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Bacteria13 Hatross Overlord
Joined: 30 Jan 2003 Posts: 2465
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Posted: Sat May 28, 2005 6:01 pm Post subject: C.O.C. - IN THE ARMS OF GOD |
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C.O.C. – IN THE AMS OF GOD (SANCTUARY RECORDS)
After 2000’s appalling ‘America’s Volume Dealer’ I had all but given up on COC. Having followed their career from punk/hardcore heroes (I first read about them in an issue of Mega Metal Kerrang! many years ago) to crossover crusaders to finally unabashed Metallica worship, I was curious to see if they could recapture the magic of 1992’s ‘Blind’ record. I needn’t have worried. ‘In the Arms of God’ is a return to form, a triumph of an album that has some metal purists already breathing the word ‘classic’.
First thing to hit you on this CD is the sound – an amazing production job courtesy of long-time associate John Custer which will have you convinced that the band is rehearsing in the next room. This is raw and gritty, yet, contradictory, boasts a warming 70’s feel reminiscent of those early Zeppelin records. 'Infinite War', 'Paranoid', 'The Backslider', nothing but riffs, riffs and more riffs. In fact, album highlight ‘It is that way’ has 70’s rock stamped all over it – this is audio gold, with session drummer Stanton Moore literally all over this track as it builds up tempo to an all out thrash fest. There are mellow, doom-laden tracks aplenty too, ‘Dirty Hands Empty Pockets – Already Gone’ (no, not an 80’s hair metal band cover) comes to mind, with an eerie guitar lead squirming its way through.
Yes, vocalist/guitarist Pepper Keenan still sounds more like James Hetfield than Hetfield himself, but his voice suits this Southern-groovy-rock-groove-metal to a tee. Loud, brash, bombastic, this is a fucking great album, folks. With COC-inspired bands such as Clutch and High on Fire making tsunami-size waves on both sides of the Atlantic, it’s good to see the return of the original groove-kids.
Bacteria13. |
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