I can't write about Corrosion Of Conformity impartially. I would like it to be known that if they put out an album of nothing, of complete silence, I would purchase it and champion it as the best damn tribute to John Cage ever.
(waiting to let that gag sink in...)
I have been very fortunate to have been given attention from the band regarding tour info and album stuff over the last decade and a half. So, yay me. And kudos to them, as they must have the patience of a saint to put up with me. I can't even put up with me. Maybe bumping into me only once a year makes it easier on them, who knows. I'm not bragging, I just dig the band, they are cool people and hopefully my incredible bias toward them won't cloud your decision to buy all their albums.
But you should buy all their albums.
Their latest is their self-titled. It is only a throwback to their old Animosity days in that there's three members instead of four. And maybe like the old days, the music seems to change almost randomly in each song and the riffage comes from left field.
Oh, the riffage. I wish Animosity and Eye For An Eye were recorded like this album. (This is blasphemy to all the fans from BACK IN THE DAY who saw COC create their scene as well as an entire new subgenre of music. Back off: I was 8 at the time.) The guitars never sounded this mean and angry before...and In The Arms Of God was pretty angry sounding! My favorite track, showcasing the talent of the reformed classic lineup, is Time Of Trials. It goes from wild n crazy to slow and heavy and it doesn't drag on forever. It's also the last song, which is perfect for the sort of album that when it's over, you feel like you didn't hear every nuance and you gotta go back again. Well played, COC.
I'm not sure what I can say about the album other than I dig it. The youtube clip here is two songs, The Doom which is heavy with a bit of thrash before switching to a bluesy jam, and then the previously mentioned and amazingly awesome Time Of Trials.
SO, live. This is only the fourth time I have been able to see them since they 'reformed,' once before at Riotfest 2010 and then twice last year. Sadly I had to skip out on their Champaign gig for a theater meeting. What can I say, I know they put on a show and last night was no exception.
The first band was "A Storm Of Light," and they were followed by "Valient Thorr" and I got to the club as Storm was finishing up, and I didn't know what to really make of Valient Thorr, such as whom to compare them to or if what I saw/heard was close to what they usually sound like. I don't want to say the wrong things about these bands and upset a fan with my ignorance so I'll just link them and you can check them out.
TORCHE, however: wow. A friend described them as Foo Fighters meets...someone really heavy, I don't know. (Maybe he said Helmet, as in the angrier material.) I don't know if "Foo Fighters" applies here either. Maybe something stoner rock meets Mastodon? I was super impressed. Whatever it was, it was aggressive yet groovin'. I totally dug it and rocked out a bit. They played some stuff from their upcoming album which is due in late April. Click on the link for their site and you can listen to a song from that new album. I picked up the EP "In Return" and listened to it ALL DAY. It's only 19 minutes long but it rocks super hard. I am listening to it now and am mad that I'm not headbanging, but it's hard to type that way.
COC: Finally, new material. They played some of the songs last year (MoneyChangers & Your Tomorrow). A good portion of the set was from Animosity (Loss For Words, Mad World, Consumed, Holier, Hungry Child) and there were a few more new ones (Psychic Vampire, Rat City, Leeches). Part of their set as a trio is opening with some of the instrumental Bottomfeeder from Wiseblood and then playing part of Vote With A Bullet (with Reed singing), so the highlight for me was the band playing the whole title track from Deliverance. It slammed. They were full of a lot of energy. No time between songs to rest up, just one after another and it stayed intense that way. They were also very animate, much more than when I've seen them on bigger stages. I wonder why that is, even years later? These sort of things create a better mood for both band and audience, I think, and that was the case last night. The crowd ate it up and rocked out. Older punks & metal heads & pretty much everyone else in the room joined together by the power of rock headbangin' together.
There you go. My clouded vision of my favorite band giving me what I wanted and then some, with me walking away super happy and telling you about it. So, while they're still on tour, check them out. They have an official site n stuff and you can buy the album here. I'm not sure what other details to bore you with so please check them out.
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