All music written by Corrosion of Conformity. All lyrics by Karl Agell and Pepper Keenan, except Great Purification by Phil Swisher.
1. "These Shrouded Temples..." - 2:37
2. "Damned for All Time" - 5:52
3. "Dance of the Dead" - 4:29
4. "Buried" - 5:18
5. "Break the Circle" - 4:10
6. "Painted Smiling Faces" - 4:24
7. "Mine Are the Eyes of God" - 5:00
8. "Shallow Ground" - 2:21
9. "Vote with a Bullet" - 3:27
10. "Great Purification" - 4:33
11. "White Noise" - 4:19
12. "Echoes in the Well" - 5:33
Karl Agell – lead vocals
Woody Weatherman – rhythm and lead guitar
Pepper Keenan – rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Vote With a Bullet"
Phil Swisher – bass
Reed Mullin – drums, backing vocals,
My first listen to this album was at a house party. Someone from my work invited us to attend. Not my scene, not my neighborhood, certainly not my beer of choice on tap. But what the hell, it was October, Friday night. The people there had this big soviet flag in their living room. I guess in their vodka and pot soaked minds they thought it was cool. They were as outside my comfort zone as I could get, short of going to a hip hop party. I listened to their mantra of political one sidedness and drank their cheap capitalist made keg beer. Most of the music played was avant garde, artsy tomes, of nauseating leftist derision. Nights like this had me wishing they would play Dylan Or the Doors. Anything but the constant anti-American drone dripping from the speakers. Protest this, protest that, peace love and meds to all. I was going puke, and not from the bad beer or the stale chips. I had enough and was heading for the door faster than a glam metal groupie can say where's the hairspray, when "It" was played. The opening seconds of "Vote with a bullet" are mesmerizing. What is he saying?..."Justice in swine, the devil in God". I slowed and took it all in. Took some more sips of the beer, and side stepped the communist rhetoric. I tuned them all out and concentrated on the music being played. The sound was heavy in an all encompassing sense. Motorhead,Slayer,Testament, they are heavier sure but these guys had this...atmosphere. The lightest note and the fastest all equally heavy to a degree. The political subjects were objective enough and spoke the truth to my young mind. I found myself agreeing with most of what they said. And the guitar work in syncopation with the drums was insane. I bought the album the next day. They have switched singers a long time ago. I got to meet them later on. Awesome ,down to earth musicians. This is the first taste of what true musicianship as opposed to flashy musicianship that I was exposed to beside Iron Maiden.
"Mine Are The eyes Of God", "Damned For All Time", are solid metal tracks. Probably the heaviest in terms of subject and sonic craftwork. This is "Heavy" on a different frequency. C.O.C. is a the band that you just want to play loud and then hit the highway. "Painted Smiling Faces", and "White Noise", also pummel the ears and leave you craving more. The album comes to life and bites into your neck. Political views aside the music reaches out to you, grabs you by the throat and shakes the hell out of you. "Vote With A Bullet" is the key track to this album. Released as a single it even got airplay on mtv. Blatantly heavy in its political message. The song is an anthem to those unhappy with any leadership. There is a power here that transcends the style and moves it up the ladder of heavy. Heavy, being the power behind the music. This is a classic anti-everything right of center band. The liner notes even contain address connections to political groups throughout the U.S. While all that is cool to some, or reason for disdain to others, few can deny the juggernaut that this song and this album is.
--MetalRising
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