LIVE REVIEW: Corrosion Of Conformity - Perth, February 6th 2020

It’s been a long time coming for Corrosion Of Conformity fans in Perth but Thursday night saw the long awaited return of the Southern rockers along with Pepper Keenan who was absent on their last Australian run 6 years ago. Anticipation was high with the band putting out one of their best albums in 2018 but it was the classics that ultimately took over the show.

Opening for the night was local heavy act Dwarf Giant who was most recently seen supporting Sweden’s Truckfighters, with a strong doomy sound which had the right vibe to kick things off. The smaller stage of the Amplifier Bar was a fitting adjustment to that sound as the band whipped through a quick set of heavy hitters and riff induced tunes that appeased the early punters who were made up of old school punk and metal head fans. Slowly more fans pulled in as the openers closed out their set, ready for the main course.

COC is a band that in many ways are underrated and subsequently underappreciated. While hardcore punk fans remain in scattered parts in the fanbase of the US rockers, the Sabbath inspired hard rock turn in the early 90’s brought in both the rockers and the heavy metal fans while still feeling like an underground sort of band. They were never a hits type of band but I would put them up against any band in their field any day. The power of the riff compels you as they say and the now veteran rockers do it well.

Opening up with the familiar classic “Seven Days”, immediately the melodic hooks grab the audience’s attention with a loud singalong to the chorus lines. It’s a strong start and the energy is felt straight away like a punch in the gut, frontman Pepper Keenan leading the way with Woody Weatherman and Mike Dean off to the sides to do their thing and fill in drummer John Green having the difficult task of taking the spot once owned by Reed Mullin who sadly passed away shortly before the tour started.

Many of the tracks in the set came from their much celebrated 90’s albums with only a smattering of later stuff including “Paranoid Opioid” and the more recent “Wolf Named Crow” from the No Cross No Crown album. The newer stuff sounded just as good as the older songs, fitting in seamlessly without hesitation. The return of Pepper certainly adds to the power of the band as the twin guitar attack of the frontman and Woody are a formidable duo and it’s felt in these new songs.

But much of the focus in the set was the classics and it was loaded with them. From “Broken Man” to the high flying “Albatross” and the groove laden “Señor Limpio” plus the super heavy “Vote With A Bullet” which came across even more powerful than ever before and of course the classic hook driven “Who’s Got The Fire” which had everyone in the crowd singing their lungs out.

A brief stop before the encore came with “Born Again For The Last Time” and “Clean My Wounds” rounding out the set, the latter featuring an extended jam session with Pepper jumping into the crowd and roaming the floor area all while still riffing out. It was the perfect way to end the show and safe to say that this will be marked as one of the top shows for the year.

PHOTO GALLERY
Photos by Linda Dunjey Photography

Corrosion Of Conformity