When I was in my formative years as a metalhead, Corrosion of Conformity was one of the earlier bands that struck a chord with me. This was in the early to mid 1990's and grunge was everywhere. It was nice to find a decent heavy metal band once in awhile. At the time, the band was forming a new identity. They had previously been a crossover/thrash metal band, but they were developing into a sludge/southern metal band. This was the Corrosion of Conformity I fell in love with. I did check out some of their crossover material, but did not care as much for it as their 1990's style. I should say that their Blind album was a favorite of mine as well, but to a lesser degree than Deliverance. Unfortunately, I did not care as much for later albums.
This is Corrosion of Conformity's first album since 2005 and Pepper Keenan, who may have been the driving force behind the band's sound on Deliverance, does not appear on this album. Instead, this is much more of a return to the band's roots. Their style contains significant hardcore influences, which never really disappeared on their other styles, but were on the backburner. There are still elements here and there of some of the other styles the band has flirted with in their long discography.
I found myself getting completely engrossed in this album. I think the frequent stylistic changes really come across well. Each song is different and interesting in its own way. I found this to be the band's best album since Deliverance. I still do not think it holds a candle to that album or its predecessor, but it is certainly better than anything that has come out since.
I enjoyed this album quite a bit and it is certainly a contender for the best reunion album this year.
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