The Conformity....it's Corroded.

Boy, this took me long enough to get to, huh? I also lied. I told you it was gonna be about Kingdom of Sorrow. It's not. COC here. KoS at some other point. Anyway, I know what you're all thinking, "GET ON WITH IT!", said like those cheeky chaps from Monty Python. :) I love those guys.

Corrosion of Conformity has quite a few albums out. I'm not going to be talking about all of them. Just the albums that have Pepper as lead. I think there's 3 or 4 out with him as just guitarist. Then there's 4 more with him playin' and singing! Lots of back catalogue there. Though, there's quite the shift in sound right about in the middle. Carrying on.

The starting point is going to be their album entitled Deliverance. This album was quite a big departure from their previous sound. With Pepper at the reins the band went in a Southern Rock/Metal almost Sludge Metal sound. Don't let that make you think there isn't some diversity in there. These guys are musicians through and through. It's not all downtuned guitars and open string chugging. That Sludge Metal tag is more of an afterthought than anything. While I do enjoy some open string chugging I definitely prefer some change. Hittin' some of the higher strings with a bit of twang from time to time can send shivers down your spine. When used right it's a thing of beauty. I don't really know what their sound is before this album as it was my introduction to them. I've heard a few select tracks but didn't think much of them. Does that make me a bad man? Possibly. Maybe I'll give them another try in the future, but right now, I just don't want to.

Following their strong debut [to me] is Wiseblood. You can see that their cover art kind of follows in the same vein as Deliverance. Cut and pasted together, if you will. Lots going on. I feel that this is the superior cover art of the two. Oddly enough, I also feel that this is the superior album. Great, great 2nd album! As with most bands, I feel this is really where they found their sound and ran with it. Some of the songs really remind me of Tom Petty. Okay, really only one that I can think of. ;) But still! This album just has a wide variety of tunes. A great ballad [I guess you'd call it that?] in Redemption City. A real sludgy track with Man or Ash [guest vox by James Hetfield!]. I mean, c'mon, if you've got Hetfield on your album...there's just nothin' else to be said. The rest are just hard rockers. God, I LOVE this album!

Up next is their "cleanest" album to date, America's Volume Dealer. What I mean by "cleanest" is that it's their most produced album. Higher production values. Still a damn fine album. Most people hate it when an album's too "clean". Me included. This just destroys bands that don't have any feeling behind their music. If you've got soul in there, it shines through regardless, I guess. Maybe it sounds cleaner 'cuz it was released 4 years after Wiseblood, in 2000. Yeah, that's probably it. This is definitely standard CoC fare. Don't take that the wrong way! So far they're batting 1000. Standard fare for them continues this trend. More rockin' songs to jam to. Alternatively, if you're seein' 'em live, then these will get ya jumpin'. No doubt about that. Bust out those lighters for their softer songs. Possibly a joint if you've got one. I'll just pass it down.

So far they've gone 3 for 3. Can they go 4 for 4 with In the Arms of God? I'll tell ya the truth. I used to not think so. I found this album to be their weakest. Many had touted it as a strong return from the absent band. It came out in '05 after 2000's Volume Dealer. For awhile I only really like the opening track Stone Breaker. This is even after having listened to the album a couple times! I just didn't really dig it. Here's the kicker. I've been listening to this album whilst typing all this gibberish. It ranks right up there with the rest. I don't know what that young buck was thinking before. This is another true ringer for them CoC boys. The production values on this album are high as well. Yet, somehow, it feels more akin to their album Deliverance. It doesn't sound like it, mind you, it just feels like it could have come out with it as some sort of double album. Similar but different. Arms definitely shows their growth as musicians. It's probably the most ornate album. Some beautiful songs on there.

What else can I say about this band? Probably a lot, actually. As I really haven't said all that much. I realize this. You realize this. This is just what you're gonna get. I'm a little out of practice. Sue me. No, don't. I need that money. Just bare with it as I get back in the swing of things. I need to find my words. There's a couple in there. I've got more on the oft forgotten back burner. See that? Oft. That's short for often. Another one of them words. Keep it swingin'!