I first fell in love with Mike Patton at a very young age through Faith No More, the same way most of us did. Yet for as brilliant as The Real Thing (1989), Angel Dust (1992), and King for a Day…Fool for a Lifetime (1995) are (and they are), one can only listen to these albums so many time before eventually falling down the Mike Patton rabbit hole. Lucky for us, there’s A LOT to explore while down there. Mr. Bungle, Fantomas, Tomahawk, Peeping Tom, Mondo Cane…there’s even more, but I’d here all day listing these projects.
Today’s featured band happens to be one of those said projects, Dead Cross. Patton joined the band in 2015, replacing original singer Gabe Serbian (R.I.P.), formerly of The Locust. Playing alongside him are guitarist Mike Crain and bassist Justin Pearson of noisy hardcore terrorists Retox, as well as my favorite living drummer, Dave Lombardo. Together, these four extreme metal journeymen have concocted a vehicle that channels various facets of their respective past bands, while simultaneously managing to sound fresh and new. This can certainly be said for Dead Cross’s latest album, II.
Despite initially forming as a musical love letter to classic hardcore and thrash, Dead Cross have since transformed into, well, something “different”, even by Patton’s standards. There are certainly some hardcore and thrash tendencies scattered about, especially within the riffing and drumming. Look no further than the Slayer inspired rage of “Christian Missile Crisis” and “Reign of Error”, the latter of which wouldn’t sound out of place on Reign in Blood (1986). That said, I wouldn’t go so far to label this a crossover thrash album. The reason being there’s too many avant-garde moments, characteristic of Patton no matter where he goes.
“Love Without Love” kicks things off in unsettling fashion, towing the line between soft, gentle passages and heavy post-punk derived freak outs, the song building up in chaos and intensity as it progresses. “Animal Espionage” continues the artsy metallic post-punk onslaught, as does the mesmeric “Ants and Dragons”, the latter of which unintentionally sounds like homage to the most punishing moments of Killing Joke. “Heart Reformer” and “Strong and Wrong” tow the line between thrashy traditionalism and avant-garde abstraction, while the old school hardcore romp of “Nightclub Canary” screams Dead Kennedys worship, sarcastic tone and all.
Although Dead Cross’s sophomore album may be offsetting to innocent bystanders, long time voters of the Patton party (Now THAT’S a political platform I’d endorse!) will find themselves reveling in the psychotic glory of this short and anything but sweet release. Considering Patton’s recent mental health battles, we should be grateful he’s still with us creating music in the first place, let alone music that stands toe to toe with his finest output on any given day. In case you doubted otherwise, Patton can still scream, growl, croon, and mumble like a madman. Crain and Pearson can still weave tapestries of nauseating heaviness. And Lombardo? Well, he’s still Lombardo, SLAYYYYEEERRRRRR or not. Dead Cross is alive and unwell, exactly how I prefer them to be.
7 out of 10
Label: Ipecac Recordings
Genre: Avant-garde Metal
For fans of: Faith No More, Slayer, Killing Joke