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Corrosion Of Conformity first flew into my radar via MTV’s flagship Heavy Metal show Headbangers Ball. I remember being blown away by the blistering Vote With A Bullet, and I picked up the album Blind shortly afterwards. That album was on heavy rotation, and when Deliverance dropped in 1994, I was fully along for the dirty, sweaty, Skynyrd-soaked ride. Now, they are back with the double album Good God / Baad Man.

Corrosion Of Conformity – Good God / Baad Man

Release Date: 3 April 2026

Words: Kenny Kendrick

Corrosion Of Conformity formed in 1982 and were initially a hardcore punk band. Their sound evolved into a blues-tinged, Heavy Metal behemoth, and they enjoyed considerable success in the ’90s. Bands such as Metallica gave them their seal of approval, and James Hetfield even guested on their 1996 album Wiseblood. 

The band went through line-up changes and had periods of hiatus while main man Pepper Keenan recorded and toured with the supergroup Down. They continued without Pepper until 2015, when the classic line-up of Pepper Keenan, Woody Weatherman, Mike Dean, and Reed Mullin reformed to perform together. 

Unfortunately, founding drummer Reed Mullin passed away in 2020. This proved to be a devastating blow, but the band vowed to soldier on in his memory. Pepper and Woody started writing during Covid, and they soon realised that they had enough songs for a double album. 

“As we went on,” Pepper explains, “we had such a crazy plethora of songs, it was almost like two different directions, we knew we had to split it into two different albums. Then we came up with this concept.”

The concept was based on the title of the album, as Pepper further explains. “Our producer, Warren Riker, kept calling it Dark Side Of The Doom. In my head, it’s a weird love letter to all things rock ‘n’ roll. We used that for the freedom to go in different directions. Each album is its own tiny universe and 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.”

Drummer Stanton Moore and bassist Bobby ‘Rock’ Landgraf were drafted in for the recording of the album. I have to say that Moore’s performance is inspired. His stamp is all over the album, and Reed Mullin would appreciate the effort that Moore has put in to honour his playing.

The drum sound is huge. Hats off to Moore, he has done a superb job [Chef’s kiss]. However, just to add more of a twist, Nick Shabatura has now replaced Moore as COC’s drummer. 

Both albums have a different story to tell with regard to sound and feel. Album one has more of a Deliverance/Wiseblood familiar feel. Album two has more of a funkier, straight-ahead blues-tinged rock ‘n’ roll vibe. 

Album one opens with Good God?/Final Dawn. The track begins with a floating, Eastern kind of feel, before we get a blistering attack on the ears. Moore is flying around the kit with thirty-second notes that Dave Lombardo would approve of. Keenan snarls and growls. The riffs are mighty, and it is a fantastic introduction to the album.

You Or Me provides us with an atmospheric, punchy number with the band firing on all cylinders. This stuff is going to sound so good in a live setting. The album’s first single, Gimme Some Moore (see what they did there?), is one of my favourites from the album, with punk energy, chugging riffs, and classic COC energy. Fantastic! It even boasts backing vocals from none other than Al Jourgensen of Ministry. 

Album one concludes with a nine-minute epic in Run For Your Life, a slow-burning, stoner anthem. This track in particular took me back to those heady days of the ’90s. Ah, when life seemed so much simpler.

Album two kicks off with Baad Man. I will let Pepper explain what the track is about. “It’s a weird ’70s rock stomper thing,” he says. “It’s about a guy who thinks he’s a badass, but he really ain’t.” I was nodding along all the way through. It has great, funky-ass energy.

Lose Yourself begins with something that sounds like it is from an ’80s TV show, before we get another foot-stomping, funkadelic top tune. 

Asleep On The Killing Floor is an absolute barnstormer, dripping with a greasy, fuck you attitude. Handcuff County is a ZZ Top inspired blues jam. The band have apparently been listening to a lot of That Little Ol’ Band from Texas through Covid, and it certainly manifests here.

The album concludes with another spectacular tune, Forever Amplified. It features guest vocals from Anjelika ‘Jelly’ Joseph of the New Orleans jazz-funk band Galactic. She brings an almost Janis Joplin aura to the song and she can certainly belt it out.

The stellar production from Warren Riker really helps to propel the albums. Everything sounds monstrous, but it manages to hold on to that ’70s vibe that Corrosion Of Conformity does so well.

Good Man/Baad Man is an impressive return to form. If you loved the band’s output in the ’90s, you will absolutely love this.

Corrosion Of Conformity release Good God / Baad Man on 3 April 2026 via Nuclear Blast. Pre-orders are available from coccabal.bfan.link/ggbmlp. In June, the band will head to Europe and the United Kingdom for another run of live shows. The band also play Download in June. Full details below.

