Recorded April 20, 2001, in Detroit, MI, this CD is the first live album by
COC (also known as
Corrosion of Conformity). Although the group began with strong
punk leanings, indeed they were one of the first groups to merge
punk and
metal, the selections on this album eschew the material from that era. Instead all of the songs presented here are from the later, more metallic era. Indeed, there is nothing here that comes from any album older than 1991's
Blind. The group (
Pepper Keenan on guitar and vocals;
Woody Weatherman on guitar and vocals;
Mike Dean on bass, keys and vocals; and
Jimmy Bower on drums) do serve up a solid helping of their flavor of
metal, though.
COC's particular style is strongly influenced by
Black Sabbath. In fact, there is at least one full-on musical nod to that group here in the form of a direct musical quote from
Sabbath's self-titled disc.
COC add to that a
Southern rock sort of texture, no doubt owing to their North Carolina roots. They also show leanings to such groups as
Rob Zombie and
Led Zeppelin, and they manage to infuse the entire package with a real
jam band sort of feel. The actual recording presented here is a very nice balance, feeling at once somewhat raw and (appropriately enough) live, while still maintaining a very clean sound. In other words, the recording itself does what it should do: it makes you forget that this is a recording. It almost feels as if you are really in the audience. The disc should certainly please the fans of the later era of this band, and those who are fans of such groups as
Black Sabbath. The spunkier part of
COC's audience was most likely disappointed years ago, so this one probably will leave them behind as well. You can't please everyone, it would seem. ~ Gary Hill
