Corrosion of Conformity

(Candlelight)

The one constant in the life of North Carolina juggernaut Corrosion of Conformity has been change, with four different lead singers and an exploratory path through the forest of heavy rock. The band’s latest represents a shift backward, reverting to the lineup of its 1985 punk/metal crossover classic Animosity. Bassist Mike Dean may not have the monster vocal chops of immediate predecessor Pepper Keenan, but he’s forceful enough to cut through the firestorm whipped up by guitarist Woody Weatherman (the only consistent member during the past 30 years) and drummer Reed Mullins. “Leeches” and “The Doom” lean more toward COC’s latter-day Southern stoner metalwork, but burners “The Moneychangers,” “Rat City,” and “Psychic Vampire” hint at hardcore/metal dynamics of old. The thundering “What You Despise Is What You’ve Become” splits the difference, wrapping COC’s past and future riffology in one quake. (Wed., 12:30am, Dirty Dog Bar)

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This article appears in March 16 • 2012.

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Michael Toland started writing about music in 1988 on the Gulf Coast, moved to Austin in early 1991, and has inflicted bylines upon the corporeal and digital pages of Pop Culture Press, The Big Takeover, Blurt, Amplifier, Austin.citysearch, the Austin American Statesman, Goldmine, Sleazegrinder, Rock & Roll Globe, High Bias, FHT Music Notes, and, since 2011, The Austin Chronicle.