IN REVIEW: Corrosion of Conformity - "No Cross No Crown"

Though their origins as a thrashy punk band are well known and the original trio of Mike Dean, Woody Weatherman and Reed Mullin put out a pair of well-received albums earlier this decade, for many the quintessential Corrosion of Conformity line-up includes Pepper Keenan, who joined the band in 1989 and was responsible for fleshing out the group's sound during their ascent to popularity. So, as serviceable as the previous two records were, No Cross No Crown features Keenan back in the fold for the first time since 2005's In the Arms of God; not to downplay the other members, but in some minds that makes this C.O.C.'s first true record in over thirteen years.

Fans of the sludgy, meaty style they introduced on their 1994 breakthrough Deliverance will find plenty to sink their teeth into on No Cross No Crown, as its ambitions are clearly rooted in this aesthetic. That's what Pepper brings to the table, and there's a full spread of heavy riffs and thick grooves on display here. Singles The Luddite and Cast the First Stone hearken back to that mid-90's heyday while boasting a healthy dose of speed and velocity to get the record off to a nice, aggressive start. Grooves are piled on a little heavier on Wolf Named Crow and Little Man. The next interlude leads to perhaps the album's most metallic track in Forgive Me, which features some fleeter fretwork and a higher BPM.

By this point, we're due for a breather, but the soaring ballad Nothing Left To Say doesn't wallow too long before punching through with another riff-filled chorus (and its solos are things of beauty). The back section of the record does somewhat court with monotony, as Old Disaster and E.L.M. tread the same paths as earlier tracks with slight variations in approach and slight decrease in overall quality; the title track acts as a midway punctuation toward the end, but even it just feels like another interlude except twice as long. To be clear, these aren't bad songs, they just get tasked with doing the same job as the first half of the record and don't do it quite as well. Business does pick up on the home stretch, though, and penultimate song A Quest to Believe (A Call to the Void) finds the band at their doomiest and stormiest. Closing track Son and Daughter, meanwhile, boasts a looser feel, sticky riff and squealing guitars to bring it all home in gloriously loud style.

The occasional also-ran song notwithstanding (and, let's be honest here, this whole track list consists of callbacks to previous C.O.C. glories anyway), No Cross No Crown will be a most welcome return to a good percentage of fans; as fine as those previous two records were, with Pepper and his thicker tones back on board this one just feels more complete to me.

January 12, 2018 • Nuclear Blast
Highlights The Luddite • Cast the First Stone • Nothing Left to Say