2014 is turning into a bit of a good year for veteran acts to produce work that is both true to their classic sound, and relevant to today; check out crushing new releases from the likes of Crowbar, Prong or Eyehategod reviewed on these very pages for examples of what I’m talking about (Metallica could always reverse that trend by cranking out another originality black hole of an album, but at their rate of release, that’s more likely to flop out in 2015 or later). Freshly released into the lists is Corrosion of Conformity’s “IX”, an album that has been written, recorded and released in the midst of one of the band’s heaviest touring schedules in years, playing a seemingly non stop rota of club and festival shows including a stripped back (not even a banner) and superlative set at Hammerfest.
Those of you are hoping for a dash of Pepper, you’ll need to look elsewhere to the new Down material, this is the classic CoC line-up of Mike Dean, Reed Mullin, and Jeff Lebowski lookalike Woody Weatherman, continuing on from their resurgence with eponymous 2012 LP, and from note one it just oozes class. ‘Brand New Sleep’ starts with Woody drawing out a down-tuned sustain, before the amps are cranked up to dirty riff factor five, the laid back guitar creep matching Mike Dean’s tormented vocals and thundering bass, all backed up by the Mullin drum blast. Throw into the mix mid song a timeless blues infused solo and right away it is apparent this band does not need to be a four piece to bring the noise. ‘Elphyn’ follows on and it is clear that it is not just a liking for the SG guitar that Woody shares with the great Tony Iommi as the amps are cranked firmly to ‘Volume IV’; let’s face it, ‘Elphyn’ is a better Sabbath track then any that appeared on ’13’. Controversial statement to some I know, but remember this review is just my opinion folks. If that weren’t enough of a treat, ‘Denmark Vesey’ has the band blasting back to their crossover roots, a two minute flurry of punk energy that bands half their age couldn’t hope to match, this same ‘Technocracy’ era blast filling the first half of ‘The Nectar’, the song that was pre-released into the world as a taster for the album. Halfway through the track the pace is reined in, and there is more then a taste of stoner thrown in. CoC have so often managed to mix differing tempos into one song, the varied elements always being disparate, but not jarring.
This mix of styles is nowhere more apparent then in ‘Trucker’, a number that in an album of stand out tracks manages to rise above the rest. Starting with a distinctly laid back instrumental sound, the track then breaks into a classic hard rock gallop that manages to be both timeless whilst harking back on classic seventies hard rock, all before the extended outro allows Woody to indulge in some guitar heroics.
After a hiatus of some seven years, Corrosion of of Conformity have now released a second superlative album in two years, as well as their free to download ‘Megalodon’ EP via ScionAV ; this resurgent fire and passion to play and record is matched by the quality of the material. Come the end of year Ave Noctum gets the writers to produce a top ten list, and I’d find it bloody hard to believe ‘IX’ won’t be in my selection.
(8.5/10 Spenny)
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