Deuce

Deuce is the second album, made while the band was half falling apart. DJ Ashba left in February 2002, later joining Sixx:A.M. and then Guns N' Roses, and Glen Sobel followed him out. Joe Lesté, Anthony Focx and Kenny Kweens carried on regardless, and by July 2003 they had brought in Alex Grossi on lead guitar and Matt Starr on drums to start recording. Focx handled production, mixing and engineering single-handed, with additional production from Kweens. No major label had a hand in it. Getting it out took a long time too. JVC issued it in Japan on 21 April 2005; in the US it waited for a Spitfire deal and arrived on 23 August. By then Grossi had already left as well. From the rolling riff of the opener “Anyone” through the industrial entrance of “Never” to the under-three-minute charge of “Straight to Hell,” the thirteen tracks are heavier than the debut and carry more modern treatment. “Freedom” was later used in the Sandra Bullock film The Proposal and “Anyone” on Sons of Anarchy. The Japanese edition adds “Starr Cross” and “I Still Miss You.” It turned out to be their last studio album.