The second release from the adventurous supergroup Dead Cross was recorded through pain and torment as guitarist Michael Crain was progressing through chemotherapy while laying down his guitar lines, the pandemic was in full swing, and lead singer Mike Patton struggled with alcohol and agoraphobia. II finds the group digging deeper into despair, hatred at organized religion, and other offenses over the nine pummeling efforts, rarely finding easy solutions or anything to be positive about.
Joining Patton and Crain are Justin Pearson on bass and Dave Lombardo on drums, solidifying the cacophonous collective. The distorted marching of the opener “Love Without Love” sets the tone with Patton cycling through hysterical singing in multiple registers as the band slams around him. The motoring, industrial-tinged noise rock, bangs forward on “Animal Espionage” making it hard to know where the guitar screeches end, and the frenzied vocals begin.
The more direct hardcore thrashing is brutal on “Heart Reformer” with Lombardo’s drums leading the charge while the rumbling bass of “Strong and Wrong” unearths groove parts amongst the slamming. “Ants and Dragons” go with bizarre lyrics, flashing riffs, and thrashing drums before the more straight-ahead heavy punk of “Nightclub Canary” deploys the best guitar solo on the album and wild screams from Patton.
“Christian Missile Crisis” attacks the church and NRA with Pearson taking over lead vocals while the flying guitars and riffs during “Reign of Error” recall Slayer in the band’s fiercest times. Wrapping up with “Imposter Syndrome” Patton digs into fears, hiding inside us, and ends theatrically with the lines “Silence is dyin’/It’s all gone quiet.” as the feedback buzzes to a close. The reason for pain and anger can be obscured by Patton’s lyrics which run the gamut, rarely addressing specifics. Dead Cross II is a heavy record that feels brooding, and tense while being mad as all hell at parts, yet also artistically aloof. These four artists have made their bones individually but together bring a twisted sense of pain to the hardcore/metal/punk/noise arena.
