Dead Cross (Slayer, Faith No More, Locust) share “Grave Slave” off debut LP

Dead Cross is the heavy-music supergroup that includes former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo and Faith No More/Mr. Bungle frontman Mike Patton (who both also played together in Fantômas), along with The Locust/Retox frontman Justin Pearson and Retox's Michael Crain. (The band was originally led by Retox/Locust member Gabe Serbian, who had to leave to focus on his family and was replaced by Patton.)

Their self-titled debut album comes out on August 4 via Patton's Ipecac Recordings, and it was produced by Ross Robinson (At the Drive In, Blood Brothers, Glassjaw). Lead single "Grave Slave" is out now and it's crushing dose of confrontational noise that clocks in at under two minutes. "To me, it is a traditional hardcore record," Patton tells Rolling Stone. "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." Dave Lombardo adds, "It's one of the most brutal albums I've ever done" (and he has done Reign In Blood!). Listen below.

The Rolling Stone article also mentions that the album includes a cover of Bauhaus' "Bela Lugosi's Dead," and that Dead Cross will be touring the West Coast in August and the East Coast in September. Those dates are still TBA. The band's only announced show at the moment is Riot Fest.