{"id":7322,"date":"2012-02-28T00:00:55","date_gmt":"2012-02-28T00:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=7322"},"modified":"2014-07-16T12:16:36","modified_gmt":"2014-07-16T12:16:36","slug":"album-review-corrosion-of-conformity-corrosion-of-conformity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-corrosion-of-conformity-corrosion-of-conformity\/","title":{"rendered":"CORROSION OF CONFORMITY – Corrosion Of Conformity (2012) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

CORROSION OF CONFORMITY
Corrosion Of Conformity<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nCandlelight (2012)<\/span>
Rating: 7\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Raleigh, North Carolina\u2019s Corrosion Of Conformity seem to have been around forever, and yet since beginning life over 30 years ago, have only managed to release eight records. Mind you, a clutch of these could be regarded as metal classics \u2013 the monolithic Blind<\/em> (1991), which got the band the recognition they deserved, and the Black Sabbath<\/a>-esque monsters that were Deliverance<\/em> (1994) and Wiseblood<\/em> (1996).<\/p>\n

Considering the amount of line-up changes they\u2019ve had over the years, these guys have somehow evolved into a well-oiled metal machine, and when they do get around to getting their act together, have stood as one of the genre\u2019s most formidable and talented bands.<\/p>\n

It seems a long time ago that they began life as a crossover trio, and who would\u2019ve thought that in 2012 that the original cult line-up would join forces again. Woody Weatherman (guitars \/ vocals), Mike Dean (bas \/ vocals) and Reed Mullin (drums \/ vocals) may have been making a statement by simply calling this album Corrosion Of Conformity<\/em>, and there are going to be those who find it a little strange to not hear the drool of Pepper Keenan, but word has it that Keenan has not left the band, and it would also be fair to say that the previous two C.O.C. outings were not their best.<\/p>\n

So, how does the 2012 version of C.O.C. shape up? Well, not too bad, although it seems as if the band are still keen to keep their stoner edge, while mixing it up with more fast-paced melody \u2013 and that\u2019s the problem. While album opener \u2018Psychic Vampire\u2019 boasts a killer, doom-laden riff, I\u2019m almost irritated by the slightly thrashy injections, because when the band keep the music brooding and heavy, there\u2019s no-one better at resurrecting and reinventing those Sabbath riffs.<\/p>\n

\u2018River Of Stone\u2019 is an uptempo chugger, Dean\u2019s vocals however give the record more of a Bad Brains crossover style appeal; as expected I guess considering how these guys started out. This is C.O.C. coming full circle at times, and maybe that was the only direction for the band to take for fear of becoming stale, considering there had only been two albums since 1996.<\/p>\n

\u2018Leeches\u2019 sees Mullin adopt vocal duties. This is another faster, rawer song, but on track four, \u2018El Lamento De Las Cabras\u2019, the band move into movie soundtrack mode; a sterling Western-inspired instrumental which conjures up images of sweeping plains and dusty streets.<\/p>\n

The album\u2019s middle section boasts two contradicting styles; the stripped down and punkier \u2018Your Tomorrow\u2019 and the epic \u2018The Doom\u2019, which hearkens back to those Keenan days, with Dean\u2019s vocals a languid drool over those stoned riffs until the band rush headlong into, albeit briefly, another speedier groove.<\/p>\n

Some would argue, however, that C.O.C. 2012 is far weaker in its sound. Tracks like \u2018The Moneychangers\u2019 are relatively tepid in comparison to the red-hot classics such as \u2018Clean My Wounds\u2019 (from Deliverance<\/em>), while the Weatherman-fuelled \u2018Rat City\u2019 follows a similar speedy path, lacking effect. Admittedly, when the band churn out a killer track like \u2018Time Of Trials\u2019 I feel a sense of hope for the future, but considering the changes over the years, I could never predict what the next incarnation of C.O.C. will sound like.<\/p>\n

For those who want a nod to the beginnings, then there\u2019s much on this record to savour, but those expecting another riff-soaked rocker may be disappointed at times by the shifting gears. However, when C.O.C. do hit the sweet spot, there\u2019s no denying the everlasting charm of these guys and their dense sound, even if they seem unable to solidify their line-up.<\/p>\n

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

CORROSION OF CONFORMITYCorrosion Of Conformity Candlelight (2012)Rating: 7\/10 Raleigh, North Carolina\u2019s Corrosion Of Conformity seem to have been around forever, and yet since beginning life over 30 years ago, have only managed to release eight records. Mind you, a clutch of these could be regarded as metal classics \u2013 the monolithic Blind (1991), which got […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,391],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7322","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\/7322","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=7322"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7322\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20326,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7322\/revisions\/20326"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}