Review of the Album "Blind" by North Carolina Band Corrosion of Conformity

Corrosion of Conformity is a band that has many different categorizations ranging from crossover metal to stoner and sludge metal but I like to consider this band a sort of hybrid between crossover, thrash, and Southern blues style heavy metal. Their 3^rd studio album called Blind released in 1991 is the first exposure that I ever had of this band’s music. They are also known as C.O.C. and they started in the music industry back in 1982 but "Blind" is the only album I have heard from these guys. We’ll see just how good this album is especially in the American heavy metal scene. The vocalist for this album is Canadian born Swedish singer Karl Agell. He was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada to Swedish parents.

The very heavy song called Mine Are the Eyes of God is actually a song that criticizes the concept of organized religion. There are evangelical Christians that can profit off of others when these people are brainwashed to believe a certain set of views that don’t really match what the reality is. Shallow Ground is a beautiful blues style instrumental song so after all of these heavy songs in a row, our eardrums need a break, right? Guitarist Pepper Keenan does the vocals for the next song called Vote With a Bullet which has a slow and heavy start and then there is the declaration of vote as the song picks up in intensity. The lyrics are very political in nature and the song is trying to send the message that sometimes a political revolution is needed to break free of the cycle of injustice that cripples a society from top to bottom.

Great Purification lyrically is about the fact that rivers around the world are facing pollution problems and there is smoke in the sky because of environmental pollution, factories, and other factors. However, if mankind does not learn its lesson, humans will be doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past. White Noise is a song that tries to convey the message that the idea that one race can dominate the world should not be allowed to happen. This addiction to racial superiority is due to power and the need for control and domination. There is also another instrumental song in this album called These Shrouded Temples and this one is melodic and heavy. There is a riff which Sacred Reich would be influenced by in 1993 because the end of the song called Crawling would be influenced by this instrumental. It takes a very good knowledge of musical riffing and patterns to be able to notice these kinds of details. Next is the politically themed song called Damned for all Time and this song is about what happens when politicians get too greedy and start wars for profits or oil. Typically, in these cases, many soldiers are sent to their deaths for no good reason.

There is a recurring theme in this album Blind that focuses on politics and social issues and in particular the song called Damned for all Time is a song about the fact that although the United States was founded on the principles of one nation under GOD, liberty and equality, the present day shows anything but that as the politicians only care about their best interests as soldiers are sent off to die for who knows what.

This is still a good enough album to listen to without all the profanity laced crossover thrash of bands such as Suicidal Tendencies.

How does the album Blind compare to other heavy metal albums in the US heavy metal scene/market? It is better than the early releases of bands such as Prong, most early Megadeth albums, and certainly I like them more than White Zombie. As the album comes to an end, the song called Echoes in the Well starts off with a heavy doom metal style part that Danzig would use in their 3^rd album called Danzig 3. However, after the beginning of the song Echoes in the Well, it is one of the weaker songs in the album. The strongest songs in the album Blind are the two instrumental songs, Mine Are the Eyes of God, and Vote With a Bullet.