Chino Moreno (Deftones) Says The New Album by Crosses Might Be Finished During The Pandemic


Crosses (sometimes stylized as  †††) a post-Punk and 1980s Gothic synth-pop influenced side project of Deftones frontman Chino Moreno may indeed be springing back to life for 2021. In a new interview with “The Boo Crew”, Bloody Disgusting’s weekly Podcast, Chino was interviewed by the gang to discuss the new Deftones album Ohms (review here), his horror episode score for Hulu’s Into The Dark series, stalking Anton Levay’s house in San Francisco, his favorite horror movies, and much more. Asked about Crosses, Chino confirmed that back at the end of 2018, the band had completed 6-7 songs with the idea of finishing them and teased some activity on social media at that time. When pressed about a future release Chino remarked that the break from Deftones touring to support Ohms until 2021 “might provide the chance to complete the new record”. Ghost Cult also interviewed Reyka Osburn of Death Valley High in 2019 and commented that he worked on new music with Chino, some of which was for Crosses too. Crosses released their self-titled album in 2014, and two other EPs, and toured the world several times. The band includes Moreno, Shawn Lopez (Far), and Chuck Doom. The interview was excellent and we suggest you check it out, like and subscribe to The Boo Crew Podcast too! Continue reading


Listen to Death Valley High and Chino Moreno (Deftones) Cover Christian Death


Gothic-tinged electronic band Death Valley High are releasing a new EP this week, Duel releases from MinusHEAD Records this Friday, August 23rd, 2019. The EP is have composed of inventive 1980s covers by inspired bands (think Faith No More, Eurythmics, Metallica, Bananarama) made in collaboration with music legends and underground tastemakers, while the other half is made of remixes of current DVH material. Watch this incredible new video of the band covering Christian Death’s classic ‘Cavity – First Communion’ with help from Chino Moreno of Deftones!

Continue reading


Listen To Death Valley High And Chino Moreno Cover 1980s Hit “Cruel Summer”


Death Valley High has been sitting on an unreleased covers EP for a few years, but recently their collaboration with Chino Moreno of Deftones. They covered 80s pop smash ‘Cruel Summer’ by Bananarama, featured in the original Karate Kid movie. Listen to their collabo now and feel all the 1980s feels! Continue reading


Death Valley High Line Up West Coast, European Tour Dates


DVH_PostitiveEuth_4pdigi_FrontCrop-1024x912

 

Death Valley High, the Bay Area band combining influences from Rock, to New Wave, hardcore punk, and Goth metal have announced a spate of warmup gigs on the West Coast of the US supporting Limnus. The band is usingthese dates as a launching pad for their October tour of Central and Western Europe with Sonic Syndicate, followed by UK dates with Trapt. The band was recently seen opening a tour for Crosses (†††). The band continues to tour behind their Positive Euth album (Minus Head).

 

 

Trapt-for-site

 

From The Press Release:

Bay Area alt rockers Death Valley High will be doing a brief warm up run of West Coast dates supporting Limnus in early October, prior to their upcoming tours supporting Sonic Syndicate (in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Czech Republic) in October, and UK tour supporting Trapt in November.

The tour dates are as follows:

With Limnus:

Oct 04: Kremwerk – Seattle, WA

Oct 05: Club 66 – Ashland, OR

Oct 06: Leo’s – Oakland, CA

Oct 07: Blue Lamp – Sacramento, CA

Supporting Sonic Syndicate:

October 11: Sputnikhalle – Munster (Germany)

October 12: Underground – Koln (Germany)

October 14: Colos-Saal – Aschaffenburg (Germany)

October 15: Hirsch – Nurnburg (Germany)

October 16: Pontem – Herisau (Switzerland)

October 17: Backstage – Munich (Germany)

October 18: Live Factory – Adelshelm (Germany)

October 20: Viper Room – Wien (Austria)

October 21: Nova Chmelnice – Prague (Czech Republic)

October 22: SO36 – Berlin (Germany)

October 23: Universum – Stuttgart (Germany)

October 24: Matrix – Bochum (Germany)

October 25: Pumpe – Kiel (Germany)

Supporting Trapt:

Nov 16: Cavern – Exeter, UK

Nov 17: Static Bar – Swansea, UK

Nov 18: The Borderline – London, UK

Nov 19: The Live Rooms – Chester, UK

Nov 20: Audio – Glasgow, UK

Nov 21: Queens Hall – Nuneaton, UK

Nov 22: Rafters – Maidstone, UK

Nov 23: The Exchange – Bristol, UK

Positive Euth was co-produced and recorded by band vocalist/guitarist Reyka Osburn and Jesse Nichols (The Stoogs, Ty Segall) at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, CA, mixed by Eric Stenman (Deftones, Thrice, AWOLNATION) at Red Bull Studios in Los Angeles, CA, and mastered by Brian Gardner (Queens of the Stone Age, Dr. Dre) at Bernie Grundman Mastering in Los Angeles, CA.

