Corrosion Of Conformity – Good God / Baad Man
Nuclear Blast Records/Shinigami Records
6,0/10,0
Brief:
Let’s face it: Much has gone down in the CORROSION OF CONFORMITY universe since their last album smacked us upside the head. Back in 2018, when No Cross No Crown dropped like a rock n’ roll atom bomb, the tried-and-true CORROSION OF CONFORMITY
lineup of Pepper Keenan (vocals/guitar), Woody Weatherman (guitar), Reed Mullin (drums), and Mike Dean (bass) was still going strong. Four brothers united in a decades-long history kicked off by a roving pack of teenage punks in Raleigh, NC, circa 1982. CORROSION OF CONFORMITY’s first four albums left a permanent mark on headbangers, longhairs, and street punks everywhere: Underground classics Eye For An Eye (1984) and Animosity (1985) followed by slightly more overground bangers Blind (1991) and Deliverance (1994). By the time CORROSION OF CONFORMITY carved off No Cross No Crown nearly a quarter century later, they were legends in their own time, revered by two generations of punk, metal, and rock fans.
Then tragedy struck: In January 2020, Reed Mullin left this earthly plane. It was a devastating blow, both personally and professionally. How do you replace a brother? You can’t. All you can do is soldier on in his memory. Which is that the rest of CORROSION OF CONFORMITY did – until COVID-19 shut down the globe. Then Mike Dean decided to go his own way. It was an amicable split, but it left Pepper and Woody to contemplate their next move.
They started writing. They didn’t stop, not for a long time. Matter of fact, they wrote an honest-to-God double album. “As we went on, we had such a crazy plethora of songs, it was almost like two different directions,” Pepper says. “We knew we had to split it into two different albums. Then we came up with this concept.” The concept happens to be the title of the record. It’s called Good God / Baad Man. “Our producer, Warren Riker, kept calling it Dark Side of the Doom,” Pepper says. “In my head, it’s a weird love letter to all things rock n’ roll. We used that for the freedom to go in different directions. Each album is its own tiny universe, has its own identity. Good God leans toward the heavier/pissed end of the spectrum. Baad Man is more on the throwdown rock scope. As we went along, it became clear which songs went on which album.” They brought in drummer Stanton Moore, who played on CORROSION OF CONFORMITY’s 2005 album, In the Arms of God. They brought in bassist Bobby “Rock” Landgraf, who did time with Pepper in New Orleans heavyweights Down when he wasn’t terrorizing the locals in his own band, Honky. “With a lot of these songs, we’re trying to make Reed Mullin proud,” Pepper says. “He was a badass, and a one-of-a-kind drummer. And the stakes were high.”
Produced by Grammy award winner Warren Riker (Fugees, Down, Cathedral) and featuring cover art by famed New Orleans artist Scott Guion, Good God / Baad Man was recorded at Blak Shak Studios in Riffissippi, USA, Dockside Studios in Maurice, Louisiana, and—get this—Bee Gee Barry Gibb’s home studio in Miami. The whole experience was a game changer—big time.”
[Edited Press Release]
Tracklist:
- Good God? / Final Dawn
- You Or Me
- Gimme Some Moore
- The Handler
- Bedouin’s Hand
- Run For Your Life
- Baad Man
- Lose Yourself
- Mandra Sonos
- Asleep On The Killing Floor
- Handcuff County
- Swallowing The Anchor
- Brickman
- Forever Amplified
Main Focus Tracks:
- You Or Me
- Run For Your Life
- Lose Yourself
Other Recommended Tracks:
- Good God? / Final Dawn
- The Handler
- Baad Man
Line-Up:
Pepper Keenan – guitar, vocals
Woody Weatherman – guitar
Stanton Moore – drums
Bobby Landgraf – bass
Comments:
While it is not the best work from the legendary Corrosion of Conformity, “Good God / Bad Man” still showcases the band’s strength and identity, delivering a solid stoner-driven sound but lacking innovation and boldness.
COMPRAR AGORA: SHINIGAMI RECORDS
Contacts:
Video:
Selected Discography:
Eye for an Eye – 1984
Animosity – 1985
Technocracy EP – 1987
Blind – 1991
Deliverance – 1994
Wiseblood – 1996
America’s Volume Dealer – 2000
In the Arms of God – 2005
Corrosion of Conformity – 2012
IX – 2014
No Cross No Crown – 2018
Good God / Baad Man – 2026
Photo credit: Danin Drahos