Dead Cross (Patton-fronted hardcore supergroup)

[alan nagsworth]

Here we go, then! After months of teasing it, the album is here! The combined efforts of experimental wunderkid Mike Patton, bassist Justin Pearson (of The Locust and Retox), Mike Crain (also of Retox) on guitar, and the seminal drumming force that is Dave Lombardo.

THIS IS GONNA BE FUCKING SWEEEEET.

Except no, unfortunately, it isn't. In fact, it's really quite disappointing. But why? Well, Patton was only recruited after the other three had established themselves instrumentally and recorded a bunch of demos together, and arguably, this could have ended up a more satisfying record if they had a more conventional hardcore singer fronting them. Instead, what we've got is a fairly middle-of-the-road (albeit very intense and aggressive) hardcore/metal performance which is drowned out by Mike Patton doing as many mental voices as possible, and quite frankly ruining it.

Conversely, the guitar is fairly muddy at times and any raw aggression that this should ordinarily provide is sorely lacking here. If you listen to Mature Science by Retox, Crain's other current band, you'll get an idea of part of what's going wrong with Dead Cross. The guitar isn't completely awful, but I just don't think the album is produced very well (which is a shame, since Ross Robinson has produced a few of my favourite heavy albums, like Amen's We Have Come For Your Parents and Slipknot's self-titled Roadrunner debut), and honestly this album is just a bit of a mess. It literally sounds like the band recorded the album without Patton, gave him the songs, and he smothered it with as much vocal work as he possibly could.

I think that if this group had been conceived with Patton as a part of it from its infant stages, this album would have stretched out beyond its 30-minute running time with a lot more room for experimentation - please, for the love of god, more batshit guitars! - and maybe he would have allowed himself to take a bit more of a back seat for the sound to properly evolve around his well-honed zaniness. As it stands, though, I guess we'll have to wait and see if that happens if they record a second album... but this time around, I really don't have any intention of giving this another listen after this.

[Noddy Tomkey]

Love the artwork. I was a big Patton fan for years, but now it's only Bungle and Fantomas that I bother with, and about five FNM songs. I lost interest when he was releasing a new album/project every six months, there just wasn't much to enjoy about any of them.

[Goldentony]

The worst thing about this is the production. For a band made up of one of Slayer, some of the Locust and Patton doing a fast as fuck hardcore record this should have sounded completely and utterly fucked but everything's hyper clean and the vocals sound like they were recorded ten times louder with the music playing in another room. I've had it on twice and I basically remember fuck all from it. Total, total shit.

[Noddy Tomkey]

I don't even want to listen to it, which shows how much I value his work these days. His 22nd album was nearly the X-Ecutioners one, which was my diving board out of his realm. The actual one was the Peeping Tom LP. Haven't heard it, don't care, fuck him.

[Howj Begg]

"Dead Cross" ? As in really angry? "Im dead cross me"

[alan nagsworth]

Oh hey so an interesting thing is that they're touring with Secret Chiefs 3 right now (sadly not in this country though, boo)... Does this mean that Patton and Spruance are on good terms now? I mean, it obviously must, but does anyone here have any further information on that?

[Bazooka]

I don't even want to listen to it, which shows how much I value his work these days. His 22nd album was nearly the X-Ecutioners one, which was my diving board out of his realm. The actual one was the Peeping Tom LP. Haven't heard it, don't care, fuck him.

Funnily enough the X-Ecutioners album was the only Patton vehicle I ever really cared for.

[Noodle Lizard]

I'm seeing them on Monday night.  I saw some footage from their first show and Mike's really looking/acting quite old - it's like he's aged about 10 years since I last saw him with Faith No More a couple years back.  But then you get a video like this:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sqji1kQ9Z04

As for the album, I quite like it.  It's not particularly innovative (though I'm not sure it's trying to be) and far from Patton's best vocal work (I agree that it's often incongruous to the music), but it's good fun.

Oh hey so an interesting thing is that they're touring with Secret Chiefs 3 right now (sadly not in this country though, boo)... Does this mean that Patton and Spruance are on good terms now? I mean, it obviously must, but does anyone here have any further information on that?

