ROCKET REVIEW: CORROSION OF CONFORMITY – “Corrosion of Conformity” (CD)

Reunited crossover thrashers CORROSION OF CONFORMITY return in 2012, releasing their first album as a trio since 1985’s Animosity. This is their first studio record since 2005’s brilliant In The Arms of God. That metal classic is one of my favorite albums in the past decade. So, to be frank, the fact that Pepper is not included here is kind of a downer if you will.

All that said, I salute producer John Custer, because Corrosion of Conformity is filled to the brim with eleven rocking cuts that will thrill the socks off of even the hardest to please… like me. I love the opening track “Psychic Vampire”… and its punk fast, psychedelic stoner-rock riffing. My favorites beyond that cut are the blistering “River Of Stone” and shrieking “Leeches”. The album offers up eleven solid tracks that will pull any listener in, never turning away from that grooving Southern vibe they are so well known for. Having been recorded at 606 Studios, owned by Foo Fighters Dave Grohl, the listener is in for a real rock experience I feel. Woody Weatherman is a monster on guitar with the blessed return of Reed Mullin, who, man, is simply all over the damn place on his drum kit. I was totally mesmerized by the masterful mix of moods that the trio assembled throughout.

The band is reportedly still open to recording again as a four piece with Pepper Keenan when they can get their schedules to line up, so I am really looking forward to that happening. COC is sorely underestimated and even with only three quarters of its mighty potency, I am afraid they still own the sonic landscape as one of the most important rock acts around.

TMD

ROCKET REVIEW:
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CORROSION OF CONFORMITY

“Corrosion of Conformity” (CD)
(Candlelight Records/2012)

1. Psychic Vampire
2. River Of Stone
3. Leeches
4. El Lamento de Las Cabras
5. Your Tomorrow
6. The Doom
7. The Moneychangers
8. Come Not Here
9. What We Become
10. Rat City
11. Time Of Trials

http://www.coc.com