Corrosion Of Confromity – European Dates

05/6/2026 Mystic Festival – Gdansk, PL
07/2026 South of Heaven Festival – Maastricht, NL
12/6/2026 Download Festival – Derby, UK
14/6/2026 Fabrikclub – Cagliari, IT
16/6/2026 Razzmatazz 2 – Barcelona, ES
17/6/2026 Mon – Madrid, ES
18/6/2026 Azkena Rock Festival Vitoria – Gasteiz, ES
20/6/2026 Graspop Festival – Dessel, BE
21/6/2026 Hellfest – Clisson, FR
01/8/2026 Wacken Festival – Wacken, DE
07/8/2026 Brutal Assault Festival – Jaromer, CZ
09/8/2026 PALP Festival – Brusson, CH

The post Corrosion Of Conformity – Good God / Baad Man A Thunderous Return first appeared on MetalTalk – Heavy Metal News, Reviews and Interviews.

Cass McCombs recently kicked off his tour to bring last year’s Interior Live Oak to the stage. In New York, he was introduced by comedian Adam Friedland, who called him “the greatest singer-songwriter in the world.” Now he’s announcing a split 7″ with Hand Habits, who’s opening for him at some of the upcoming shows.…

The post Cass McCombs & Hand Habits Announce Split 7”: Hear “Seeing The Elephant” appeared first on Stereogum.

Jet Jaguar are one of their country’s few old school heavy metal bands, but they’re not planning on staying

Jet Jaguar are one of their country’s few old school heavy metal bands, but they’re not planning on staying

Finland’s Bronze Hall is a project I’ve quickly become a big fan of since last year’s Honor & Steel dropped seemingly out of nowhere. The particular strain of epic black metal conjured by lone member Yöpyöveli–someone who is quickly building a respectable catalogue of material by way of Forgotten Vale and Houre, a project with Magus Olaus of the delightfully medieval meloblack outfit Kaikkivaltias–pulls from the playbooks of Bathory and Falkenbach without an ounce of shame or remorse, and the project is all the better for it. Honor & Steel was an excellent first step for Bronze Hall, and last month, they released a new offering, Embers of the Dawn.

Embers is similar to Honor in several ways, but this isn’t a bad thing; Bronze Hall’s style doesn’t necessarily leave you hoping for stylistic evolution or significant musical progression. It’s the optimal soundtrack for engaging in “Hell yeah, brother” activities. As was the case with Honor, Embers brings another six tracks clocking in at a slightly longer 42 minutes of Quorthon worship; Quorship, if you will.

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Where Embers shines is its opening song and second half. “Embers of Remembrance” is a great kickoff track with a slow acoustic build that doesn’t go too long before reminding you that you’ve entered the Bronze fucking Hall. The leads are memorable and creative, the vocals are pissed, and the riffs are mean–the whole track proves that Yöpyöveli’s Bach, Bath, & Beyond approach to songwriting comes naturally to him. Still, starting your record with a nine-minute track can be dicey, but it’s executed quite well here. Also, I hope you’re a fan of Bathory’s Hammerheart, because Embers of the Dawn is essentially a love letter to that record. 

The following tracks, “Call of Steel” and “Night’s Black Wings,” are great in their own right, but they are unfortunately overshadowed by the songs surrounding them. To be clear, they aren’t bad whatsoever; they just don’t hit the same massive high as “Embers of Remembrance” or Embers of the Dawn’s second half. Still, there’s plenty to love about them. The viking horn intro to “Call of Steel” that transitions to the first full band section with a huge sword unsheathing is fucking badass, and the main riff that comes back several times throughout is an earworm. Something that happens with “Call of Steel” as well as “Night’s Black Wings” is that the riffs in the middle of the songs don’t grab me as much, but I’m still having a good time. Still, the solo at around 5:10 and the closing riff at around 6:00 immediately draw my attention again, with the latter being a contender for one of my favorite riffs across the whole record.

That being said, the main riff in “Ravaging Flames” is one of the best on the entire album and signals that Embers is going to pull out all the stops from this point forward. The Bathory influence shines especially bright on this track, but the key here is that Yöpyöveli never lets that cloud his greater vision. Sure, this track may take a couple cues from “A Fine Day to Die,” but it maintains its own identity and purpose. The tempo and pacing song delivers something more brooding and sinister than you would expect from Quorthon, and even though the way the melodies and vocal phrasing are presented certainly harken back to Blood Fire Death, it feels more like an honorable nod to those who paved the way while treading one’s own path, rather than an attempt to pantomime the past with a new coat of paint. This sentiment echoes throughout the rest of Embers.

