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DEAD CROSS

The Underworld, Camden, London, England

June 11th, 2018


Mike Patton


“Download was such a drag,” bemoaned the mercurial Mike Patton, now frontman of Californian hardcore-cum-punk ensemble Dead Cross who decided to make a rather impromptu appearance to a small yet not surprisingly sold out venue in the heart of trendy Camden.

And with that Patton, resembling a shady character from 80s cop series Miami Vice while dressed in vest and vibrant short-sleeve shirt, leapt into the crowd and floundered like a fish out of water whilst a rather orderly “mosh pit” gave in to his contortions and squawks and wails.

Dead Cross launched into a short and snappy hour-long set consisting mostly of tracks from their impressive self-titled debut full-length platter, although judging by the reaction of most of the crowd it seemed that many were there just hoping that the band would launch into a batch of familiar Faith No More or Mr. Bungle songs!

And that was the problem, Patton clearly being the selling point for tonight’s event, while behind him former Slayer sticksman Dave Lombardo rumbled with sinister charm. However, as those in attendance either stared into the pits of their beer or mobile phones, Dead Cross only seemed to prompt reaction when they’d flash a grinding riff to headbang too. Indeed, it reminded me of seeing Patton’s former band Mr. Bungle so many years ago; the audience clearly not “getting it” in spite of the devastating and punchy grooves on offer and Patton’s menacing stage antics and growls and yaps.

Dead Cross, in spite of all their weight and aggression, don’t play accessible heavy metal. Instead, they play epileptic, spasmodic shuffles of grinding punk-cum-grindcore. So imagine then the sudden avalanche of appreciative yowls and claps when the combo sneaked in a brief medley of Slayer (‘Reign In Blood’) and Faith No More (‘Epic’) in their encore, where Patton’s cry of “You want it all but you can’t have it” seemed sarcastic and lost on spectators – some of whom still felt the need throughout to yell “You fat bastard!” expecting a response from Mike, but only getting reaction from their fellow beer-swilling trolls.

But that’s life, and so Dead Cross hammered Camden with a blitzkrieg of ‘Idiopathic’ and a stirring rendition of ‘Church Of The Motherfuckers’, before spitting out a rousing version of Dead Kennedy’s ‘Nazi Punks Fuck Off’ to which some of the veteran punks in attendance seemed to appreciate.

Throughout, Mike Crain’s guitar and Justin Pearson’s bass were thunderous reminders as to how music can still remain violently fresh in a watered down music society; Lombardo’s drums still reminding us all of what Slayer has missed so much as his wall of sound acted as a more than sturdy rear guard.

And the grooves remained dark flinching bursts of hostility. ‘My Perfect Prisoner’ and ‘Seizure And Desist’ were riddled with manic tension and Patton’s vocal flips and flops, before the hyper ‘Shillelagh’ teemed rawness and moody flavour upon us with the combo thrashing, cranking and jerking before the sudden advent of a massive yet oh so brief hook lulled more befuddled victims into its grinding lair of malevolence and volatile punk chants.

‘Obedience School’ – with Patton’s statement of “We didn’t know we’d be here either” – summed up the energetic and spontaneous feel of the band’s performance. The frontman pogoed and leered toward the small, sweaty sea of fists, although the unintentional comedic element throughout was still the crowd’s rather confused reaction to songs they either hadn’t heard or were simply unfamiliar with, probably due to not giving the album a chance beyond their limited spectrum.

Tonight felt somewhat special and frustrating in one hit – and then they were gone, leaving us to spill out into the humid air of Camden High Street to a stench of stale beer and sweaty Faith No More shirts. Which just about says it all.

Neil Arnold