Probably should have seen this one coming, since the Animosity lineup also played the Southern Lord fest out in California earlier this year, but the confirmation that this legendary incarnation of Corrosion of Conformity will be at Roadburn 2011 is welcome news nonetheless. Here it is, straight from the Roadburn site:

The reunited classic Animosity lineup of Corrosion of Conformity — Mike Dean (bass, vocals), Woody Weatherman (guitar) and Reed Mullin (drums) – has been confirmed for SunnO)))‘s curated event at Roadburn 2011, set for April 15 at the 013 venue in Tilburg, Holland.

Also appearing on the bill are Winter, Earth, Scorn, Beaver, Hooded Menace, Menace Ruine, Aluk Todolo, The Secret, Atilla Csihar’s Void ov Voices and SunnO))).

As curator, SunnO))) (Greg Anderson and Stephen O’Malley) are personally selecting the bands that will play during their special event, as well as performing a headlining show. SunnO))) is Roadburn’s fourth curator, following David Tibet in 2008, Neurosis in 2009 and Triptykon’s Tom Gabriel Warrior at this year’s festival in April.

We close this week with a track off what’s commonly regarded as C.O.C.‘s worst album, America’s Volume Dealer. I chose it for a reason I’d rather keep personal (nothing tragic). There’s another version on the YouPipes with a picture of thrash band Hirax that stays up the whole time the song plays. I very nearly put that one up instead of this, just because it’s funny.

Plus, it’s America Weekend, and we all know there’s nothing more American than C.O.C. They’re like apple pie topped with smartbombs plastered with advertisements for penis enlargement capsules. That’s how American they are. Are you that American? I’m not. Next to C.O.C. I’m practically Uzbek.

Tumult next week as I make the aforementioned move to Vermont for a month, but that doesn’t happen until Wednesday so stick around anyway. I’ll have that interview with Zoroaster posted and a writeup on my visit to the studio with friends-of-the-site Kings Destroy. Good fun to be had.

Please be safe this weekend, and we’ll see you back here Monday.

Well, this is pretty much the coolest thing ever, and it’s definitely happening 3,000 miles from where I live. Thanks a lot, guys. Wow, hey, another great show in San Francisco and Los Angeles and Seattle. That’s so amazing, because you never see anything there. Oh wait, you see everything there. Stupid California (and in this case, Washington). Not enough that you have the fourth largest economy in the world and enough natural resources to sustain the entire planet, you have to have Goatsnake too? Fuckers.

The PR wire mocks my lame New Jersey ass with the following:

Running from August 8th through 12th, the three-show tour features Southern Lord artists Eagle Twin, Black Breath and the return of Goatsnake. All of this is in addition to the headliner for the festivities; the recently reunited circa-1986 Animosity album lineup of Corrosion of Conformity, featuring Woody Weatherman on guitar, Mike Dean on bass and vocals, and Reed Mullin on drums! The tour will also showcase openers Righteous Fool featuring Mike and Reed from C.O.C.

The string of dates kick off in Los Angeles at the Southern Lord sponsored The Power Of The Riff Festival, featuring this tour’s full lineup as well as countless other brutal acts including Repulsion, Trap Them, Nails, From Ashes Rise and more. The full lineup and info behind the fest will be announced soon.

Southern Lord West Coast mini tour:
8/08/2010 Echo and Echoplex – Los Angeles, CA @ The Power of the Riff Fest
8/10/2010 DNA Lounge – San Francisco, CA
8/12/2010 Neumo’s – Seattle, WA

Here in the States, today is Memorial Day, which is basically yet another excuse for everyone to get their jingoism going and glorify war, blow fingers off with fireworks and blah blah blah. What it means to me is the official start of grilling season. True, I hate the heat and I have in fact been grilling all winter, but now it’s the season, which means eating outside, which means grilling music. Killer.

Because I’m all about sharing, here are my seven favorite barbecue records, presented in the order in which they should be played:

1. Black Sabbath, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. What this says is, “I am here to grill. I don’t care what else happens in the universe, I am going to have a good time and that is that. Now rock with me as I cook this meat.” Perfect starter album.

