Corrosion of Conformity & The Sword with special guests Hippie Death Cult at Vinyl Music Hall
Corrosion of Conformity
Let’s face it: Much has gone down in the COC universe since their last album smacked us upside the head. Back in 2018, when No Cross No Crown dropped like a rock n’ roll atom bomb, the tried-and-true COC 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, NC, circa 1982.
COC’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 COC 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 that the rest of COC did—until Covid 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 Pepper’s place in Mississippi, listening to all the music they love. Discharge. ZZ Top. Motörhead. Neil Young. Black Sabbath. You know: The good stuff.
They started writing. They didn’t stop, not for a long time. Matter of fact, they wrote an honest-to-God double album. “As we went on, we had such a crazy plethora of songs, it was almost like two different directions,” Pepper says. “We knew we had to split it into two different albums. Then we came up with this concept.”
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,” Pepper says. “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, 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 COC’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.”
The Sword
The Sword have handcrafted their own immersive mythology underscored by undeniable and unpredictable guitar fireworks, cinematic themes, and otherworldly concepts. Since emerging out of Austin, TX in 2003, the quartet—JD Cronise [vocals, guitar], Bryan Richie [bass, keys], Kyle Shutt [guitar, vocals], and Santiago Vela [drums]—have incited the obsession of a diehard fanbase and the applause of tastemakers such as Rolling Stone, The Washington Post, Decibel, and more. The band’s catalog encompasses six full-length albums, namely Age of Winters [2006], Gods of the Earth [2008], Warp Riders [2010], Apocryphon [2012], High Country[2015], and Used Future [2018]. The group shared the stage with everyone from Metallica to Lamb of God and Clutch in addition to selling out headline tours on multiple continents. After a two-year hiatus, the band officially reunited and returned in tandem with the celebration of the 15th anniversary of Warp Riders. Hailed as a “classic” by Consequence, it originally garnered praise from the likes of Premier Guitar, SPIN, and more. Standing out as one of the 21st century’s most important heavy bands, The Sword architect the next chapter of their mythology with more touring and a new record on the horizon.
Vinyl Music Hall Policies
General Admission * Standing Room Only * All Ages * Additional $5 Cash Surcharge At The Door For Under 21 * Attendees Under 16 Must Be Accompanied By A Ticketed, Adult Guardian * Lineups and times are subject to change * Any ticket suspected of being purchased for the sole purpose of reselling can be canceled at the discretion of Vinyl Music Hall and/or SeeTickets * No refunds - No exceptions * No re-entry.
