On my list of Desert Island Discs (thank you Tower Records for that concept) are Corrosion of Conformity‘s Wiseblood and In the Arms of God. The legendary songwriting and angsty vocal prowess of Pepper Keenan shines through on these albums like a fog-cutting, soul-illuminating spotlight.

After some years slinging axe with Pantera’s Philip Anselmo in the NOLA-based group Down, Pepper is back with the original lineup of North Carolina’s influential stoner/southern metal band Corrosion of Conformity, along with bassist Mike Dean, guitarist Woody Weatherman, and drummer Reed Mullin. This group is kicking ass together again on stage for the first time in 15 years, as Pepper said when I saw them at Slim’s in San Francisco this week.

He went on to say that they had just signed with Nuclear Blast records and will be working on a new album, due out in 2016. All I know is these guys looked extremely and refreshingly happy together as they churned out an inspired set of beastly songs spanning their decades-long career. If you have an opportunity to catch them on tour, especially in a small venue, cancel your plans and go. You will not be disappointed.

Excerpt from a review of their LA show via Metalassault.com:

The audience greeted the band with deafening roars, so much so that it caught Pepper Keenan off-guard and he didn’t hold back in expressing his pleasant surprise when talking on the microphone. Heads were banging and fists were pumping throughout the set, and the song ‘Paranoid Opioid’ garnered the most notable mosh pit. Reunions are often overhyped and do not deliver, but Corrosion Of Conformity’s reincarnated four-piece lineup has met and exceeded all expectations, at least as a live band.

Read the rest of the concert review here.

CoC – Albatross

Sharing is caring!