Corrosion of Conformity

Recorded April 20, 2001, in Detroit, MI, this CD is the first live album by COC (also known as Corrosion of Conformity). Although the group began with strong punk leanings -- indeed they were one of the first groups to merge punk and metal -- the selections on this album eschew the material from that era. Instead all of the songs presented here are from the later, more metallic era. Indeed, there is nothing here that comes from any album older than 1991's Blind. The group (Pepper Keenan on guitar and vocals; Woody Weatherman on guitar and vocals; Mike Dean on bass, keys and vocals; and Jimmy Bower on drums) do serve up a solid helping of their flavor of metal, though. COC's particular style is strongly influenced by Black Sabbath. In fact, there is at least one full-on musical nod to that group here in the form of a direct musical quote from Sabbath's self-titled disc. COC add to that a Southern rock sort of texture, no doubt owing to their North Carolina roots. They also show leanings toward such groups as White Zombie and Led Zeppelin, and they manage to infuse the entire package with a real jam band sort of feel. The actual recording presented here is a very nice balance, feeling at once somewhat raw and (appropriately enough) live, while still maintaining a very clean sound. In other words, the recording itself does what it should do: it makes you forget that this is a recording. It almost feels as if you are really in the audience. The disc should certainly please the fans of the later era of this band, and those who are fans of such groups as Black Sabbath. The spunkier part of COC's audience was most likely disappointed years ago, so this one probably will leave them behind as well. You can't please everyone, it would seem. [The bonus DVD version features ten extra tracks.] ~ Gary Hill, All Music Guide