"I started crying like a baby, it was like Jesus coming back and anointing you!" How Crossbone Skully coaxed legendary producer Mutt Lange out of retirement to work on their album

Crossbone Skully group portrait — (Image credit: Kim Moran)

Tommy Henriksen, the guitarist best known for his work with Alice Cooper and Hollywood Vampires, has talked about how he coaxed super-producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange out of retirement to work on Evil World Machine, the debut album by his side project Crosbone Skully.

The album, which is released on November 22, is a concept album that, we're reliably informed, tells the story of "an avenging superhero from outer space, returning to earth to save the world and reconnect with his lost deity love Piper and Kyd, the son he never knew he had."

"Evil World Machine is an unanchored, unapologetic record that’s true to life," Henriksen tells Classic Rock. "The stories are real, reflecting the journey we all go through. It all started with the line, 'I’m Unbreakable' [from the single of the same name, released last year].

"For me, it’s about survival, making it against the odds, growing up with a single mom on welfare, and finding a way through life even when hope feels out of reach. I’m Unbreakable is rooted in loyalty, trust, and survival – the heart and soul of what I come from – because in my hood, those things are earned, not given.

"I had the music and the verse for I’m Unbreakable, but I couldn’t find the right chorus, so I sent it to Mutt Lange to see if we had something here. In true Mutt style, he sent it back with this massive vocal hook, lyrics, and emotion that just hit me square in the face.

"When I heard Mutt’s words, 'Everything Is Possible,' it was like he’d captured exactly what this song is about. Those words meant everything to me, and this track is for anyone who knows what it’s like to struggle and fight through life in this unpredictable world. When times are rough, you gotta stay tough. I’m a warrior… I’m unbreakable."

Lange would go on to play the role of executive producer on the whole of Evil World Machine.

In an interview in the new issue of Classic Rock, Henriksen reveals more about the moment he heard back from Lange, saying, "I started crying like a baby, it was like Jesus coming back and anointing you!"

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Online Editor at Louder/Classic Rock magazine since 2014. 40 years in music industry, online for 27. Also bylines for: Metal Hammer, Prog Magazine, The Word Magazine, The Guardian, The New Statesman, Saga, Music365. Former Head of Music at Xfm Radio, A&R at Fiction Records, early blogger, ex-roadie, published author. Once appeared in a Cure video dressed as a cowboy, and thinks any situation can be improved by the introduction of cats. Favourite Serbian trumpeter: Dejan Petrović.