Music Issue 2008 Precious Put away your slide rules, math-r✯ock fans. Metal Dead Child, the newest band to Dave Pajo, Michael McMahan form the unlikely core of a thrash and Todd Cook spent a lot of time metal band named Dead Child, lounging around a tour van during which reaches for the crunchy, come from the ’s 2005 reunion tour. Band fast guitars of bands not often members will chat about damn associated with Louisville’s more Slint-Tortoise- near anything while in transit intellectual brands of rock. The between shows, and on this par- touchstones are Black Sabbath, ticular day, Pajo and Cook were and early gabbing about thrash metal. — palm-muting, neck-break axis, is all about Surprised? It turned out that drumming and Dominic Cipolla’s Pajo grew up listening to Iron Ozzy-like singing. Maiden and Black Sabbath. The Dead Child’s five members are furious and math-rock-loving hipsters and so atypical of a metal band — critics who worshipped Slint might and the name is so macabre — heavy thrash have been shaken to their clunky- that the band has to endeavor to black-glasses core, but inside the be taken seriously by some who metal. Make all indie- and alt-rocker was a stifled are sure the band is some elab- Dmetalhead with a childhood orate insider joke. the ironic devil dream of becoming a horror “It’s not ironic,” Pajo implored. makeup artist. Why not start a “This is a hurdle we’re going to horns you want: thrash metal band? someone in have to face. Because of our pasts, the van suggested. Why not, in- people think it must be some sort deed? of Spinal Tap thing. Even if they They’re serious, “I was so young when I was go to a show, they might think into all this stuff,” said Pajo, who, that. There’s no irony to it at all. and it’s great. in addition to Slint, has played But people who think that aren’t with Tortoise, Zwan and Will Old- that into metal that much. They ham. “I saw Iron Maiden in 19 83. I probably don’t need to be there.” By Joseph Lord was like 10 years old. It stayed with Dead Child is dead serious. me. I always liked that there The band members are definitely seemed to be an element of danger not laughing at thrash metal, but to the music, that it sounded a embracing it. And with it, they’re little scary. I guess it’s sort of like embracing the metal kids clad in going back to basics.” black T-shirts and denim jackets. Now Pajo, McMahan and Cook They’re embracing the people

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