DEAD CROSS
Ipecac Recordings
Hardcore Punk, Thrash Metal.
Listening Format: Digital & CD
Dead Cross is a brand new "supergroup" featuring Mike Crain, Justin Pearson, Dave Lombardo and Mike Patton. So that's members of Faith No More, Slayer and Retox to say the least. This self titled debut album is packed with 10 very short and fast songs that are loud, crass and showcase a blend of Thrash and Hardcore. It very much sounds like these gentleman took a fun little vacation inbetween all their other bands and just decided to go mad and have some fun.
The album is indeed a lot of fun, in fact it is an absolute breeze to listen to and probably has some replay value in there. Dave Lombardo definitely channels the kind of performance he put in for Slayer's classic 'Reign In Blood', with fast and unrelenting speed metal drumming. Even the riffs occasionally reference Slayer with a mixture of straight up Punky power chords, and twiddlier fret shredding. But in all honesty it is Mike Patton's diverse and eccentric vocal performance that really makes this album come to life. I get this nagging feeling that, without Patton on board, this would sound like a fairly generic and outdated affair instrumentally, that doesn't quite keep up to the insane standards of the newer younger Hardcore/Thrash crossover acts such as Municipal Waste, Power Trip and Havok. And although Mike Patton does pull out all of the stops, with crazy howls, chants, screams, shouts... Well you name it... What CAN'T this man do with his vocals?!?! But he doesn't quite do anything he hasn't already done better many times before in his vastly exciting discography! 'Shillelagh' is a huge standout with this weirdly catchy chanting chorus, but this kind of sounds like Dillinger Escape Plan crossed with Tomahawk only not as abstract or fleshed out. A cover of Bauhaus' classic 'Bela Lugosi's Dead' is the only true sore thumb on the album. The classic original is a slow 10 minute Goth dirge, whilst this version is two and a half stuttering minutes of nothingness.
No matter how hard Mike Patton tries to be wild, abstract and straight up crazy on this album, it never seems to quite come together for Dead Cross. Instrumentally it just isn't that crazy. In fact it's pretty standard and even inoffensive at times. So no matter how barmy Patton gets here, it just seems like he is trying too hard to be eccentric and it comes off very forced and flat. Dead Cross is certainly enjoyable on some level, and an easy listen, but it feels strangely "normal" in the bizarre canon of Mike Patton. And if you are coming at this as a Slayer or Retox fan, there is even less that is going to really strike you here. Even Patton's more accessible projects like Faith No More and Peeping Tom have gone far deeper, wilder and stranger than what is presented here. 'Dead Cross' is an admirable bit of fun, but all the players efforts here are so vastly overshadowed by their previous discography highlights that this one will barely scratch the surface. 6/10.
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