The Guardian: Mike Patton on the return of Dead Cross: ‘This record was forged through Covid, cancer and alcoholism’
You can read the entire article @ this location. An excerpt from the interview has been provided below.
EXCERPT:
Dead Cross’s second album, II. “This record was forged through Covid, cancer and alcoholism,” he summarizes – and the pain becomes audible through nine tracks of anarchic thrash and punk. The cancer was Crain’s: the guitarist was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma in July 2019. “He’s the strongest fucking guy,” says Patton. “He’s not the guy you’d think would come down with cancer. But he did, and a lot of that went into the Dead Cross record: a lot of weird pain and fear. It’s hard to explain, but it made the record better.”
“My initial response to the pandemic was: ‘I love this shit!’,” he admits with a laugh. “It allowed me to be an antisocial motherfucker! I had maybe three months of that: ‘This is fucking awesome!’ Then something changed – and not for the better.”
As the pandemic progressed, the singer grew depressed. He was diagnosed with agoraphobia. He began drinking heavily. Fans were none the wiser until December 2021, when Faith No More – who had already rescheduled what were going to be their first shows in four years due to Covid – cancelled all touring plans.
“Because I was isolated so much, going outside was a hard thing to do,” Patton says, “and that’s a horrible thing. And the idea of doing more Faith No More shows – it was stressful. It affected me mentally. I don’t know why, but the drinking just … happened.”
Faith No More have no plans to reschedule their cancelled gigs, Patton admits. However, he is returning to the stage in December, playing across South America with Mr Bungle. He struggles with remembering the exact date he stopped drinking, but says he has now been sober “for a while” and is “doing pretty good”. He is excited to get back on the road, “but I’m also afraid”, he says.
Of what? “I’m afraid of myself. The band is rock solid and I want to make sure that I bring it. There are a few issues going on.” The question of what those issues are receives an agitated growl. “I don’t know if I wanna tell you.”
You can read the entire article @ this location.
Dave Lombardo: New Dead Cross coming soon! Do the 
Rolling Stone: EXCLUSIVE: Last year, Mike Patton canceled tour dates with Faith No More and Mr. Bungle. Now he’s finally ready to talk about the crippling agoraphobia diagnosis that is keeping him off the road. You can read the entire interview @ 
Mike Patton:
Dave Lombardo: Drums, guitar & bass for the new LP are officially done!! Patton’s vocals are next ???
Dead Cross: ♠️We are happy to announce that tracking for DEAD CROSS LP #2 has now begun. ???
Mr Bungle: August 13th: Something wicked this way comes…