“In Northern Twilight” is an absolute heater that uses the Falkenbach and viking-era Bathory playbook convincingly. The synths, the harmonized guitars, the leads, and the pacing, trading speed for heaviness, had me wishing I could raise a tankard of ale and yell “SKÅL” to the souls in Valhalla. The acoustic break leading into the solo on this one is perfectly done too and, along with the bombastic synth melody that culminates the song, is another example of Yöpyöveli going for broke. 

“Galloping in the Sunlight’s Embrace” is the longest and final track on the record, which is a bold choice, but it’s clearly done with well-founded confidence. The first minute is a dungeon synth intro that’s reminiscent of Gothmog’s Medieval Journeys. Then it retains the slower and moodier pacing of “In Northern Twilight” when the full band kicks in, but uses that reduced energy expertly with lilting harmonized riffs and a drum break with double bass and tom work. The following ice-cold riff adorned with synths eventually drops out with the rest of the band to leave the synth playing alone in pure triumphant splendor, only for a beautiful guitar lead to resurface and slowly build up with more layers before the song hits its apex, eliciting visions of standing on a mountaintop with your sword held high in victory, A final guitar solo enters before the fury ends and an Agalloch-flavored stack of acoustic guitars plays us out. I need a cigarette after that, good lord.

Embers of the Dawn’s obvious influence is impossible to overstate, but they’re integrated in a way that so few bands manage to execute well. There are certain songwriting cues and melodic ideas that are clearly inspired by Quorthon’s playbook, but those elements are also infused with cues from Macabre Omen, Falkenbach, and Moonsorrow. These influences inform Bronze Hall and result in a reinvigoration of a style that, while tried and true, has needed a band to carry the torch of the genre forward. Embers of the Dawn is comparable to its predecessor Honor & Steel, but it improves upon what was already a winning formula, and Bronze Hall is proof that the future of viking metal shines as brightly as the sword it wields.

–Eric Wing

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Embers of the Dawn is available now.

Here are some of our favorite releases from this past month.

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Iron Firmament – In the Land of Pre-Human Kings | Wergild (March 13)

Iron Firmament is quickly becoming one of my favorite modern black metal bands, if for no other reason than they have been providing a refreshing and desperately-needed spin on Cascadian black metal since 2023. The subgenre has been quiet for the past few years, aside from Cascadian trailblazers Skagos and Fauna dropping great albums in 2024 and 2025, respectively. This is where Iron Firmament comes in with their newest effort, In the Land of Pre-Human Kings, sporting an all-timer album cover featuring both art from renowned fantasy sci-fi legend Bruce Pennington and an approach to cassette J-card layouts that they first used on 2024’s Cascadian Tactics (and one which way more bands should use going forward).

Iron Firmament’s third full-length record is an emphatic statement, not only from them, but by extension their home label Wergild, one of the most exciting black metal labels in the underground today. In the Land of Pre-Human Kings takes cues from PNW acts who came before them, such as Alda and Wolves in the Throne Room, and from modern contemporaries like Gauntlet Ring and Nimbifer, with the vocals being particularly referential to the Norwegian and Finnish legends of decades past. These six tracks are ferocious and calculated Cascadian black metal and are an excellent step forward from their previous material, which was no slouch to begin with and worth checking out. I have no doubts that Iron Firmament will soon be cementing themselves as staples of the genre, and this record drives that point home. A crucial listen.

–Eric Wing

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Fire Magic – Memories of Fire | Stygian Black Hand (March 6)

One of Virginia’s foremost purveyors of blackened wartorn mysticism, Fire Magic is a project on the ever-reliable Stygian Black Hand label that has previously only delivered one demo in 2020 and their debut full-length in 2022, which tells me they took their time to ensure their sophomore effort Memories of Fire was going to stick the landing, and it pays off in a big way. Fire Magic’s approach to songwriting, and especially riffing, is reminiscent of classic Hellenic acts like Macabre Omen and Varathron, but with a Finnish twist. At the same time, the spirit of pure incensed black metal never leaves the equation. This band just gets it, although that’s no surprise given the shared members with Antichrist Siege Machine and Left Cross, among others. They ought to jump on a tour with Spectral Wound and Conifere so they can have the gnarliest lineup of the year.

Anyway, Memories of Fire clocks in at 32 minutes, making it an incredibly easy record to commit to, so you have no excuse not to run this one. The melodic choices and riff phrasing paired with the vocal delivery all interweave seamlessly into a tapestry of sonic hellfire that never even hints and going off the rails or letting up, and the record is served far better for it. I also need to draw specific attention to the ending guitar solo for “Shadows on the Storm”, because that shit had me pumping my fist in my bedroom. This is definitely a favorite of mine for the year thus far, and stands a good chance of ending up on my year-end list. Don’t skip this one.

