DEFTONES Frontman’s CROSSES Releases Two New Songs, ‘Initiation’ And ‘Protection’

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††† (CROSSES) — DEFTONES frontman Chino Moreno's project with FAR guitarist Shaun Lopez — has released two new songs, "Initiation" and "Protection". Check them out below. Last December, Lopez confirmed that ††† (CROSSES) had signed a new deal with Warner Records. Three months ago, ††† (CROSSES) dropped its cover of Q Lazzarus's "Goodbye Horses" as a digital single. The track was previously covered by ††† (CROSSES) back in 2014. Prior to "Goodbye Horses"' digital arrival, ††† (CROSSES)'s last release was a cover of "The Beginning Of The End" by '90s electropop band CAUSE & EFFECT. Made available in December 2020, it was the first new music from the alternative band since its 2014-released, self-titled record. Moreno told The Pulse Of Radio how he got involved with the group in the first place, which was started by Lopez and Chuck Doom. "Shaun and Chuck were working together for a while before I came into the picture, and I just so happened to come in one day," he said. "These guys were, you know, writing some stuff and I heard it and I liked it right off the bat, and I sort of weaseled my way [Laughs] into the project. I think their idea was to get a bunch of different singers to, you know, just write different tracks, and... it didn't happen." ††† (CROSSES)'s CD included the songs from the band's two previously released EPs along with five new tracks. Moreno told Rolling Stone about ††† (CROSSES)' sound: "By listening to the music, you can tell that a lot of the influences come from the new-wave era. That was basically the scene that I came up on. I just happened to wind up in a metal band when I was 15." Asked about ††† (CROSSES)'s heavy use of the cross in the band's imagery and songtitles, Moreno said: "I think a lot of bands are influenced by religious symbolism and not even necessarily Christianity or Catholicism. Our band definitely doesn't follow any of those. It's more of the aesthetic. The art, the way it works. The initial name of the band was going to be HOLY GHOST. But at the last minute, another band came out with the name, so Shaun suggested CROSSES. It's a very strong symbol. Three crosses is great. It's great to look at, there's three of us in the band." ††† (CROSSES) made its live debut in January 2012 at The Glass House in Pomona, California.