Milking The Sick Farce

Blindly bought by my 13-year old punk ass thanks to a cool album cover and the fact that it was released on "Death Records", this crossover EP by Raleigh hardcore mainstays Corrosion Of Conformity reflects a definite style change for the band. Gone were the manic punk anthems of Eye For An Eye - Technocracy boasts much more cohesive songwriting (probably an influence of new vocalist Simon Bob and the fact that the songs are longer than 90 seconds) and the music is surprisingly both well-produced, structured and incredibly tight. I'm sure for fans of their older stuff it was somewhat of a letdown but up to that point I hadn't heard any C.O.C. and and was solidly into the Venice, CA thrash movement (Excel, SxTx, etc.) so this cassette was a welcome addition. The opening track and "Crawling" are my two faves - as is the strange "Ahh Blugh" bonus at the end which was proof to my unnecessarily stern parents that hardcore bands had a sense of humor. Corrosion went on to further adjust their musical style as years progressed - they entered the post-metal world with Blind in 1991 and beyond. I've actually never heard anything by the band from the more recent era - instead having gone backwards to enjoy their past catalog.

It's All For The Better...

Six Songs

Corrosion Of Conformity is one of those bands that I was kind of a poser about. I had all their albums (up to their awful Blind LP which was just the final nail in the coffin) but I really never gave them much of a listen and pretty much just wanted to justify having a couple shirts with their cool radiation/skull symbol on them. I mean, shit, I actually dug the crossover Technocracy release the most even though it was hated by their old school fans. As the years went by though, I eventually gave C.O.C.'s whole catalog a listen and, while I dug the old stuff way more than anticipated, there was something about the singer's voice that irritated me. Wasting my paycheck at the Princeton Record Exchange years later I came upon their 12" extended play Six Songs With Mike Singing: 1985. Seven minutes of blistering hardcore with founding bassist Mike Dean absolutely slaying the vocals. The songs blow the Eye For An Eye versions out of the water - and this record is the only C.O.C. release still in my collection today. Essential.

Eye For An Eye