Corrosion of Conformity - albums

Corrosion of Conformity - concerts

Blind

This is an all-out attack against the Establishment, referred to as "They" in this album. And if you pay attention to the lyrics, CoC seem to succeed in their attack, in your mind at least, and that's all that counts. It isn't like the lyrics are overly intelligent---it just is said very well, and with the right amount of venom thrown. And the music is reasonably self-indulgent, bordering on the lines of good old rock 'n' roll to high strength industrial. My favourite tracks are Dance of the Dead, and Vote with a Bullet. 
"The view they once knew made our nooses too tight. 
This justice in swine, this devil in god. 
So god bless my soul---I've got total control 
and the crosshairs lined up dead in my sight... 
I'm voting with a bullet!"
                        --Corrosion of Conformity

Deliverance

CoC do not do what the album title promises. I am not sure what has happened to them, but it is hard to believe that this is the same group that did songs like Dance of the Dead or Vote with a Bullet. I had not heard the albums previous to Blind before reviewing this one. This album is in the same spirit as the previous one, but lacks the flesh. I have listened to it five times now and it has barely grown on me (contrast this to the me falling in love with the first listen of Ween's new one). It is as though all the teeth and fangs have been replaced by cotton swabs. The "they" that is referred to no longer sound ominous or Orwellian---it simply sounds indifferent. If you are a big CoC fan, I'd say it's worth getting. It does have some high spots (Señor Limpio and the title track come to mind) and maybe this is one of those where it grows on you---one can only hope!). If you are interested in finding out what CoC is all about, skip this one and get one of the older albums instead.

Music ram-blings || Ram Samudrala || me@ram.org