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By Mike Porciello
Digging through the pile of CD's and movies to review, this
is the one that stood out first and foremost. I loved these guys in the
90's, when their heyday arrived a little later on in their careers, with
the Alternative revolution, and when NY radio station K-Rock (WXRK) 92.3
FM, dethroned Q104.3 as "IT" in new music. Yeah, that's right,
Q104.3 actually played new music back then.
Not many realize that this band has been around in one incarnation or
another since 1982! The original band cut their teeth in the punk scene,
as, shall I say, an anti- Reagan band? They were right there with the
likes of Black Flag, D.R.I., and No Labels. Come 1990, give or take,
guitarist Woody Weatherman realized that not only does this stuff not pay
the bills, but there's much more talent to put forth, then two or three
chord crush. The band, with Karl Agell on vocals released their crossover,
and critcally acclaimed album "Blind", which many fans think may
their best work. Now original drummer Reed Mullin is 2 albums gone, word
has it that Vocalist/Rhythm Guitarist Pepper Keenan (Rhythm/ Lead
Guitarist of Down, featuring Phil Anselmo, ex Pantera, vocals) called
fellow New Orleans buddy Stanton Moore ( drummer, Galactic) to see if he
knew of any "manic drummers", to which he responded "Yeah,
me"! Let's just say the rest makes Heavy Metal history!
About 10 seconds into "In The Arms of God", I realized that this
is no filler! Gone almost completely is the Southern sound, and replaced
with a more straight forward heavy hitting, yet very melodic, blackened
approach to the band's craft. "Stonebreaker" starts out with an
organ intro, then quickly the bands trademark "Chugga chugga chugga
chugga chug" is re-introduced with an updated approach.
"Paranoid Opioid" a screamer duel between Pepper Keenan and
bassist Mike Dean (who sang quite a few of the bands older songs, when
they were punk) is a more mature way of approaching their older style of
punk in today's world. Also, Dean sings lead on part 1 of the two part
"Dirty Hands Empty Pockets/ Already Gone", adding a funky, yet
manic bass intro, and also sings lead on "Infinite War". Drummer
Stanton Moore, who shortened his kit by quite a few pieces to be a part of
this outfit, kicks and slams his way home, almost giving the impression
that he's playing double bass, which in fact he's not. COC has always been
one of the few metal bands who disdain the double kick, and prefer to keep
it simple. All I can say is, Stanton Moore is one hell of a drummer, and
that is what this band needs, in the absence of original skinsman, Reed
Mullin, whose leaving definitely hurt the bands popularity.
I wasn't very impressed with their last offering, "America's Volume
Dealer", as I felt the band had started to lose focus on it's ability
to be brutal. "Wiseblood" from 1996, was a little more Southern
in style, than their most successful album to date,
"Deliverance", which featured such songs as "Clean My
Wounds", and " Albatross". "In The Arms of God",
without a doubt, is the bands most talented, and overall GREATEST album,
so awesome in fact, that it's in my top 5 albums of all time! After the
acoustical jam of "Rise River Rise", the guys go right back to
recalling their 'Sabbath influences on "Never Turns To More",
and they keep it coming, like fine wine! My personal favorite is
"Backslider". The song, a goove oriented, almost 1970's homage,
finds the band in their finest from, as they deliver their opus with poise
and slight reckless abandon. The album ends with the acoustic "Crown
Of Thorns", which depicts Jesus's final moments, as guitar strings
are picked and distorted to give off the sound of Jesus being whipped.
Following right in it's path, the title track "In The Arms Of
God", again, with the trademark "chugga chugga chugga chugga
chug", closes it out, and is easily the heaviest track on the album.
The song, dedicated to Guitar God, Pantera great, "Dimebag"
Daryl Abbot, makes us wonder: How are they ever going to top this one? All
in all, I give it a perfect 10 out of 10 bullets, as this is easily where
the band has finally hit it's stride. It has a little of everything that a
fan of the band, and even critics could ask for. It hits hard, it hits
fast, it slows down, it comes back for more, and it finishes you off, and
buries you!
www.sanctuaryrecords.com
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