.″ ''[The Quietus](/source/The_Quietus)'' described it as "another great album from a band that really deserve a much bigger audience."[http://thequietus.com/articles/12279-scaramanga-six-phantom-head-review Review of ''Phantom Head'' in ''The Quietus''] ''Louder Than War'' wrote "the guitars are tight, the melodies are memorable and effective and the production is spot on."[http://louderthanwar.com/the-scaramanga-six-phanthom-head-album-review/ Review of ''Phantom Head'' in ''Louder Than War''] ''Vibrations'' hailed the album as a release which "must surely rank amongst their finest work to date". ''Splizz Magazine'' noted "dark sounding art rock songs that sound like [Nick Cave](/source/Nick_Cave) crossed with [The Editors](/source/Editors_(band))" while ''Pure Rawk'' said: "think bands like [Magazine](/source/Magazine_(band)) and [Wire](/source/Wire_(band)) or even [Bowie](/source/David_Bowie)'s Berlin output with a fixation on death, murder and dystopia and you wouldn’t be far off the mark. Unsettling, but brilliant stuff."[http://www.purerawk.com/2013/04/16/album-review-scaramanga-phantom/ Review of ''Phantom Head'' in ''Pure Rawk'']{{Dead link|date=February 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} ''Soundsphere'' wrote that "The Scaramanga Six produce a sound which conveys similarities to [The Stranglers](/source/The_Stranglers) at their best and vocals as powerful as Bowie back in the day."[http://www.soundspheremag.com/reviews/cd/cd-review-the-scaramanga-six-phantom-head/ Review of ''Phantom Head'' in ''Soundsphere''] ''Unpeeled'' described ''Phantom Head'' as "a top notch, modern rock record."{{Cite web |url=http://www.unpeeled.net/albums.html |title=Review of ''Phantom Head'' in ''Unpeeled'' |access-date=6 November 2014 |archive-date=6 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141106084100/http://www.unpeeled.net/albums.html |url-status=dead }} while ''Contact Music'' said "if you like your music somewhat dark and bizarre, Phantom Head has a great deal to offer you."[http://www.contactmusic.com/album-review/the-scaramanga-six-phantom-head-album-review Review of ''Phantom Head'' in ''Contact Music''] and ''Counterfeit Magazine'' said: "from smooth keys to dirty rock guitars, dark soundscapes to edgy punk, there’s something for everyone... Highly recommended."[http://www.counterfeitmag.co.uk/reviews/the-scaramanga-six-phantom-head-wrath-records/ Review of ''Phantom Head'' in ''Counterfeit Magazine''] ''Entertainment Focus'' described the album as "one huge, often sad, dark and angry rant... and it’s something that we love."[http://www.entertainment-focus.com/music-review/the-scaramanga-six-phantom-head-album-review/ Review of ''Phantom Head'' in ''Entertainment Focus''] ''Soundblab'' commented "the album’s energy-levels are frequently manic, and you can positively feel the intelligence of its makers behind the riffs."{{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20141106072948/http://soundblab.com/content/content/view/id/5150 Review of ''Phantom Head'' in ''Soundblab'']}} ''My Dad Rocks'' said: "It’s this kind of touch and skill, in both delivery and recording, that means this album rates highly amongst the swathe of indie rock offerings out recently."[http://www.mydadrocks.co.uk/indie-music-reviews/3477-album-review-scaramanga-six-phantom-head-wrath-records-out-now.html Review of ''Phantom Head'' in ''My Dad Rocks'']{{dead link|date=March 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Awarding eleven marks out of thirteen, ''Room 13'' congratulated the band on "eclectic brilliance″[http://www.roomthirteen.com/cd_reviews/13264/Scaramanga_Six__Phantom_Head.html Review of ''Phantom Head'' in ''Room 13''] while ''7 Bit Arcade'' concluded "while some bands falter with age, and some just fade away, there’s no such fate for the Morricones & Co., who simply go from strength to strength."{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20130519223045/http://www.7bitarcade.com/music/article/the-scaramanga-six-phantom-head/ Review of ''Phantom Head'' in ''7 Bit Arcade'']}} ''Beat 2 a Chord'' observed "for lovers of punk/rock/metal and everything in between, Scaramanga Six have a clear talent for genre-blending and story-telling throughout their music" and congratulated the band for "continuing to push their boundaries and deliver something fresh years after their formation. Hats off to them."[http://beat2achord.com/the-scaramanga-six-phantom-head/ Review of ''Phantom Head'' in ''Beat 2 a Chord''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141106085835/http://beat2achord.com/the-scaramanga-six-phantom-head/ |date=2014-11-06 }} == Track listing == {{tracklist | all_writing = [Paul Morricone](/source/Paul_Morricone)/Steven Morricone | title1 = I Will Crush Your Heart | length1 = 5:42 | title2 = I Am the Rain | length2 = 4:39 | title3 = The Bristol Butcher | length3 = 4:55 | title4 = Blunt Force Trauma | length4 = 3:40 | title5 = The Spider | length5 = 4:04 | title6 = We Are the Blind | length6 = 5:27 | title7 = They Put You On a Pedestal | length7 = 4:14 | title8 = Twist the Knife | length8 = 3:45 | title9 = Missing | length9 = 4:09 | title10 = The Cardinal | length10 = 3:09 | title11 = It's Just a Matter of Time | length11 = 6:16 | title12 = The Stepford Bands | length12 = 4:39 }} == Personnel == *[Paul Morricone](/source/Paul_Morricone) – vocals, guitars, baritone saxophone *Steven Morricone – vocals, bass guitar, tenor saxophone *Julia Arnez– guitars, vocals *James Kenosha – piano *Gareth Champion - drums *[Stephen Gilchrist](/source/Stephen_Gilchrist) - drums == References == {{Reflist}} {{Authority control}} Category:2013 albums Category:The Scaramanga Six albums --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Phantom Head](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantom_Head) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantom_Head?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.