Some bands just get it right, stick to a formula that works, and crank out album after album that keeps their fan base happy with no real surprises or hiccups along the way. One such act is Corrosion of Conformity, the North Carolina band who have been around the scene since the early '80s. Though starting off as a hardcore/punk band, the group evolved over the years into a fierce doom/Southern rock/sludge/hardcore/punk hybrid act, with all these little bits meshing together to form the 'CoC' sound. IX is their latest release, and follows on their heels of their 2012 self-titled CD and the free EP Megalodon. Once again, the original trio of Woody Weatherman (guitar), Mike Dean (bass, vocals), and Reed Mullin (drums, vocals) make up the line-up for IX, with Pepper Keenan now dedicating all his time to Down.
Doom laden, Southern rock tinged numbers like "Brand New Sleep" and "Elphyn" clash with speedier, more hardcore/punk flavored fare such as "Denmark Vesey" and "The Nectar". If you love heavy riffs, then I'm sure you know that one of the best places to come for the almighty riff is a CoC album, and here you have crunchers "On Your Way", "Trusker", and "The Hanged Man", with Weatherman unleashing a torrent of molten power chords clearly influenced by the doom gods Black Sabbath, Saint Vitus, and Pentagram. "Who You Need to Blame" has grooves aplenty to go along with a mountain of a riff, like a secret jam between Sabbath & Lynyrd Skynyrd, while "Tarquinius Superbus" throws some violent hardcore into the mix on what is already a potent tune.
Grooves and heavy riffs...that's the formula, and it works yet again for the mighty Corrosion of Conformity. Be prepared to have these songs stick in your brain and refuse to be let out, as the air guitar takes command and thy head bangs and bangs again. Crack open a cold one and enjoy the hell out of this one!
Track Listing
1. Brand New Sleep
2. Elphyn
3. Denmark Vesey
4. The Nectar
5. Interlude
6. On Your Way
7. Trucker
8. The Hanged Man
9. Tarquinius Superbus
10. Who You Need To Blame
11. The Nectar Reprised
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