Fantômas began just before the collapse of Faith No More, as a series of spasmic, avant-garde metal/grindcore songs composed by vocalist and bandleader Mike Patton.

"[10] In November 2008, Rock-A-Rolla, a UK-based alternative music magazine, exclusively revealed on their website that the new album was currently being worked on and a tentative June 2009 release was possible,[11] however, in the May 2009 issue of Rock-A-Rolla, in an interview with Greg Werckman, Werckman stated that Mike "hasn't even begun" recording the next Fantômas record.

[12] On July 21, 2011, Rock-A-Rolla revealed that Fantômas would be releasing their December 31, 2008, performance at San Francisco's Great American Music Hall as a DVD and a standalone audio download, titled The Director's Cut Live: A New Year's Revolution.

[14] In December 2014, Fantômas played their first shows in six years as part of the Rockout Festival in Santiago, Chile, however no plans have been announced to date regarding a new studio recording.

Fantômas' music is also noted for its absurdism and offbeat sense of humor; one critic dubbed their style "dada-metal",[15] a reference to the "anti-art" dada movement of the early 1900s.

[17] Dan Briggs, bassist for Between the Buried and Me, called it "a big part of [his] musical background" and considers the Wunderkammer box set one of his most valuable records.

[27] Known fans of it included actor Danny DeVito,[28] writer Alan Moore[29] and dance music artist Moby.