As far as I know, they've been on good terms for a while now.  He even recorded a song with them a few years back:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKMVzmoYnLU

[Shaky]

Oh hey so an interesting thing is that they're touring with Secret Chiefs 3 right now (sadly not in this country though, boo)... Does this mean that Patton and Spruance are on good terms now? I mean, it obviously must, but does anyone here have any further information on that?

Don't think there have been any huge public revelations - Spruance's surprise live performance of King For a Day... with FNM a few years back was the first I'd heard that things were OK between he and Patton again. The latter appeared on the Chiefs cover of Le Chanson de Jacky too. I've always suspected it's geography which largely  keeps Bungle apart rather than any remaining ill-will. A couple of members live in Australia while the rest of them are scattered across the US.

Dead Cross, then. I thought the album was a load of nothing the first few times but it's a real grower. As NL says, it's hardly a mindblowingly original hardcore album but it's a nippy, sharp shock and that's all it needs to be. The guitars are low in the mix so it's pretty much the Lombardo and Patton show the whole way - certainly worth hearing for Fantomas fans.

[Dirty Boy]

Patton has apparently been hurt in a car accident. Really hope it isn't as bad as it sounds.

[alan nagsworth]

Patton has apparently been hurt in a car accident. Really hope it isn't as bad as it sounds.

He's hurt but fine, apparently. Fucking hell though Blabbermouth, surely they knew what they were doing with this headline formatting:



















































second line:



http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/mike-patton-injured-in-accident-dead-crosss-los-angeles-concert-canceled/

[Noodle Lizard]

Aye, I was there.  Secret Chiefs finished and then we waited for about an hour on the floor until Lombardo and (I think) Mike Crain came out.  It's just transpired that it was a skateboarding accident.  Mike Patton is 49 years old.

Anyway, they've rescheduled for tonight so I guess he's more or less fine.  Not sure if I can make it tonight though.

[Rocket Surgery]

It's just transpired that it was a skateboarding accident.  Mike Patton is 49 years old.

Hahaha, that's so perfect I don't even want to check whether or not you're serious.

[Dirty Boy]

The headline i saw said 'serious car accident' not 'poncey skateboard accident'. Has to be a joke i think. Can you imagine Patton skating through LA?

This album's not bad i s'pose. Trey Spruance was talking it up and saying how brutal it was which got my hopes up. To be honest I haven't liked much of what he's done for over a decade now barring Mondo Cane and FNM. Suspended Animation was his last "fucking hell!" record for me.

[kngen]

I can say with authority that Justin Pearson is a bit of a twat - not the transgressive supercuntoverlord that he would like to style himself as - but definitely a bit of a twat.

Why are these hardcore supergroups always a bit shit? This mob sound a bit more accomplished than Teenage Timekiller, but not much. It's almost as if - maybe - a bunch of old, jaded career musicians might just struggle to recreate the dynamicism, drive and excitement of a bunch of teenagers in a garage playing to the very limits of their abilities, purely for the fun of doing so.

[Rocket Surgery]

Suspended Animation was his last "fucking hell!" record for me.

Fucking hell is right. I was still visiting the Stile Project forum regularly back when that came out, and they used one of the tracks from it to accompany a montage of a middle-aged bloke sticking Duracell batteries up his dick if you typed your password in incorrectly.

Guess it's time to give another spin!

[alan nagsworth]

Fucking hell is right. I was still visiting the Stile Project forum regularly back when that came out, and they used one of the tracks from it to accompany a montage of a middle-aged bloke sticking Duracell batteries up his dick if you typed your password in incorrectly.

Guess it's time to give another spin!

It is very good. Batshit absurdity done right. But personally speaking, it isn't a patch on The Director's Cut, which is quite honestly a fucking masterpiece.

[BeardFaceMan]

I'm really digging this, from reading the descriptions I thought it was gonna be another Adult Themes For Voice-type affair but this is actually quite good.

[DukeDeMondo]

Have to say I enjoyed the album a great deal too. As others have said, there's nothing groundbreaking about it, but it's good craic. I can see myself going back to it a fair few times over the next whatever.