{"id":105951,"date":"2026-04-03T00:00:40","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T23:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=105951"},"modified":"2026-04-15T10:37:02","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T09:37:02","slug":"album-review-corrosion-of-conformity-good-god-baad-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-corrosion-of-conformity-good-god-baad-man\/","title":{"rendered":"CORROSION OF CONFORMITY – Good God \/ Baad Man (2026) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

CORROSION OF CONFORMITY
\nGood God \/ Baad Man<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nNuclear Blast (2026)<\/span>
\nRating: 8\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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In spite of starting out from Raleigh, North Carolina as a hardcore punky crossover thrash act, it could be argued that it was from 1991 through to 1996 that Corrosion Of Conformity were the best heavy rock band on the planet. Changing their style to something more groove based, C.O.C. was the<\/em> band to be in or around. It was their peak period with a trio of album releases \u2013 Blind<\/em> (1991), Deliverance<\/em> (1994) and Wiseblood<\/em> (1996) \u2013 that to this day define the word \u201ccool\u201d.<\/p>\n

With attitude, weight, groove, C.O.C. saved me from drowning within the depths of the grunge invasion. Blind<\/em> was the first and only record to be fronted by Karl Agell; a cult crushing groove machine that managed to fuse Metallica and Thin Lizzy with Trouble, yet without sounding like any of them. C.O.C. had found their niche and continued their hip n\u2019 happening n\u2019 wholesome swagger into the next brace of albums, both of which were lead by guitarist Pepper Keenan who first introduced us to his tones with the cut \u2018Vote With A Bullet\u2019 on Blind<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Naturally, due to the brilliance of those three albums, subsequent releases and line-up alterations never quite matched those dizzying affairs. Even so, due to his involvement with a band like Down, Keenan\u2019s reputation has grown, as has C.O.C.\u2019s, who are now on their 11th full-length studio release, and their first for eight years. On a sad note, it\u2019s the first C.O.C. record since the 2020 passing of drummer Reed Mullin. Mullin\u2019s space has been filled here by band buddy Stanton Moore, who previously appeared on C.O.C.\u2019s 2005 album In The Arms Of God<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Still on the Nuclear Blast label, C.O.C. remains a heavyweight proposition, this record being a colossal double album; Good God<\/em>, with its unflinching aggression and punky tendencies, and Baad Man<\/em>, sun baked and stoned as the band oozes with that recognizable Southern sway. In between, there are flashes of Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath<\/a> and Black Flag, and of course there\u2019s the signature C.O.C. fluidity and chemistry while darkening back to the rawer days. Woody Weatherman remains an incredibly underrated guitarist, weaving sludgy rhythmic patterns, while new bassist Bobby Landgraf does a good job of replacing the legendary Mike Dean.<\/p>\n

Good God \/ Baad Man<\/em> takes a few good listens before it can be fully appreciated. With a duration of 67 minutes I was concerned my attention would wane, but C.O.C. has never been a band to hide from variety. Lead single \u2018Gimme Some More\u2019, featuring backing vocals from Ministry main man Al Jourgensen, is all snap and hostility, the thrashy ethos bloodied by its clashing with hardcore mayhem. For those new to C.O.C. this may be an unfamiliar trajectory, but those in the know will revel in the band\u2019s nod to its past. It\u2019s a song that\u2019s to the point and blunt, dragging the listener around the room by the hair as beads of sweat patter the walls and the sticky sweet smell of congealed blood cakes the nostrils. In contrast, another single, \u2018You Or Me\u2019 fizzes with a psychedelic slice of axe work. Moore punches the kit with such conviction as echoes of Black Sabbath infiltrate the melody as Keenan bellows and snarls.<\/p>\n

The brushes with psychedelia and blues are never far away, and there\u2019s no shortage of sludgy fudge either as closer \u2018Forever Amplified\u2019 showcases, but then again there\u2019s also an injection of variety as Anjelika \u201cJelley\u201dJoseph lends a hand with her timely wails which usually caress Stanton Moore\u2019s New Orleans jazz-funk band Galactic.<\/p>\n

C.O.C. has, for so long, been ahead of the game without ever revelling in the spotlight. There\u2019s always been an effortless glide to the motion of the band, freely meandering into numerous styles without ever sacrificing weight; good examples here being the epic Led Zeppelin \/ Black Sabbath amalgamation of \u2018Run For Your Life\u2019, the ZZ Top inspired \u2018Swallowing The Anchor\u2019 and \u2018Handcuff County\u2019, and the psyched instrumental \u2018Bedouin\u2019s Hand\u2019.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve spent so much time with this album, lazing in the smoky confines of kaleidoscopic blankets such as \u2018The Handler\u2019 with its blues peppering. It\u2019s a big favourite, reminding me of the Deliverance<\/em> era, but there are undercurrents of the Blind<\/em> period too. However, the record boasts far more sneering moments, particularly with the frenzied \u2018Asleep On The Killing Floor\u2019, which brings levels of punkiness, while \u2018Brickman\u2019 is sublimely effective yet punchy. It astonishes though how C.O.C. can drift from Southern-fried boogie to Sabbathian monoliths and then hardcore snarls. Couple this with devilish distortion, fuzzed feedback and the loose n\u2019 lethal aggression and you\u2019ve got a borderline classic C.O.C. opus.<\/p>\n

Far more rewarding than the previous batch, Good God \/ Baad Man<\/em> is further proof that when Metallica transformed into U2 in the 90s, Corrosion Of Conformity should have taken the torch. Pepper Keenan, Woody Weatherman and associates remain criminally underrated and yet somehow revel in being the cool underdogs who continue to strut around town without a care in the world.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CORROSION OF CONFORMITY Good God \/ Baad Man Nuclear Blast (2026) Rating: 8\/10 In spite of starting out from Raleigh, North Carolina as a hardcore punky crossover thrash act, it could be argued that it was from 1991 through to 1996 that Corrosion Of Conformity were the best heavy rock band on the planet. Changing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,391],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-105951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-corrosion-of-conformity"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105951"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105951\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":105952,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105951\/revisions\/105952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}