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Corrosion Of Conformity – “No Cross No Crown” [Album Review]

No Cross No Crown is an album I feel is the very best album Corrosion Of Conformity has EVER released. I’ll even go so far as to say No Cross No Crown will go down as one of the best metal albums in 2018.

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“Can You Stand The Test Of Time?”

This is merely one of the lines that jumped out at me while repeatedly enjoying the advance of No Cross No Crown, an album I feel is the very best album Corrosion Of Conformity has EVER released. I’ll even go so far as to say No Cross No Crown will go down as one of the best metal albums in 2018. It feels a bit stupid even writing this before the calendar year has even started, but God damn it, No Cross No Crown is the real deal – fifteen wonderful songs that span under an hour – taking everything that was awesome about fan-favorite COC albums like Wiseblood and Deliverance and doubling-down on everything. Standing the test of time is something Corrosion Of Conformity have zero problem achieving – they have surpassed the test of time with No Cross No Crown.

The musicality on No Cross No Crown is superb. Pepper sounds so bloody good in Corrosion Of Conformity – more now than before. No Cross No Crown rocks and it rolls. It moves and it grooves. There are heavy riffs, grinding vocals, sublime drumming and thundering bass-lines. The album is peppered with lovely little musical interludes, dividing up the heavier riffage with some delicate material, much like the finest Black Sabbath albums.

Boasting accolades like this will come at a cost, I know. I’ll surely piss off some of the COC puritans out there calling this album the band’s best. Just know this: I’m one of the puritans. My pre-order went in for No Cross No Crown the day it went live on Nuclear Blast‘s website. I’m a die-hard fan of Blind, Deliverance, and Wiseblood. I was hoping for something decent from this new album. I hoped to hear it and say something like “Well good, it doesn’t suck. There were a few good songs in there.” No Cross No Crown is so much more than this. I quite literally finished my first play of the album, couldn’t believe how good what I’d just heard was, and then put the album back on again. It’s been on repeat since the middle of last week when I was extended a digital advance to preview.

When the word broke that Pepper Keenan reconnected with the core Corrosion Of Conformity trio of Woody Weatherman, Mike Dean, and Reed Mullin for a run of live shows, fans flocked to the venues to see them live in 2015. These shows were truly amazing. The band played some deep cuts together live for fans utterly thirsty to hear them perform as a four-piece unit one last time. When news of new studio material broke, a feeling of cautious optimism for the prospect of new material went out in waves amongst the legion of stoner-rock fans around the globe.

A month from now, Corrosion of Conformity will be out on the road with Black Label Society, EyeHateGod, and Red Fang when the release of this beast of an album happens on January 12th, 2018. They can safely road-test a few new tracks and service some back-catalog nuggets sandwiched in between EyeHateGod/Red Fang and Black Label Society performances. It shall be an epic tour. If any COC fans are sitting on the fence for these shows, get your stubs. “The Luddite,” “Cast The First Stone,” “Wolf Named Crow,” The Luddite,” “Forgive Me,” “E.L.M.,” “No Cross No Crown,” “A Quest To Believe (A Call To The Void),” and “Son And Daughter” are all totally going to be on your list of songs you want to hear the band play live.

No Cross No Crown is so good it should really be toured in full, played from top to bottom as a complete movement of music. Maybe when they take this out on a headlining tour?

No Cross No Crown Track Listing:

01. Novus Deus 1:29
02. The Luddite 4:39
03. Cast The First Stone 3:43
04. No Cross 1:19
05. Wolf Named Crow 5:12
06. Little Man 4:31
07. Matre’s Diem 1:27
08. Forgive Me 4:07
09. Nothing Left To Say 6:22
10. Sacred Isolation 1:22
11. Old Disaster 4:44
12. E.L.M. 4:02
13. No Cross No Crown 3:55
14. A Quest To Believe (A Call To The Void) 6:02
15. Son And Daughter 4:53

Run Time: 57:47
Release Date: January 12, 2018

Get a taste for the new album with the single “Wolf Named Crow”.

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