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Down- II
Good artists consistently put out similar works of a certain caliber. Great artists evolve and progress, showing that their music was not a formulaic fluke. While down's debut has become a legendary release in metal music and a benchmark in the New Orleans scene, down II shows exactly the traits that great artists posses; the ability to grow. From subtle yet powerful acoustic tracks like 'learn from this mistake' and 'landing on the mountains of Megiddo' to the most bottom heavy sludge since Sabbath (or downs last release), down has spread in every direction they hinted at on their previous outing. Production has also taken a leap. NOLA- which sounded like a loud demo (Philip Ansalmo admits this in interview), lacked any 'real' production due to conflicting schedules and the way the album was recorded (in between tours). II on the other hand sounds a hop and a skip ahead of NOLA without sacrificing rawness to the sterility of a real studio and big name (big label) producer. In the end, II is an album the likes of which this generation has never seen, in scope, rawness and power. Down is no longer just a side-project. It is a stellar rock n roll group that defines the New Orleans sound.
9/10

Corrosion Of Conformity- America's Volume Dealer
It has been said that corrosion of conformity has not held a lineup long enough to develop a solid musical identity. Whatever the circumstances, COC have managed to keep their music fresh and exiting by pretty much ignoring the outside world, and moving solely on the basis of their collective instinct and songwriting talents. The bands latest studio offering, America's Volume Dealer, is the long (long, long, long) awaited follow-up to their Grammy nominated (who cares?) album, Wiseblood. the album finds singer-guitarist Pepper Keenan, drummer Reed Mullin as well as original members guitarist Woodroe Weatherman and bassist Mike Dean moving farther and farther away from the bands original hardcore-punk-metal roots. At times reminiscent of Kyuss (or Sabbath) while at others leaning closer to Skynyrd-esque southern rock, from any other band (Metallica excluded) this type of effort would come off as unfocused. fortunately every member is a stellar songwriter and 20 years into their careers- these guys know their shit. Tracks one, two and four- 'over me', 'congratulations song' and 'Diablo Blvd.' could easily have been found on Wiseblood, or Deliverance- both showcase the now traditional COC guitar tone (rough baritone, dirty overdubs) and pepper's distinctive voice. the standouts on the record however are 'stare too long', 'sleeping martyr' and '13 angels' which combine hook ridden rock n roll with a Sabbathy sludge which is common in stoner metal.
This album has very little filter (Zippo) and is a great introduction to both stoner metal and southern rock- it probably places high among the contributions to both genres in the past 5 or 10 years.
7.5/10