CORROSION OF CONFORMITY's Albums 'Stand The Test Of Time,' Says PEPPER KEENAN

At last month's Download festival, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY members Pepper Keenan (guitar, vocals) and Woody Weatherman (guitar) spoke to Guitar Interactive Magazine about the making of the band's latest album, "No Cross No Crown", which came out in January via Nuclear Blast Entertainment. The LP is the group's first studio effort with Keenan in more than a decade.

"This record was approached a little differently than previous [albums]," Woody said (see video below). "We didn't spend a lot of… There was, like, no pre-production; we didn't have much of an idea of shit before we all showed up. It was, like, just… we showed up, [and] we'd do four- or five-day sessions."

"As we were writing the songs, it started to take shape," Pepper added. "And once again, it was becoming something more than we… as a unit, it became bigger than the sum of its parts. And so once you get to that thing where it's in your head and you're consumed by it, if it ain't right, it's wrong. You've just gotta keep going at it."

"There were several things that we threw in the trash," Woody continued. "We'd spend half a day on somebody's idea, and if it wasn't working after half a fucking day, throw it in the fucking trash and move to the next thing."

Pepper went on to say that CORROSION OF CONFORMITY's music still sounds as valid today as it did when it was first recorded. "I think we can look back at C.O.C.'s career, you can look at [all the albums] and go… It sounds weird to say it, but they stand the test of time," he said. "And it's really important that it doesn't sound dated. I don't want it to sound like it's the new millennium or the '90s or whatever; it's gotta sound like… when you play it 20 years later, it still sounds correct."

"It's been a conscious thought of ours for a long time," Woody added. "'Let's not make a record that sounds like it was made in 1991 or something. Although we're making a record in 1991, let's try not to do that. Let's make it sounds like it's…' Like Pep said, in 20 or 30 years, it still sounds relevant."

"No Cross No Crown" was recorded in North Carolina with longtime producer John Custer. CORROSION OF CONFORMITY cut the disc in about forty days over the course of a year.

CORROSION OF CONFORMITY has joined BLACK LABEL SOCIETY on the second leg of its North American tour. The trek, which also features EYEHATEGOD, commenced July 14 in Cadott, Wisconsin and is making its way through nearly two dozen cities, coming to a close on August 11 in Sayreville, New Jersey. A European tour with ORANGE GOBLIN will kick off at the end of October.