Corrosion Of Conformity have today dropped their new video and single titled ‘Baad Man’, from their latest album titled ‘Good God/Baad Man‘, out now via Nuclear Blast Records.
Five seconds into ‘Baad Man’, it becomes painfully obvious that Corrosion Of Conformity have zero interest in chasing whatever disposable trend is clogging everyone’s social feeds this week. Good. The band doubles down on thick Southern grooves, greasy riffs, and the kind of swagger that cannot be manufactured in a branding meeting. The video matches that attitude perfectly, favoring grit over gloss and confidence over spectacle. It feels lived in instead of focus grouped, which is becoming a surprisingly rare quality.
Pepper Keenan and Woody Weatherman still lock into the sort of guitar chemistry that countless younger bands spend entire careers trying to imitate without realizing why it works in the first place. Every performance shot carries the weight of decades spent earning this sound instead of borrowing it for a season. The video wisely stays out of its own way, letting the musicians command the screen with pure presence rather than burying everything beneath an avalanche of unnecessary editing tricks.
The song itself hits with the loose confidence of musicians who know exactly who they are. ‘Baad Man’ leans into the rock driven side of ‘Good God / Baad Man’ without sacrificing the band’s trademark heaviness. Producer Warren Riker keeps everything muscular and immediate, allowing every riff and vocal line enough breathing room to leave a dent. It sounds big without becoming sterile, which is a balancing act many modern hard rock productions still fail to master.
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The Deep Dive with Jammerzine: Corrosion Of Conformity’s ‘Good God/Baad Man’
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Knowing where Corrosion Of Conformity have been only makes the performance resonate more. After lineup changes, personal loss, and years of uncertainty, the band could have played it safe. Instead, they sound energized and completely unconcerned with nostalgia. Stanton Moore and Bobby “Rock” Landgraf help drive the material with conviction while honoring the spirit that has defined the group since the early Raleigh days. This is not a museum piece pretending yesterday never ended. It is a veteran band still finding fresh ways to make loud guitars feel dangerous.
‘Baad Man’ ultimately succeeds because it refuses to apologize for being exactly what it is. No awkward attempts to reinvent heavy rock for people who do not even like heavy rock. No desperate guest appearances. No painfully obvious plea for viral relevance. Just Corrosion Of Conformity delivering another fistful of dirty riffs with the confidence that comes from surviving four decades while countless flash in the pan acts came and went. Funny how authenticity keeps aging better than hype.
Featured image by David Booth.
About ‘Baad Man’
Produced by Grammy award winner Warren Riker (Fugees, Down, Cathedral) and featuring cover art by famed New Orleans artist Scott Guion, Good God / Baad Man was recorded at Blak Shak Studios in Riffissippi, USA, Dockside Studios in Maurice, Louisiana, and Bee Gee Barry Gibb’s home studio in Miami, Florida.
Corrosion Of Conformity, who recently wrapped up a wildly successful tour through Europe and the UK, will return to North American stages for the second leg of their headlining tour with Whores and Crobot. The journey begins tonight, July 6th, in Houston, Texas and runs through July 22nd in Lincoln, Nebraska. In August, the band will head back to Europe for several shows and festival appearances. In October, Corrosion Of Conformity will perform at this year’s edition of Aftershock in Sacramento, California.
About Corrosion Of Conformity
Back in 2018, when No Cross No Crown dropped like a rock ‘n’ roll atom bomb, the tried-and-true Corrosion Of Conformity lineup of Pepper Keenan (vocals, guitar), Woody Weatherman (guitar), Reed Mullin (drums), and Mike Dean (bass) was still going strong. Four brothers united in a decades-long history kicked off by a roving pack of teenage punks in Raleigh, North Carolina circa 1982.
Corrosion Of Conformity’s first four albums left a permanent mark on headbangers, longhairs, and street punks everywhere: Underground classics Eye For An Eye (1984) and Animosity (1985) followed by slightly more overground bangers Blind (1991) and Deliverance (1994). By the time Corrosion Of Conformity carved off No Cross No Crown nearly a quarter century later, they were legends in their own time, revered by two generations of punk, metal, and rock fans.
Then tragedy struck: In January 2020, Reed Mullin left this earthly plane. It was a devastating blow, both personally and professionally. How do you replace a brother? You can’t. All you can do is soldier on in his memory. Which is what the rest of Corrosion Of Conformity did – until COVID-19 shut down the globe. Then Mike Dean decided to go his own way. It was an amicable split, but it left Pepper and Woody to contemplate their next move. They hunkered down at Keenan’s place in Mississippi, listening to all the music they love. Discharge. ZZ Top. Motörhead. Neil Young. Black Sabbath.
They started writing. They didn’t stop. In fact, they composed a massive double album. The concept happens to be the title of the record. It’s called Good God / Baad Man. “Our producer, Warren Riker, kept calling it Dark Side Of The Doom,” recalls Pepper. “In my head, it’s a weird love letter to all things rock ‘n’ roll. We used that for the freedom to go in different directions. Each album is its own tiny universe and has its own identity. Good God leans toward the heavier/pissed end of the spectrum. Baad Man is more on the throwdown rock scope. As we went along, it became clear which songs went on which album.”
They brought in drummer Stanton Moore, who played on Corrosion Of Conformity’s 2005 album, In The Arms Of God. They brought in bassist Bobby “Rock” Landgraf, who did time with Pepper in New Orleans heavyweights Down when he wasn’t terrorizing the locals in his own band, Honky. “With a lot of these songs, we’re trying to make Reed Mullin proud,” Pepper says. “He was a badass, and a one-of-a-kind drummer. And the stakes were high.”
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