Concert review: Corrosion of Conformity – Live in Grand Rapids

The Pyramid Scheme – 27 Nov 2022

Corrosion of Conformity return to Grand Rapids with a deafening roar.

There are some bands that we love, but then our tastes change and we leave them behind. There are other bands that we love who change their sound, and they leave us behind. On rare occasions, there are bands whose twists and turns follow our own closely enough that we’re able to be fans for years, or maybe even decades. For me, Corrosion of Conformity is one of those bands. I enjoyed their early punk/crossover stuff. I enjoyed their thrashy metal stuff. I enjoyed their slower, Sabbathy stuff. I even enjoyed the jagged stuff they recorded as a trio while guitarist/vocalist Pepper Keenan was doing Down full time. I especially enjoyed the triumphant return of the classic lineup that (sort of) continues to this day. 

Although I’ve seen the band at least a dozen times over a handful of eras, I was glad to see them again locally at the end of the long Thanksgiving weekend. It was the final date of a short tour where they brought along Spirit Adrift and The Native Howl. I knew I was in for something big when I saw the tour bus parked by the Pyramid Scheme. This is pretty rare for the relatively small venue. (The capacity is 420, which seems appropriate based on the smell coming from their bus.) Three years ago they played for at least 600 (with Crowbar supporting) at Elevation just a few blocks away. 

A family commitment caused me to miss most of Detroit’s The Native Howl. They play a combination of metal and country that they lovingly refer to as thrash grass. I really enjoyed the two songs I heard. It’s a little gimmicky, but in short bursts at least, it’s highly entertaining. 

Spirit Adrift played as straightforward a set of old school metal as I’ve seen in quite a while. It was kind of refreshing when everybody else seems to be striving to be part of some sort of obscure sub-genre. With an obvious nod to Lemmy, guitarist/vocalist/frontman Nate Garrett said it best, “We’re Spirit Adrift and we play heavy metal.” The songs were generally mid-tempo with clean vocals, lots of dual lead guitar and a bit of a stoner feel. In other words, they were a great opener for COC. 

I last saw Corrosion of Conformity when they played GR in August of 2019, and original drummer Reed Mullin missed the show for medical reasons. At the time, we had no idea how serious those issues were. When he passed in early 2020 it ended the most commercially successful COC lineup of Keenan, guitarist Woody Weatherman, bassist Mike Dean and Mullin. He was also a force within the band, and contributed far more than just the beat. He’s surely missed for multiple reasons. I don’t know who the new drummer is, but he sits so low that all you could see was his blond head bobbing. If you didn’t know better you’d swear it was a young Mullin!

COC’s set started with an opening bass jam from the delightfully disheveled Dean. The whole 80 plus minute show had a very laid back feel. It was also crazy loud. For years I’ve been quite protective about my hearing, but since Covid I’ve been lax about wearing earplugs. (I’m not exactly sure of the psychology behind this.) The Raleigh quartet had their own soundman and overpowered the small room. 

It was a fun, crowd pleasing set that included hits like “Albatross”, “Wiseblood” and “Clean My Wounds”. There were also fan favorite album cuts like “Seven Days”, “Who’s Got the Fire” and “13 Angels”. It was not a carbon copy of their set from a few years ago. COC, Kennan and Weatherman specifically, just looked like they were having so much fun. That does have a way of rubbing off on the audience. If Corrosion of Conformity were a car, they would obviously be classic with high mileage, but also with a rust free body and a full tank of gas. Once again, I enjoyed going along for the ride.

Confessions of a merch whore: I walked into the venue with $80 in my wallet, and left with $0. I bought 1 ticket for Cro-Mags in December ($20), 4 PBR tallboys ($4 each plus $1 tip for each), 1 signed copy of COC’s newest (double) LP on beer colored vinyl ($30) and 1 bitchin’ COC patch ($10).