Corrosion of Conformity, also known as CoC, was Headlining the Diamond Ballroom in Oklahoma City. If you want an evening of nothing but heavy Metal than you are in the right place. CoC is a heavy metal Band which was formed in 1982 and is from Raleigh North Carolina. This band is well known in the heavy Metal community and all I could hear were people around me talking about how excited they were to see them tonight. But first the evening started out with Weedeater and Mothership who both did a great job getting the crowd warmed up and the party started. Then Crowbar took the stage and proceeded to stir things up a bit more. Crowbar was formed in New Orleans in 1990 and is well known for their style of sludge metal. The band immediately started running thru one crushing song after another and appeared to be in top form. The Guitarist and Lead vocalist Kirk Windstein maintained a constant connection with the crowd between songs and drew them into the show. This continued until then end of their set and the audience head banged in unison until the last note was played. It was a sad moment that was sweet because it meant that CoC was coming on stage next.
CoC took stage and the audience lit up and pushed to the front of the pit barriers so they could get a better spot on the floor. Returning Frontman Pepper Keenan took a demanding hold of the crowd and the band opened with “Stonebreaker” and “Wiseblood” which keep everyone in attendance wanting more. The bands stage presence was symbolic of the bassist Mike Dean and guitarist Woody Weatherman’s past 30 years on the road. The night continued with a song from their latest album No Cross No Crown titled “Wolf Named Crow”, then immediately into 1996’s Wiseblood album with “Long Whip / Big America.” You could see that the Oklahoma crowd was filled with some hardcore followers especially on the next song from 1994’s Deliverance Album “Senor Limpio” with the Heavy opening Riff very reminiscent of Van Halen’s Mean Street and the vocals sounding like ZZ Tops Billy Gibbons this song showed the Southern feel of the band and how the older songs still are relevant in today’s world. The band kept the pace going and hearing Keenan sing “Diablo Boulevard”, who some consider the best song from 2000’s America’s Volume Dealer album, was one of my hi-lights of the show. I Just loved the slow groove of the song. Another song from the latest album was next titled “The Luddite” which shoved my eyes into the back of their sockets with its driving guitar riff and power cords. Then the band reached way back to 1991’s Blind album and performed “Vote with a Bullet” just to drive the point to the crowd that they are here to dominate, and they did. Corrosion of Conformity appeared unstoppable with song after song filling the venue with some of the best metal songs, ever!! Songs like “7 days”, “Paranoid Opioid” and the hypnotic “13 Angels” kept everyone there wanting more. To close out the show the band ended with 1994’s “Albatross” and “Clean my Wounds” both from the album Deliverance.
Corrosion of Conformity are one of the most overlooked bands in their generation. Do yourself a favor and check out their Social Media outlets and find a venue close to you; where, if you’re lucky you can experience some great music live and don’t forget to purchase their latest album “No Cross No Crown.”
Corrosion of Conformity at the Diamond Ballroom, Oklahoma City-OK
Reviewed by: RacerX / BackStage360
Images: Billy Esquibel / BackStage360
Email: Michelle@backstage360.com