–Eric Wing

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Neurosis – An Undying Love for a Burning World | Neurot Recordings (March 20)

The comeback album of the year? The decade? Neurosis returning, with Aaron Turner (Sumac, ISIS) in tow no less, after a seven-year hiatus and a 10-year wait since their last album is a welcome surprise, especially after the circumstances surrounding their silent period. An Undying Love for a Burning World feels almost like an exorcism, Neurosis freeing themselves of the past and moving into new territory. The fact that the album is this good is almost a bonus.

There are monolithic riffs aplenty, of course, interspersed with strange, glimmering soundscapes. Tension builds and releases, with slower passages turning into devastating chords that crash down on the listener with glorious finality, such as in “Blind,” or building up into towering passages of dissonance, as in the second half of “Seething and Scattered.” It’s a powerful statement and a fantastic return for the legends. 

–Kevin Zecchel

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Object Unto Earth – Memory Tyrant EP | Independent (March 20)

There’s nothing quite like a quick, 22-minute EP of emotive, mathy prog rock with a concept about frog warriors to get the blood really going. Object Unto Earth’s debut, The Grim Village, was one of the better and more interesting albums to be released last year, and Memory Tyrant does a great job of building on that. It’s a fantastic little release, with expansive, knotty guitar work, bouncy rhythms, and joyful heartfelt vocal melodies. There are a wide range of influences on display here; ’70s prog, ’90s prog, ’00s emo, and modern prog metal. At only 4 songs, it absolutely leaves the listener wanting more.

–Kevin Zecchel

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Mors Verum – Canvas | Transcending Obscurity (February 6) [Editor’s note: We follow an Ancient Mesopotamian calendar that does not distinguish between February and March]

Over the last few years,Transcending Obscurity has become my go-to source for a particular type of progressive death metal: something in between the tweedly-deedly tech wank that dominated our Last.fms in the mid to late 00’s and the cataclysmic skronk that I sometimes use to reset my brain and/or scare kids off my lawn. Acts like ATVM (RIP), Haxprocess, Floating, and now Mors Verum fill a niche that isn’t quite halfway between those two worlds but rather on another axis entirely, one that splits off into 3D space. 

I’m a month late to Canvas, Mors Verum’s latest EP, which is appropriate considering that I’m a few years late to this band in general. What first struck me about Canvas is its coherence despite the wide array of influences and styles on display. Each song feels like a quest into unknown territory, filled with bizarre yet unforgettable vistas; however, there is a continuity between each movement that beautifully ties everything together. “Your Apocalypse” kicks off with a thumping march punctuated with steam-whistle harmonics before transitioning into a sprawling chord progression that is slowly deconstructed, reshaped, and recontextualized throughout the rest of the track. Instead of tossing together a riff salad, Mors Verum uses every part of the riff to create a full-course meal. On side B, the title track’s opening dirge slowly unfolds into crunchy prog-death before pulling back into an introspective bridge, whose slithering bassline, delicate percussion, and warbly synth lines give the impression of an artificial lifeform’s first moment of self-awareness. This is one of those releases that offers something new to appreciate on every listen, and I will certainly be returning to the world of Canvas – and Mors Verum’s back catalog – in the months to come.

–Alex Chan

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In honor of April Fool's Day, we present some hilarious moments from rock 'n' roll history. (But please, don't try these at home.) Continue reading…

Bruce Springsteen already made his presence felt this year by speaking out against ICE’s reign of terror in the Twin Cities, releasing the protest song “Streets Of Minneapolis,” and performing it as the surprise guest at Tom Morello’s protest rally. He was back at it with appearances at the Democracy Now! event in NYC last week and the No Kings rally in St. Paul on Saturday, and he’s keeping that spirit going with this year’s E Street Band outing, the Land Of Hope & Dreams Tour, which they’re mounting “in celebration and in defense of America.”

The post Bruce Springsteen Kicks Off 2026 Tour With Rare Covers, Tom Morello appeared first on Stereogum.

In February, Megan Thee Stallion made her Broadway debut, playing the role of the Zidler in the long-running show Moulin Rouge! The Musical. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Megan fell ill in the middle of Tuesday night’s performance, and she was taken to an area hospital.

The post Megan Thee Stallion Hospitalized Mid-Show During Broadway <em>Moulin Rouge!</em> Performance appeared first on Stereogum.

(The Artisan Era will release a new album by Nashville-based Inferi on April 10th, and DGR has managed to beat that deadline with an extensive review of it today.) I ain’t no fancy law-talkin’ indivigible but I would argue that the case for what sort of band Inferi are is made within twenty or so […]

The post INFERI: “HEAVEN WEPT” appeared first on NO CLEAN SINGING.