{"id":61569,"date":"2017-08-04T00:00:03","date_gmt":"2017-08-04T00:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=61569"},"modified":"2017-10-08T12:35:39","modified_gmt":"2017-10-08T12:35:39","slug":"album-review-dead-cross-dead-cross","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-dead-cross-dead-cross\/","title":{"rendered":"DEAD CROSS – Dead Cross (2017) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

DEAD CROSS
Dead Cross<\/strong><\/span>
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\nIpecac Recordings \/ Three One G (2017)<\/span>
Rating: 8.5\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Dead Cross formed in 2015 and featured guitarist Mike Crain (Retox), drummer Dave Lombardo (ex-Slayer \/ Suicidal Tendencies), bassist Justin Pearson (The Locust \/ Head Wound City \/ Retox) and vocalist Gabe Serbian (The Locust \/ Head Wound City \/ ex-Cattle Decapitation). An album was recorded but not released, and so when the versatile Mike Patton was recruited in December 2016 he added his own lyrics and re-recorded the vocals. The result is this absolute blitzkrieg of a debut record.<\/p>\n

As we know, Patton as a vocalist is impossible to pigeonhole and his colourful career remains unique, from fronting artists as diverse as Mr. Bungle to Peeping Tom, and from Faith No More to Fant\u00f4mas. No surprise then that Dead Cross\u2019s debut opus is the usual chaotic, frenzied and maniacal journey which some would try to pin down as \u201chardcore punk\u201d, but it would take a fool to try to categorise this hysterical, spasmodic and above all, energetic record that epitomises what Patton is all about.<\/p>\n

Mike Patton\u2019s screeches quickly cavort with that more noticeable nasal whine, and then the next he\u2019s in epileptic quacking mode before quickly giving way to a spit-filled throat blast that is punctuated by an eerie moan. So, in all of his unpredictability Patton still gives us what we expect; rampant, violent outbursts accompanied by wondrously catchy melodies that are aided by raucous, jarring, frenzied percussive blasts which in turn copulate with a wall of orgiastic bass fuzz and grinding, punkoid guitar gymnastics.<\/p>\n

Of course, there are times when you realise that headbanging is pointless, because just when you are about to get caught up in a hostile mosh stomp there comes an almost schizophrenic jazz flip-out which transforms into a bewildering grind. It\u2019s just brilliant stuff, throwing at us a catchy curveball before hammering us to death where hints of Mr. Bungle\u2019s zany antics come to the fore. I appreciate this more on a mental workout such as \u2018Idiopathic\u2019, whereas \u2018Obedience School\u2019 is an out and out speedball of a track; a thrashcore barrage of hyper drums and maniacal chords. Patton quickly shifts from punk vocaliser to a more harmonious hum, but all the while the backdrop of sound is a hasty thrash cocktail.<\/p>\n

Opener \u2018Seizure And Desist\u2019 is a thrashing expression, but such is the variation within that wall of sound that I feel as if I\u2019m transported back to the early 90s \u2013 a time when heavy metal and extreme music was really branching out. The term \u201cextreme\u201d brought with it injections of the industrial, as well as choppy raps, and jazzed up menace the likes of which John Zorn implemented.<\/p>\n

And that type of manic menace is what the album is about, typified with the hectic \u2018Shillelagh\u2019 with its hardcore slams. Or you could pick out the sepulchral cover of Bauhaus\u2019 \u2018Bela Lugosi\u2019s Dead\u2019 with its surreal Goth gruel. Meanwhile, the madness continues with the choppy fizz of \u2018Divine Filth\u2019, the squawking hostility of \u2018Grave Slave\u2019 and the thrash hurl of \u2018The Future Has Been Cancelled\u2019.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no let up from the speed or bruising segments whereby the drums hammer like hail and work in tumultuous tandem with Mike Crain\u2019s destructive rumbles. As a guitarist Crain owns the record, his driving yet unpredictable avenues churning like some industrial cog about to come off its hinges as the chords delve into the sinister cesspits in order to work in cohorts with Patton\u2019s tortured wails.<\/p>\n

\u2018Gag Reflex\u2019 plunders darker depths; a stranger, surreal, and fuzzed out unearthly corner that becomes a chunky hardcore fist to the face, while \u2018Church Of The Motherfuckers\u2019 brings the album to a close with an orgy of Dave Lombardo\u2019s hellish pounding as Patton narrates over a Gothic, swirling backdrop of jarring instrumentation which eventually builds to a spinning of quizzical chords and maniacal bass trickles. But there\u2019s always a surprise in store as we turn another corner and the combo resorts to a seedy, lo-fi rumble \u2013 Patton drifting into Japanese vocalist Yamantaka Eye (Naked City) territory with his yaps and barks.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s where this record sits. Not as one of Mike Patton\u2019s most disjointed or crazy records, but one which is still tinged with that expected madness. Above all though, it\u2019s a fast, freaky and frothing ride and I can\u2019t wait for more.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DEAD CROSSDead Cross Ipecac Recordings \/ Three One G (2017)Rating: 8.5\/10 Dead Cross formed in 2015 and featured guitarist Mike Crain (Retox), drummer Dave Lombardo (ex-Slayer \/ Suicidal Tendencies), bassist Justin Pearson (The Locust \/ Head Wound City \/ Retox) and vocalist Gabe Serbian (The Locust \/ Head Wound City \/ ex-Cattle Decapitation). An album […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,3662],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-61569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-dead-cross"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61569"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61569\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61574,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61569\/revisions\/61574"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}