Make no mistake, Good God/Baad Man is a BEAST of a record from Corrosion Of Conformity. If you were in some way, shape or form left feeling somewhat underwhelmed when the quartet version of COC finally returned with 2018’s No Cross No Crown then their 11th full-length is here to make it right. Realistically, though, how can you not love everything this band does????
From start to looooooong finish, Good God/Baad Man rules. You know how some double records tend to meander and slow down and become a chore to get through? Not this one!
Opener “Good God Final Dawn” is easily one of the most BADASS tracks Corrosion Of Conformity has recorded to date whether as a trio, a quintet or as a quartet! It’s a massive kind of reintroduction yet intricate with this ethereal Lynyrd Skynyrd/The Allman Brothers meets Terry Reid opening twang until we get down to the RAWK. Good God/Baad Man Drummer Stanton Moore (Last heard on 2005’s In The Arms Of God with Nick Shabatura recently named the new COC drummer for upcoming shows and beyond) sounds monstrous as Pepper Keenan and Woody Weatherman belt out vicious riffs that just sound NASTY. In a good way!
Recent singles “You Or Me” and “Gimme Some Moore” follow next, sounding even more potent within the album context with the latter bringing some particularly gnarly Weatherman/Keenan riffage. “The Handler” is a mover and shaker, hearkening back to the mid-’90’s iteration of the band with a sound that’d easily fit within Deliverance or Wiseblood and “Bedouin’s Hand” is a mystical/magical/spiritual instrumental that nicely segues into Disc 1 closer “Run For Your Life” which gets back into the Skynyrd/Allman Bros sound for a humongous nine minute and change opus that takes all of COC’s long line of previous monumental album enders and tops ’em all!
Disc 2 opens with “Baad Man”, a funky number that let’s the guitars do the talking with Keenan channeling Dr. John in this Bluesy ditty. “Lose Yourself” is an instant iconic COC classic with wailing guitars, a steady backbeat/rythmic exchange between bassist Bobby Landgraf and Moore with Keenan’s soulful delivery the cherry on top while “Mandra Sonos” is another instrumental serving as a sonic palette cleanser that also manages to introduce some new aural textures into the storied song catalog of COC.
Then there’s “Asleep On The Killing Floor”, a raucous rabble rouser of revelatory Rawk with Keenan splitting time between that low vocal register and a howl, Moore relentlessly bashing away, Landgraf’s bass thumping in another dimension and the shreds from Keenan and Weatherman keeping the pace… but not the peace. “Handcuff County” is another NOLA-infused jam as is “Swallowing The Anchor”, filled with a percussive rumble that has airs of Sly and the Family Stone, John Lee Hooker and more Blues Rawk greats but heavier.
“Brickman” exists in that same plane of existence as many a legendary COC slow jam (Think “Redemption City” or “13 Angels”) and then “Forever Amplified” pounces, closing out Disc 2 and the whole of Good God/Baad Man in a ferocious way with the kind of song that would work as both an album/show opener or closer. Armed with that build up, the anticipation and that crushing kind of riff outro all accented by the mighty vocal prowess of Moore’s Galactic band mate Anjelika “Jelly” Joseph who accompanies Keenan’s always vibrant voice and you have the coda on a pretty perfect fuckin’ album.
Good God/Baad Man is out now through Nuclear Blast and you can find the version that works best for you by heading here. For more from COC, including all the dates on their upcoming co-headline and headlining runs (Like the co-headliner with Clutch with JD Pinkus as support on April 11th at Worcester’s Palladium), hit the information superhighway and check out the socials located here, here or here.