Corrosion Of Conformity – “IX” [Album Review]

For their ninth studio album, appropriately titled IX, the legendary masters of Southern-tinged doom, Corrosion Of Conformity, have once again dished out a solid slab of groove-inspired, down-tuned sludge. This is the band’s second outing as a trio, and while I am sure some of the metal purists out there will have issues with the continued absence of vocalist Pepper Keenan, I really think the trio, led by bassist/vocalist Mike Dean, really nails IX leaving very little to be desired.

“Brand New Sleep,” kicks off the sludge fest with a down and dirty, psychedelic 70’s-inspired riff that gradually builds into a faster, mid-paced tune complete with an extended, blistering guitar solo. The majority of the album follows suit hammering the listener with a combination of psychedelic fuzziness and classic old-school metal that is in every way, totally enjoyable.

There are a couple of tracks that I think fans of the band’s punk roots are going to totally dig (see “Tarquinius Superbus” and “The “Nectar”); both show the band tossing a nod back to their humble punk origins. Bottom line, IX is one of the band’s better releases and I feel it is a fantastic compliment to this group’s growing library of material.

Track Listing:

01. Brand New Sleep
02. Elphyn
03. Denmark Vesley
04. The Nectar
05. Interlude
06. On Your Way
07. Trucker
08. The Hanged Man
09. Tarquinius Superbus
10. Who You Need To Blame
11. The Nectar Reprised

Run Time: 42:19
Release Date: July 1, 2014

Check out the album ‘IX’