DAVE LOMBARDO On Working With MIKE PATTON Again In DEAD CROSS: 'I Love The Guy's Drive And His Artistry'

Metal Wani's Laura Vezer recently conducted an interview with drummer Dave Lombardo (DEAD CROSS, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, SLAYER). You can now listen to the chat below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On DEAD CROSS's split with singer Gabe Serbian and addition of Mike Patton (FAITH NO MORE):

Dave: "When everything went down with Gabe, we were, like, 'Okay, what do we do?' So there were a couple of other singers that the other guys suggested. One, I don't think he wanted to do it, or just couldn't, because of his schedule. And then we had another one that was very much interested and ready to go. But my assistant said, 'Why don't you call your friend?' And I was, like, 'You mean Patton?' And she said, 'Yeah. You need to contact him. Let him know what's going on. And who knows?' And I was, like, 'No, that's not… it's gonna happen. He's busy with FAITH NO MORE, and he's writing scores for a television show. He's busy.' So I kept thinking to myself, 'No, it's not gonna work. No, he won't do it.' Then finally, I think after three or four times suggesting, I said, 'Okay.' So in a series of texts that we were having, he asked me if I'd be interesting in releasing DEAD CROSS on his record label. And I told him, 'I would love to, but at this point, I really don't know where the album is gonna land. We just don't know how everything's gonna come together.' And then I texted him, I said, 'Look, Gabe left the band. We have all this music. Would you be interested in singing?' And it wasn't no more than fifteen seconds went by, he texted me and he said, 'I would love to do it.' And at that moment, I was, like, 'All right! This is great!' And I texted everybody and everybody was really excited. We couldn't believe it. So it was a great suggestion and I'm glad I sent him a text. And then he didn't know if he wanted to tour with the band, and then it turns out that he loves the music so much that he thought that it would be a good idea for us to do some shows. So we're very grateful for that too. We've gotta embrace it and enjoy it while it's here, because — who knows? — maybe in a few months he's not gonna wanna tour or anything else. But it seems like things are on a positive note and we're gonna hopefully do some more touring. And at this moment, we're writing more music to add to our set, because the set is only thirty minutes, so we need to add another ten minutes, so probably another five songs."

On working with Patton again after their previous collaboration in FANTÔMAS:

Dave: "It feels great. I love the guy's drive and, of course, his artistry, the way he sings and his approach — not only to the vocals and the music, but also to the artwork, to details. I think that's an awesome personality to have, to not just care about the vocals, but you care about the entire project. And I like that; it's great. So working with him is definitely a pleasure. And I'm excited to perform live again, 'cause if past experiences say anything, the stage intensity is gonna be very high."

DEAD CROSS, which is rounded out by Justin Pearson (THE LOCUST, RETOX, HEAD WOUND CITY) and Michael Crain (RETOX, FESTIVAL OF DEAD DEER),will release its self-titled debut album on August 4 via Ipecac Recordings. The effort was helmed by producer Ross Robinson, who has previously worked with KORN, DEFTONES, SEPULTURA and LIMP BIZKIT, among others, and was mastered at Golden Mastering in Ventura, California.

Patton told Rolling Stone that he got involved with DEAD CROSS after reaching out to Lombardo to see if he could release the band's album on Ipecac. After getting a text from the drummer asking him to join the group, "my jaw dropped," the singer said. "I was like, 'Who, me? Hmm …' And I think it took like all of 30 seconds, but in a sarcastic way, I'm like, 'Yeah, of course. I can do this. Are you sure you want me?' So I kind of second-guessed him a little bit. And he said, 'Man, you'd be our dream vocalist.' And then it was just a matter of logistics. I decided to record it here in my basement, which is fitting. It shouldn't sound too polished."

Regarding DEAD CROSS's musical direction, Patton said: "To me, it is a traditional hardcore record. It is very pointed, direct and visceral. Like, I wasn't going to play keyboards, add samples or any kind of orchestration. It was like, 'Yo, just go for it.' In some ways, it reminded me of stuff that we had collectively all grown up with and loved when we were like teenagers — bands like the ACCÜSED, DEEP WOUND or SIEGE, stuff that was just brutal, uncompromising and right to the point. I was listening to all those bands again before this came to be, so it was already back infused in my blood. And now I got a chance to do a pencil-in-your-eye record."

DEAD CROSS has announced its first North American tour dates. The late-summer outing kicks off on August 10 at The Observatory in Santa Ana, California and includes a stop at Riot Fest in Chicago.