The album that broke Corrosion Of Conformity into the mainstream! By now you can call C.O.C. metal legends but it was not always so. The North Carolina band originally formed in 1982 and recorded two albums before releasing Blind in 1991. They're earlier recordings had a more hardcore punk aesthetic, but the band moved towards a thrash metal sound in their first decade. After losing some key members C.O.C. picked up vocalist Karl Agell, Phil Swisher on bass and Pepper Keenan as a second guitarist. With the lineup changes came a more straightforward heavy metal sound. Their new found sound coupled with their punk ethos led to one of the most important metal albums of the decade. The lyrics tackled overtly political themes while the music packed a ton of aggression. Standouts from the album include heavy, yet surprisingly catchy "Damned for All Time" and "Mine Are the Eyes of God," as well as "Dance of the Dead" and "Echoes in the Well."

• first ever vinyl release in North America
• 180 gram double purple vinyl pressing
• includes three bonus tracks from Columbia Records 1995 re-release
• color lyric insert and liner notes from acclaimed music journalist Chris Dick
• music label: Relativity 1991 / Prosthetic Records 2014

reviewed by Le Haim 03/2015