Corrosion Of Conformity have finally released a new album. With 2017’s No Cross No Crown they reclaimed the stoner-metal crown, with Pepper Keenan firmly reinstated as vocalist, but since then they’ve endured some hammer blows. There was the death in 2020 of drummer Reed Mullin, and the surprise departure of founding bassist Mike Dean in 2025. But the band have kept on going, and Keenan says their sprawling new double album Good God/Baad Man sounds “like all the COC albums rolled into one”.
It’s not often that a band does two big comeback records. It’s twenty years since Hurricane Katrina basically killed COC.
I had to call Lemmy from a fuckin’ pay phone in rural Louisiana to tell him we were fucked. He understood – he was watching it on the news. He said: “I’ve got some friends in Texas. Do you need any weapons?” That Lem [laughs].
What was the big hold-up for the new COC album taking so long?
Life just gets in the way sometimes. After Reed passed we continued playing [live] with fill-in drummers, and then Mike Dean pulled out because he was tired of touring. It was just down to me and Woody [Weatherman, guitars]. But the book’s not over yet.
What made you go with Warren Riker as producer this time?
John’s [Custer, long-time COC producer] got tinnitus. He couldn’t do the big, loud thing we do. But he’d produced every COC record I’ve been on, so it was like our dick was on the chopping block. It was fun working with Warren though, man. We played like it was our last day doing it. We wanted to make it the real deal – real amps and we don’t care if it bleeds – it bleeds on Led Zeppelin II. It was exciting to work like that.
COC have always had a New Orleans association, but this album was done predominantly in Mississippi, right?
We recorded it a few places, actually. We did some stuff at Barry Gibb’s house in Miami, which was fucking amazing. For Baad Man I play one of the guitars his brother played on Jive Talkin’. No bullshit.
It’s thirty years since James Hetfield guested on the band’s Man Or Ash.
Thirty years?! You know, we were never meant to say he was on the record. We did it in Electric Lady studios in New York. He came to hang out and brought some beers, so we scribbled some shit down and – bang – there he was. But there ain’t no way you couldn’t tell that was James Hetfield, even right at the back.
And now Al Jourgensen and Madonna guitarist Monte Pittman are on the single Gimme Some Moore.
Uncle Al’s one of my favourite people. Ministry helped inspire Vote With A Bullet, but we never actually met until we did the recent tour with Ministry and Melvins. We just hit it off.
What’s the most surprising interaction you’ve had with a fan?
I remember watching Slipknot side-stage once and it was insanity. All of a sudden Corey Taylor runs up with his mask on, scared the shit out of me. He pulls his pant leg up and he’s got this COC tattoo, then he just runs back off.
Good God / Baad Man is out now via Nuclear Blast. COC tour the UK in June, including playing at Download.
