Dead Cross, the hardcore/punk supergroup featuring Faith No More's Mike Patton, his Mr. Bungle/Fantômas bandmate Dave Lombardo, The Locust's Justin Pearson and his Retox colleague Michael Crain, will release their second album, the cunningly-titled II, on October 28 via Ipecac Recordings.
The nine-track album comes in the wake of guitarist Crain receiving a surprise cancer diagnosis.
"Words can’t even begin to describe how much this album means to me. It’s birthed of pain and uncertainty,” says Crain. “The slow, excruciatingly painful, and nauseating recovery from cancer treatments were the catalyst for every riff and note on this album. However, my will to live and be with my brothers Justin, Dave, Mike, and co-producer Ross Robinson, got me out of bed and running into the studio every day to get it all on tape.”
The album's first single, Reign Of Error, has been shared in tandem with the announcement of the release, and it's animated video finds the musicians laying siege to the US Supreme Court in the wake of its decision to repeal Roe v. Wade, the legal ruling that protected women’s reproductive rights and their right to have an abortion.
"Reign of Error was recorded almost as quickly as it was written and I believe there’s a very good explanation for it,” says Michael Crain. “I haven’t told anybody this before, least of all the rest of the band or Ross, but I honestly felt a strong presence in the studio that day. Those riffs flew out of me and when Dave sat down at his kit it was almost as if we’d played that song a thousand times before. It literally just happened so fast. Bam! One take.
"I’m not trying to paint a dark or fantasy-like story either. Having just escaped death and still healing from my cancer treatments I was incredibly sensitive to energy and the other side. There was someone else there. Not evil but benevolent and inspiring. I honestly believe it was Dave’s old bandmate and friend Jeff [Hanneman, former Slayer guitarist, who passed away in 2013]. I think he just wanted to jam with his friend again and perhaps did so through me. There I said it. Whether people believe it or not I really don’t care. I’m just grateful that I had that experience.”
Watch the video below:
The tracklist for II is:
1. Love Without Love
2. Animal Espionage
3. Heart Reformer
4. Strong and Wrong
5. Ants and Dragons
6. Nightclub Canary
7. Christian Missile Crisis
8. Reign Of Error
9. Imposter Syndrome
