Corrosion of Conformity — In the Arms of God

North Carolina’s Corrosion of Conformity is back in a big way, after the slick sounding America's Volume Dealer they could have really gone one of two ways. Thankfully they chose the right path.  Somebody must have lit a fire under Pepper and Woodroe’s (yes he calls himself Woodroe now) ass, because from front to back this is some pretty biting and fierce stuff, sure to have the stoners taking off the headphones and wiping the sleep out of their eyes before they press play again. .

A few questionable decisions by the band had me more than a little confused and worried about how this album was going to turn out.  First off was the departure of longtime skinsman Reed Mullin, the parting I have been told was amicable, but the replacement left me seriously confused?  Stanton Moore was brought in as the new man behind the kit, you know kids Stanton Moore, from that New Orleans funky/jazz outfit Galactic, yes the perfect guy for a band whose roots were in hardcore before they turned into a sludgy, sabbathy blues-based metal band that occasionally dabbled with country music.  But no reason to shatter your bongs and cut your hair, this guy seriously smokes.  I mean I love ya Reed and I wish you well, but wow this guy is fantastic.  Its turned the dynamics of the band completely upside down, everything seems more unpredictable, off kilter and out of place, leaving you thinking that the pieces are not meshing properly, the very last minute of Already Gone and the first 2 minutes of In the Arms of God are perfect examples that left me amazed and dumbfounded, but after a couple of listens its starts to click very, very well.

Bringing back John Custer to produce had me worried.  America's Volume Dealer was as slick as a Blink 182 record, not to mention the songs for the most part were pretty weak.  Again my fears were unfounded as aside from co-writing 3 of the best songs, he coaxed some seriously huge guitar tones straight from Black Sabbath Volume IV, providing enough clarity and creating the needed space to keep the mix from sounding too muddy.  Everything feels to be perfectly in its place and sounds much more organic this time around.  The processing on Keenans voice is interesting, the hammond swells, the odd sound effects and well placed sample keep the album moving very nicely in subtly innovative ways.  Again I was wrong; the guy did a great job.

The songs here are hard to pigeon hole, as the dynamics are shifting constantly, Keenan’s vocals are improving with each release getting more confident and diverse in his delivery and spewing pure anger in more than a few numbers here, it sounds to me that he is getting better at harnessing his emotions and improving his somewhat limited range, almost sounding like the prince of darkness himself circa 1974 on The Backslider.  Mike Dean’s bass lines are solid, his interplay with Moore is tight, some of his breakdowns are groovy as hell and his fills remind me at times of that old bloke Geezer Butler.  Weatherman and Keenan typically place the heavy stuff in its proper places, playing some nice harmonies, some ripping solo’s, and somehow always seeming to create some of the best breakdown sections I can recall, finding something interesting and monstrously heavy, grooving the hell out of it, yet never seeming to take things to far as to make it stale and mind you this is usually in the middle of an already great song.  The bands songwriting skills get sharper as the disk continues, and the band really shines on the slow and ominous Rise River Rise, the eerie Crown of Thorns, before pummeling you to death with In the Arms of God,  and flat out jamming on everything in between.  This album was a pleasant surprise that seems to get better with each and every listen.  This album already deserves a spot on my top 10 of 2005.  GET IT NOW !!!