Singled Out: Crossover's Painkiller

Keavin Wiggins | 01-17-2021

Crossover are celebrating the 30th anniversary of their debut "Painkiller" EP with a special reissue and to celebrate we have asked Jay Piccirillo and Bill Smith to tell us about the title track. Here is the story:

Bill Smith: This year we celebrated the 30th Anniversary of our Painkiller EP. Of all the songs on the album, one of the standouts is the title track itself. The song "Painkiller" is the very vocal venting about being in a relationship with a very clingy person who is just sucking the life out of you and wants to control your every move and all you want is this person gone!

One of the interesting things about the recording process for the album was that it was the first time any of us had been in a recording studio and we were all really nervous about being there. Setup time took forever and getting levels seemed to be quite tedious as well, but when we were ready to start tracking, the first song we did was Painkiller and we got it in one take! After we got it we were all like "this isn't so bad." Then we moved on to the other, harder songs, and that's when we learned how hard it was to cut an album. 8 or 9 takes for each of the songs that followed, but in the end we walked away with something pretty solid. So solid that we're still talking about it thirty years later!

Jay Piccirillo: Finally! All the anticipation, hard work and patience came to fruition! Friends and fans could now finally understand our message from all those loud, out of control practices and gigs they had been enduring for several years!

We finally had the chance to enter a studio and record four of our favorite songs on a demo tape titled "Painkiller". It was a huge learning experience for all of us as we were young and inexperienced. The do's and don'ts of sound and recording were now right in front of our very eyes.

Honestly, at this point in time, I started becoming a little detached from the band as my next loves in life, working out and women, became more of a priority. I did not get the actual sound I wanted so instead of fighting and putting in more effort as I should have, I basically just went through the motions.

I did write most of the material and In the end it was still successful and sounded very good, but I could've brought more to the table at that point in time. This was one of the reasons that after 30 years I resurrected this project. I wanted to bring it back for a new audience and give it justice for older fans and the other band mates who worked very hard and tirelessly at that time.

The finished remastered product is finally what we envisioned and wanted years ago.

One of my favorite songs, "Painkiller", really stood out as it had a great mixture of what we emulated and were huge fans of. "Crossover" (A combination of Metal Hardcore and Punk) It's meaning builds upon our first single's message of being true to yourself and what you believe in, and to remove yourself from toxic relationships.

I am truly honored and blessed to have been given another opportunity to present this wonderful piece of music history to new audiences.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself below and order the reissue here