Album Review: Corrosion of Conformity - Good God / Baad Man
Reviewed by Matthew Williams
Having witnessed North Carolina’s finest grace the stage at 2025’s Damnation Festival, I couldn’t wait to hear the new songs that they mentioned that evening. They have returned with “Good God/Baad Man” a concept album of sorts, which is their first in eight years and written without their great friend, legendary drummer Reed Mullin, who passed away in 2020.
With Stanton Moore returning on drums and Bobby “Rock” Landgraf replacing Mike Dean on bass, Keenan said that they are “trying to make Reed Mullin proud” and when “Gimme Some Moore” was released as the first single, you could sense that this was going to be something special. It explodes with feistiness from start to finish, full of raucous riffs, huge melodies, a solo that rips you in two and has backing vocals from none other than Ministry’s Al Jourgensen, so not a bad place to begin.
The album is essentially divided in two, as “Good God” is a collection of heavier, angrier songs, whereas “Baad Man” is rockier and more melodic. Keenan explains that “we had a crazy plethora of songs” so “we knew we had to split into two different albums” and it works incredibly well. “You or Me” feels raw, punchy but with that distinctive vocal keeping you soothed and comforted, before it mellows out and then hits hard again at the end.
“The Handler” just goes off from the start, with a crazy, fuzzed out guitar sound and lots of drum fills from Stanton shaping the song. The guitar work across the album is what you’d expect from Keenan and Woody Weatherman, and you can tell that whilst recording the album, they’d been listening to bands like Discharge, ZZ Top, Neil Young, Motorhead, or as they call it, “the good stuff”. They change tack on instrumental number “Bedouin’s Hand” with an echoed opening, tight bass notes and atmospheric guitar sound, however, it flows effortlessly, stuck in a 70’s time warp, with the metronomic drums coming through exceptionally well.
The first “album” closes with “Run For Your Life” a lengthier track at over 9 minutes long, that embraces a more psychedelic sound. It’s slow and cumbersome, like a weigh around the neck, but the groove is immense and the solos are gargantuan, with a spoken word section from a US military combat veteran, who is an old friend. “Baad Man” features Keenan playing Maurice Gibb’s Strat, as it was recorded in the Bee Gee’s home studio and “he was hanging out with us”.
You get more of that 70’s funk vibe powering through and it’ll have your feet stamping and head banging in no time. “Lose Yourself” allows you to do just that, with a weighty groove throughout, and you’ll hear a bit of “Wiseblood” in this one. This is what they do best, straight to the point heavy rock with lots of melody and bluesy elements, and “Asleep on the Killing Floor” continues this pattern, as the rhythm section comes to the forefront, with solos popping up all over the place.
The toe tapping excellence of “Handcuff County” sounds like it was written after a few jars of the regions famous Moonshine as it’s silky smooth whereas “Brickman” is more laid back, with the acoustic guitar leading the song in a completely different direction. The second “album” is wrapped up with “Forever Amplified” which features vocalist Anjelika “Jelly” Joseph from Moore’s jazz funk band Galactic. “It’s a dedication to all the people we’ve lost, including Reed” says Keenan, and it’s a fitting way to end an album that signals the return of one of metal’s much-loved bands.
