
DEAD CROSS
II (Ipecac)
What happens when you already have multiple bands that indulge all your various musical influences? The answer is Dead Cross, formed by Faith No More’s Mike Patton and Slayer sticksman Dave Lombardo, and an outlet for Patton, in particular, to roll around in a big muddy puddle of 80s punk and speed metal, especially with new album II.
Like Dead Kennedys mucking about with the Melvins and Dropdead, II pretty much carries on from Dead Cross’ awesome debut, but it wouldn’t be a Patton album without a curveball of some kind – in this case, the album’s opening two songs. Love Without Love and Animal Espionage are more jarring affairs than you’d expect, despite the latter namedropping Poison Idea’s legendary Pig Champion, but then Heart Reformer sets the record straight, and cues up a blast through nine tracks of raging punk metal. Patton and Lombardo are an extreme metal dream team as Dead Cross: look no further for proof.
words CHRIS ANDREWS