<\/p>\n
That guttural howl is unmistakable. Daniel Kubinski, the voice of Die Kreuzen, returns with the latest iteration of his newest band, The Crosses. They have another disc on the way, Outlier<\/i>, ready for release on Record Store Day (April 18).<\/p>\n
Opening the six-song EP, \u201cNails\u201d explodes with the sonic impact of a cluster bomb. Kubinski\u2019s voice is front and forward, throaty and aggressive as ever, occasionally sustaining high notes as if fronting a heavy metal band\u2014which he almost is.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are metallic and angular, but punk in attitude and punk in theory,\u201d Kubinski says. Define punk: \u201cWe are who we are and do what we want to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Die Kreuzen were the most influential hardcore punk band to emerge from \u201880s Milwaukee, building an international following from relentless touring. Their four albums (and several singles) stretched hardcore\u2019s boundaries without snapping the bonds entirely. \u201cAt Die Kreuzen, and The Crosses gigs, people would come up to us and say, \u2018You guys are different. You don\u2019t sound monotonous or narrow minded.\u2019 We were never about pounding out one formula for 45 minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n
After Die Kreuzen disbanded in the early \u201890s, Kubinski played in several bands, including Decapitado. Die Kreuzen regrouped in 2012 for the Lest We Forget punk festival at Turner Hall and played a few shows with Couch Flambeau\u2019s Jay Tiller sitting in for Brian Egeness on guirar. Any future plans for Die Kreuzen? \u201cNo,\u201d Kubisnki insists, describing any future reunion as \u201ca monumental task,\u201d especially given drummer Erik Tunison\u2019s move to Amsterdam.<\/p>\n
Decapitado morphed into The Crosses, whose name references Die Kreuzen\u2019s misunderstood pseudo-German moniker. They thought it meant The Crosses, but \u201cWe were chastised by German folks when we toured there\u201d for its grammatical incorrectness, Kubinski recalls.<\/p>\n
The Crosses honor Die Kreuzen\u2019s legacy by performing their old songs, and more importantly, following DK\u2019s example by molding new songs from the noise and adrenaline of rehearsals. According to Kubinski, guitarist Jim Potter brought Outlier\u2019s <\/i>opener, \u201cNails,\u201d to rehearsal almost fully written. \u201cEven then, we altered it, wrote our own parts.\u201d Often, Kubinski continues, he\u2019ll punch on an MP3 recorder during rehearsals to catch the spontaneous jams, which become raw material for songs in a collaborative process of back and forth.<\/p>\n