Corrosion Of Conformity - Corrosion Of Conformity (2012)

After the unfinished tour in support of the fabulous "In The Arms Of God, until about late 2009, COC remained, in a state of unofficial hiatus, mostly due to Pepper's growing role in Down, and their heavy touring schedule. That has to be the main reason, tempting Woody and Mike to reform the original, hardcore-era's line-up around the same time. In the beginning, it was just a couple of gigs -- same as the temporary reform of the "Blind"-era -- but later it became more serious as Down transformed from just a sideproject to Philip's main band. And so now comes in 2012, seven years after the release of "In The Arms Of God", something which I must admit to be simply unbearable for every fan as it's been for me, a selftitled release featuring the same hardcore line-up, though the record itself is anything but punk rock. With Woody as the main composer, the sound of "Corrosion Of Conformity" drifts from"Wiseblood" to "Blind", and has a general tendency to delve below the metallic tempo of the two records, not to move in a southern rock direction, like "Albatross", but to explore the slow-motion, free rock of post-84 Black Flag, Saint Vitus.