Well, it’s finally here: the long awaited debut from Dead Cross, the punk supergroup comprising the legendary Mike Patton (Faith No More/Mr. Bungle), the equally legendary Dave Lombardo (Slayer/Fantomas) on drums, and two members of Retox. This release features ten songs in 27 minutes, the longest of which is the four-minute “Gag Reflex.”

The music here is insane, some of the quickest most efficient hardcore I’ve heard in a while. Patton’s vocals are allowed to go all over the place in a way they haven’t done since the last Mr. Bungle album. Screaming and crooning in one song, “Seizure And Desist” allows him to really showcase the excellence of his vocals even after all these years. Guitarist Michael Crain is an unstoppable dynamo, especially on one of my favorites “Idiopathic.” I haven’t heard any punk this dynamic or simply frightening since the last Hellmouth album, and that’s quite a statement.

“Shillelagh” and “Obedience School” are the only tracks that feel kind of stagnate and never really blew me away (except for Patton’s backing vocals on “Shillelagh,” which are some of his best).

“Gag Reflex” gives the band a chance to show off and be a bit more diverse than most other hardcore bands. I give kudos to them for thinking outside the box and trying multiple things to see what worked best. “Divine Filth” goes a bit towards speed and thrash metal, which is fine with me, considering the pedigree of musicians. There is some really good stuff here.

Closing track “Church Of The Motherfuckers” has a bit of a Bungle feel to it, which is a great thing. It’s very dark and worth multiple repeats. Overall, this is quite a different record from the Lordes, Foster The Peoples and Lana Del Reys of the world, but this world needs something as different as possible and Dead Cross definitely fills that void.

Rating: B+

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