CORROSION OF CONFORMITY And DOWN's PEPPER KEENAN Is Working On His First-Ever Solo Album: 'I'm Pulling Out All The Stops On This Sucker'

On the latest episode of "We Wreck Records", the music podcast hosted by Christina Rowatt of New Noise magazine, Pepper Keenan (DOWN, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY) confirmed that he is working on his first-ever solo album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Oh, man, I'm pulling out all the stops on this sucker."

Regarding how the idea for a solo LP came about, Pepper said: "I have a shitload of songs I've been saving. A lot of them I was keeping and I was, like, 'Well, I'll just save this till I get older.' 'Cause they were very like stare-too-long type of songs. I don't know if you know what that is. Those type of things. I was, like, 'Ah, I'll just save them till I get older.' And I was, like, 'Fuck, I'm old.' But that's not here or there right now. But it's in the back of my brain. I'm starting to slowly organize stuff, so when I have some downtime, I can start saying, 'I want this guy to play guitar on this one.' 'I need this drummer to help on this one.'"

Since the early 1990s, Keenan has been at the forefront of Southern heavy music, helping define the sound of CORROSION OF CONFORMITY and DOWN with riffs that blend groove, grit, and an iconic raw power that's instantly recognizable. His approach to writing riffs blends equal parts weight and restraint, and his ability to sit in the pocket has left an unmistakable mark on the world of heavy rock.

Keenan joined CORROSION OF CONFORMITY in 1990, but he did not become the band's lead singer until the recording of "Deliverance", which came out in 1994.

In 2014, after nearly a straight decade traversing the globe as a guitarist with New Orleans supergroup DOWN, Pepper reconnected with the core CORROSION OF CONFORMITY trio of guitarist Woody Weatherman, bassist Mike Dean and drummer Reed Mullin to hit the road hard.

Thus far, Keenan has appeared on seven CORROSION OF CONFORMITY studio albums as well as three full-lengths and two EPs with DOWN.

CORROSION OF CONFORMITY's most recent double album, "Good God / Baad Man", was released in April via Nuclear Blast. 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 GEES legend Barry Gibb's home studio in Miami, Florida.

DOWN, in which Keenan is joined by vocalist Philip H. Anselmo (PANTERA),guitarist Kirk Windstein (CROWBAR),drummer Jimmy Bower (EYEHATEGOD) and bassist Pat Bruders, will release a new studio album, Volume V", in November.

Photo credit: Danin Drahos