2. C.O.C., Wiseblood. Like Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, it’s a fun collection of songs, but Wiseblood is a little thicker sound-wise. It’s great to sing-along to, and the groove seems to run throughout the whole album, so it’s consistent too. A definite necessity.

3. Greenleaf, Agents of Ahriman. By now you’ve had a few beers and it’s time to let loose. Greenleaf‘s Agents of Ahriman is catchy, rocking and has a freedom to its sound that seems to be made for the outdoors.

4. Queens of the Stone Age, Songs for the Deaf. I confess, I love this record regardless of the food and/or climate surrounding. I try to take it everywhere, so it comes out for grilling for sure. “Go with the Flow?” Come on, man. Can’t beat that.

5. Fu Manchu, King of the Road. The last of the real rockers on the list, it’s great to finish the meal with some righteous fuzzery, and for that, there’s nowhere to go but to Fu Manchu. If you’ve got ice cream for dessert, this’ll work with it.

6. Monster Magnet, Spine of God. You’ve rocked, you’ve stuffed yourself, you’re probably more than a little intoxicated and you feel like if you ever even see another burger, your heart will explode in your chest. Clearly you’ve yanked on the spine of god and it’s time for some penance.

7. Masters of Reality, Flak ‘n Flight. This is for your cleanup. When you’ve drunkenly insulted all your relatives or friends and they’ve left and it’s just you and the mess. You put this one on and sing along as you throw away paper plates, beer bottles and the bloody packaging that once contained the meat now blocking up your colon. It’ll help ease the pain.

I’ve also found that Enslaved‘s Ruun album is great for cleanups, so if it persists longer than Flak ‘n Flight lasts, you might want to have that on-hand for reinforcements. Or maybe you just want to sit on a plastic chair in the dark for a while. It’s good for that too.

Of course, if you’re in it for the full-day barbecue experience, you’re going to need more than seven albums, but hopefully this is a decent start. If you have any longtime favorites, leave a comment and let me know about them. You can never have too much grilling music.

I can’t find any confirmation from the band, but according to Blabbermouth, Brian Walsby (of Manchild fame) has reported on his blog that Mike Dean, Woody Weatherman and Reed Mullin are back as a Pepper Keenan-less incarnation of C.O.C., apparently working on new material and scheduling shows.

I’ve always been partial to the post-Pepper stuff myself, but with Keenan having more or less left the rest of the band in the dust to play with Down full-time, it’s good to see Dean and Co. at least doing something. Here’s what Walsby had to say about it:

Corrosion of Conformity have apparently reformed, and are working on a new record. There are even some summertime shows lined up for the West Coast already and a few other things going on. Who is in the band?

For right now, it is the classic Animosity lineup: Mike Dean, Woody Weatherman and Reed Mullin. Really. This is pretty exciting news. Not only that, it is very strange to say the least. It will be pretty interesting to hear what they cook up. Also, Righteous Fool, the other band that Mike and Reed had started with Jason Browning (a really good guitarist in his own right) is still going to happen. A good deal of that band’s material is pretty damn good, with a few twisty turny almost math-rock tunes being quite good. So if that is any indication you should be hearing a lot of music coming from these three or four (or eventually five?) guys coming soon.

Apparently Reed Mullin finally picked up the phone when Karl Agell‘s number showed in the caller ID , and I guess since it’s not like the former was in the band anymore anyway, and instead of the latter performing the album with a band not involving the former, the two of them are going to do a couple shows playing Blind.

Like a lot of people, my first exposure to C.O.C. was with Blind, and I’ve been a fan ever since. Whether or not that means these shows will be any good, I don’t know, but at least Mullin is out playing drums for someone. If that’s with C.O.C. proper or Corrosion of Conformity – Blind, as this group is apparently called, I’ll take it.

And for C.O.C. fans waiting for Pepper Keenan to stop putting out mediocre frat rock albums with Down (that’s right, III sucked ass and I’m not afraid to say it) so they can follow up 2005′s killer In the Arms of God, hell, this is something, and C.O.C. – Blind is a way better band name than Karl Agell’s Blind or whatever he was calling it before, no matter how much he is beating the album into the ground.

Blabbermouth story, tour dates and a live video from ’92 with Agell on vocals after the jump.

Read more »