I’ve been a Corrosion of Conformity fan since Animosity (1985), and while I do miss those days of early Hardcore brutality, the band has become something more massive than I ever thought they would. By the time they had released their eponymous, much lauded 1991’s Blind, they were strong as fuck with tracks like “Vote with a Bullet” and “Dance of the Dead” in their arsenal.
Deliverance is arguably their best album from the ’90s, and they didn’t slack on, either. But Deliverance… you just had to be there. The sound and tempo changes were evident and continued through subsequent albums until we are here in the now with Good God/Baad Man (I had to speed it up or I’d be stuck in the 2000s for paragraphs to come).
Bold statement time: this might be AOTY material. It’s fuzzy, Black Sabbath-y as fuck, and unapologetically HEAVY. Like right away there’s “Good God Final Dawn”, and it’s a scorcher. Pulling out a solid Punk beat and running with the scissors that are cutting through the riffs like a hot knife through butter. It’s a killer track and a great way to open this album, their 11th one following 2018s crushing No Cross No Crown. I loved that album and even got a physical copy of it when I worked at Best Buy.
I saw them open for Megadeth back in 95 (I think), and they wiped the floor with Megadeth. Blew them off the stage. Then I got to see them in October with Judas Priest, and they played some of the songs from this release and the crowd was eating it all up.
Enough memory lane, “You or Me” is where the Sabbath comes rushing in. That same raucous abandon that Sabbath had on “Fairies Wear Boots” and “Behind the Wall of Sleep”. These are elephantine riffs, and it is absolutely fabulous to hear this sort of take on the Sabbath legacy (I don’t know if they intended to have that outcome; but fuck it because I’m all for it).
Good God Baad Man is everything I could ever want in a Corrosion of Conformity album. This is a massive album. “Gimme Some Moore” is like hard rocking Blues, but they have these huge riffs opening the songs that you are commanded to move your head.
This is a long album, clocking in at 1:06:54 it’s 14 tracks are like deep cuts. “The Handler” is one of those Sabotage, Never Say Die Sabbath moments that Corrosion of Conformity peel off effortlessly. It’s bouncing rhythm forces you to move that bone sack you call a body. “Bedouin’s Hand” is a mystical, swirling experience spent in the Middle Eastern dunes and it is a truly magical experience.
“Run for your Life” is one of those bluesy Corrosion of Conformity songs that are as lazy as a muddy river. It’s a sublime song, just rambling along with not a care in the world. “Baad Man” is a barrel house Southern style bake off, drawling drums and the funky guitar and bass make for a party time track that’ll live rent free in your head for days.
“Lose yourself” is a solid banger, bringing to mind smoky bars with the house band playing hell for leather to about 250 loyal fans. “Mandra Sonos” is another mid-paced instrumental track that grabs you and moves you on a sub-atomic level. These guys don’t let up, even the almost Slayer-esque “Asleep on the Killing Floor” featuring some Tom Araya style vocals that are brutal as fuck.
Corrosion of Conformity has managed to take the Punk sensibilities and combine them into a special sort of madness. For me, this is their best since Wiseblood; not that I’m not shitting on the in-between albums because they’re all amazing albums, but that sound and fury of the 90s are brought to the fore here, much to my delight.
“Handcuff County” starts off with a police car siren, just a warning for those listening while driving, the track being a roller-coaster ride that twists and turns like a snake on LSD. “Swallowing the Anchor” has a bit of that Deliverance groove that gets you going with a fist in the air.
“Brickman” has sort of a Mazzy Star “Fade into You” vibe to it. Maybe it’s the slide guitar, I don’t know, but that vibe just hit me in the memory banks. “Forever Amplified” is the closer and what a closer it is! A huge, feedback laden intro and then bang and the song gets triumphant, a message saying that they will always be loud and obnoxious and frankly, that’s how I hope they always are.
With Good God/ Baad Man, Corrosion of Conformity has dropped an effortlessly fantastic album that is giving me end of year list vibes. You know them by now and I’m sure you’ll be wanting to get your grubby hands on this. The badass artwork seals the deal. Go get it!
