This past weekend, Corrosion of Conformity released its latest album, Good God/Baad Man. The band’s 11th album, it was released via Nuclear Blast Records just as with its predecessor, No Cross, No Crown (2018). The record is a mostly successful new offering from the veteran hard rock act. That is due in no small part to its general presentation, which will be discussed shortly. The musical arrangements featured across this presentation add their own engagement and entertainment. The lyrical themes that accompany the record’s musical arrangements put the final touch to the whole. Each item noted is important in its own way to the whole of this record. All things considered they make Good God / Baad Man another interesting addition to Corrosion of Conformity’s expansive catalog.
Good God / Baad Man, the latest album from Corrosion of Conformity, is another mostly positive offering from the veteran hard rock act. The record’s interest comes in part through its general presentation. For those who may not know, while the record is being marketed as one album, it is in fact two separate albums. According to information in a news release promoting the album’s release, front man Pepper Keenan is quoted as explaining that because the band wrote so much material for the record following the album’s predecessor that “We knew we had to split it into two different albums.” Keenan added, “Each album is its own tiny universe, has its own identity. Good God leans toward the heavier/pissed end of the spectrum. Baad Man is more on the throwdown rock scope. As we went along, it became clear which songs went on which album.” In other words, audiences get two distinctly different albums from COC this time out for the price of one; two albums with two distinctly separate sounds and styles. Understanding where those different sounds and styles came from only makes for even more appreciation for said works.
Staying on that matter of the record’s sounds and styles, audiences who actively take in each record will be able to clearly hear each. The heaviness from the first album (which consists of the record’s first six tracks) hits right from the outset in ‘Good God Final Dawn.’ The fuzz from the guitars and the richness in the sound immediately conjures thoughts of works featured in the band’s older records. That heavy/stoner metal approach is something that established audiences are sure to appreciate. The heaviness carries on from there right to the end of the album’s 31-minute run time, with sounds that at points could even be compared to more recent works from the likes of Metallica. That overall approach taken to the songs here makes for more than enough reason for audiences to take in these songs.
The songs that make up the presentation’s “second” album (eight in all) exemplify throughout, the noted straight forward rock sound that Keene noted. ‘Baad Man’ immediately presents itself as a great, blues based garage rock composition that is just as infectious as the rest of the album’s entries. ‘Lose Yourself’ brings back the fuzzed stoner rock approach taken in much of the record’s “first album” while giving the song an overall modern rock approach that is its own infectious work a la works from Monster Magnet. ‘Mandra Sonos,’ the record’s third entry, clocks in at just over a minute long and clearly changes things up. From the simple acoustic composition that makes up the majority of its body to the heavier portion in the final bars, this instrumental track is its own unique addition to the record that holds its own easily among its counterparts. The band’s familiar blues-based stoner rock styling comes through loud and clear in the remainder of the record, each composition being its own unique presentation even with that familiar stylistic approach. It is the minute details of each work that make them stand on their own merits. Case in point are ‘Brickman,’ the record’s penultimate entry and ‘Forever Amplified,’ the record’s closer. The prior is a deep, subdued composition, almost melancholy in its mood. The latter is a rich, heavy work whose slow burn approach ensures listeners’ engagement and entertainment in its own right. Between this pair of works, the rest of the record’s songs and everything presented in the presentation’s “first album,” the whole makes Good God / Baad Man’s musical body even more reason for audiences to take in the album.
Putting the final touch to Good God / Baad Man is the album’s lyrical contents. The lyrical themes featured throughout the album are somewhat diverse and are also relatively familiar and accessible. Case in point is the song, ‘Lose Yourself.’ According to Keenan, this song, lyrically, is “kind of about not taking life too seriously. If things are getting in the way, just get away for a while, lose yourself, get your head straight.”
Keenan’s statement is made clear as he sings, “I am you/You are me/Livin’ life just like we wanna be/Because the way we ran/had us on the run/Full blast ahead/Won’t ever be unsung/We got nowhere else to roam/We’re a million miles from home/Lose yourself.” In other words, “we are doing us. We are making the most of things, away from life’s negativities.” It is a wonderful , uplifting song that everyone needs to hear and that is sure to inspire those who take in this song.
‘Gimme Some More,’ which is featured in the “first album,” is another self-empowerment type of song. This is inferred as Keenan sings, “Don’t care what you do/Never cared what you say/More is what I need/***damn blessings indeed/When your life is short/And when your life is speed/You can have all you want, old lady/You got nothing I need/Struggle is worth the fight/Leather, chains and spikes.” The song’s third and final verse drives home that message of empowerment as Keenan sings, “This is how the story ends/The boy who lost is the boy who wins/You know you can’t live twice/Burn like hell/Roll the devil’s dice/Abandon all your hope/You better f*****’ aim for broke/Your last chance is gone/Better pissed off than to be pissed on/Struggle is worth the fight/Leather, chains and spikes/The future/It don’t look bright/Leather, chains and spikes/You’re just another overdose/Gimme some more.” That line, “Better pissed off than to be pissed on,” is important. That is because as Rage Against the Machine front man Zach de la Rocha once said, “Anger is a gift.” If you are pissed off, then you are empowered. To be pissed on is to be people’s welcome mat. Making the most of life, “the struggle is worth the fight,” is that anthemic call. Let yourself be angry. Let yourself be empowered and not let people walk all over you. Be you. It comes across, as noted, as that empowerment message, a familiar message of being proud of oneself. To that end, this is another lyrical theme that shows the importance and strength of this album’s lyrical content.
‘Baad Man,’ which opens the “second album,” is yet one more song whose lyrical theme is sure to resonate with audiences. As Keenan stated of the song, “It’s about a guy who thinks he’s a badass, but he really ain’t.” Everyone knows someone like that and has known someone like that. As a matter of fact, not to get too political but the convicted felon in the White House is one of those people.
Keenan sings of this person, “He gonna get a lil’ wicked/But he don’t want the truth/Here comes the man/With the fists on fire/I think they about to turn him loose.” Again, this certainly sounds so much like the narcissist in the White House, that grifter in charge. Given, it is a generalized statement herein but there is not denying it certainly applies to him. That is because he is one of those personality types of whom Keenan sings here. To that end, it is yet one more key addition to the overall album’s lyrical body. When it and the other lyrical content examined here is considered along with the rest of the album’s lyrical content, that whole joins with the record’s overall musical content to make the whole a presentation that will positively impact audiences from beginning to end. It and the record’s general presentation work collectively to make the record in whole a presentation that Corrosion of Conformity fans will appreciate and that is another welcome addition to this year’s field of new hard rock and metal albums.
Good God / Baad Man, the latest album from Corrosion of Conformity, is another solid new offering from the veteran hard rock band. It is a presentation that audiences established and new alike will appreciate. This is proven in part through the record’s general presentation, which essentially offers audiences two albums for the price of one. The familiar musical styles and sounds presented throughout the album add to the engagement and entertainment, as will the familiar and accessible lyrical themes presented from beginning to end. Each item examined is important in its own way to the whole of the album’s presentation. All things considered they make Good God / Baad Man one more welcome addition to this year’s already crowded field of notable new hard rock and metal albums.
Good God / Baad Man is available now. More information on the album is available along with all of Corrosion of Conformity’s latest news at:
Website: https://coc.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/corrosionofconformity
Twitter: https://twitter.com/coccabal
PHOTO CREDIT: Corrosion of Conformity Promotional Photo by Danin Drahos and Good God / Baad Man Album Art Courtesy Nuclear Blast Records- All Rights Reserved.