Watch the video for ‘How2Kill’ – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7ECK7L6FJ0

 

Death Valley High on Facebook


Crosses ††† – Nostalghia – Death Valley High: Live at The Paradise Rock Club, Boston MA


20140513_195440

 

As sometimes happens in the world of music journalism, one finds out last minute that they are going to a show that night. A quick shift in gears in order to make it to the show on time, and it’s off to the races, er the venue. Lucky for me weeknights in Boston are easier to get around than other cities I have lived in, and I wanted to get in just after doors opened. I had a chance to grab a rare weeknight adult beverage, mingle with my Metal New England crew, and catch opener’s Death Valley High. It was definitely an odd mix of metal fans in the room, obviously brought out mainly for Chino Moreno and his new band Crosses or †††, and vis a vie his other notable groups Deftones and Team Sleep.

Death Valley High hit the stage and they seemed to have ten guys in the band, packed on to the little stage taken up with gear. It was really only a handful of dudes, but they had a stage presence you couldn’t help but notice. They we’re a wake up call to the crowd that certainly wasn’t expecting this. Front man Reyka Osburn, with his Adam-Ant ca. 1982 make up job, is a one-man tornado on the stage. Screaming into the mike, playing guitar, and just generally whipping the crowd into a frenzy, he certainly was entertaining. It took the audience a few songs to grasp the deft blend of Nine Inch Nails style arena ready electro-goth, alt- rock posturing, with some legit throwback 80s synth work, but I dug it right away. The burned through a bunch of songs from their debut Positive Euth (Minus Head Records) and even tossed in a brief cover of ‘Rebel Yell’ by Billy Idol that has people moshing. By the time the band was ready to leave the stage and mentioned it was their first ever show in Boston, the crowd gave them a big reaction, for a little known opener.

DVH_PostitiveEuth_4pdigi_FrontCrop-1024x912

 

 

Normally a band like Nostalghia comes along and I am all about it. Those that read these reviews of mine, perhaps think of me as a meat-and potatoes prog-rock nerd and thrash junkie going back to my childhood. But on a normal day the weirder and more out of the box a band is, the more I am apt to give them a fair shake and check them out. I prefaced this all with a detour into Keefy-land because Nostalghia came on the stage and instead of setting an ethereal mood before the headliners, they sucked all the energy and good vibes out of the room. I just wasn’t feeling it, and by the bewildered looks in the room, many felt the same way. Likely in a different setting than this, I will give them another chance, but tonight they didn’t impress me one iota.

 

IMG_7105

After getting some fresh air and a fresh beer I was ready for Chino and †††. Obviously the band is not just about Chino, but he does tends to be the focal point in anything he does, doesn’t he? The group is as much as Shaun Lopez (Far) and Chuck Doom’s as it is Chino ‘s pet project, the music being the sum of their combined creativity. Also much hyped is whether the band is a witch-house group, but I hate to break it to the sub-genre gestapo, they are not. Still, they hit the stage slowly as if we were at an art presentation, coming out one at a time to opening track ‘†hholyghs†’ as the final reveal. Chino is a smooth bastard if nothing else, acknowledging the audible oohs and ahhs from both sexes as he came out. It was an orgy of Chino fangirl and fanboy worship that made me wince with every orgasmic “I love you Chino!” cried out, but at least he lived up to it with his performance.

IMG_6989

 

The band was excellent as they cut through just about every song in the bands catalogue. Chino, in this setting is more like a Jazz chanteuse or a 70s R&B crooner; adopting his breathy soulful feminine wail, for the club acoustics and improvising here and there with certain phrases. There is no cheating live with Chino as so many others do, and he was in fine voice. He certainly enjoyed himself here and frequently stepped on to speakers that brought him closer to the crowd, each time making a connection with the fans. The unsung hero of the band is Lopez, who laid down a wonderful torrent of droning guitar parts, and slick keyboard work. If I had only one complaint tonight it was the electronic snare sound of Dino Campanella on the drums. The guy is a powerhouse player and a fine performer. However, he alternated between two clackity clacking snare timbres that ranged from mildly annoying to grating on my last fucking nerve all night. Oh well.

 IMG_7176

Most of the night the audience was transported away between lush trip-hop and pop anthems, to shimmering post-rock flourishes. The killer set list included hits like ‘Bi†ches Brew’ and ‘†he Epilogue’, but also the underrated numbers like ‘Blk S†allion’.  The simple stage set up with just the minmal giant crosses with alternating lights fit the music perfectly sparse. Someone should give their lighting designer a medal, because i have have seen folks go too far in the past. When they came back out to the steamy, packed room for the encore and did a cover of ‘Goodbye Horses’, I totally started freaking out and lost my shit. The song made famous by Q Lazzarus is famous for its inclusion in the film The Silence of Lambs and now has a big place in pop culture too. Being a massive fan of anything Thomas Harris, I went berzerk. The cover was totally unironic and worked well with the bands musical style. Closing out a fun night with ‘†he Years’, everyone was left exhausted and satisfied.

††† Set List:

hholyghs†

his Is a †rick

Bi†ches Brew

Fron†iers

Blk S†allion

Bermuda Locke†

elepa†hy

Prurien†

Nine†een Eigh†y Seven

he Epilogue

rophy

Op†ion

Encore:

Goodbye Horses (Q Lazzarus cover)

he Years

 

Crosses ††† on Facebook

Nostalghia on Facebook

Death Valley High on Facebook

 

WORDS BY KEITH (KEEFY) CHACHKES

PHOTOS BY GREG WALKOWIAK