Pepper Keenan: Corrosion of Conformity Reunion Took Off Because of the Fans
Four years after dissolving, Corrosion of Conformity reunited in 2010 as a trio, notably without their iconic frontman, Pepper Keenan. The lineup yielded two records, 2012's self-titled effort and 2014's IX, which were received with mild fanfare, though 2014 got a bit better for the CoC faithful as Keenan linked back up with the group to handle vocals and additional guitar. A brief European tour ensued and Keenan insists that due to fan demand to see the band's classic lineup, they got to where they are today.
"Well, we just, we went to Europe and didn't have anything — just a couple of promoters agreed to put us in there," he began telling Full Metal Jackie in a recent interview. "And the shows did really well and they added more shows and all of a sudden some festivals called and then we got some tours with other bands."
"It was just completely fan-based," the frontman added, "and I thought that was a really positive thing. And once some labels kind of saw us and were snooping around, it kind of went from there — nobody was trying to control anything and at this point in the game, you got to let things happen."
As for what it was like returning to the band, Keenan stated, "I think that the idea of playing the songs were really the glue. Once we started playing all the songs it just kind of came back like riding a bicycle."
Corrosion of Conformity are now on tour with Black Label Society, promoting No Cross No Crown, their first album to feature Keenan since 2005's In the Arms of God. The tour runs through Feb. 27 and a list of stops can be found here. Meanwhile, you can find out where to hear Full Metal Jackie's weekend radio program at this location.
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