January 20th saw CORROSION OF CONFORMITY return to Oklahoma City's Diamond Ballroom accompanied by a powerhouse lineup of supporting bands. In addition to the North Carolina purveyors of all things heavy, C.O.C. also brought along, CROWBAR, WEEDEATER and MOTHERSHIP. That my headbanging friends, is a quality lineup. A loud quality lineup, and one that absolutely lived up to it's expectations.

The Diamond Ballroom is a historic dancehall and music venue located on the eastern side of Oklahoma City. Originally a home for country music, in recent years, it's the go to host for mid-level Hard Rock and Metal touring bands. PANTERA, SLAYER, and MEGADETH have all graced its stage and roomy accommodations. The venue itself is a really nice place to see a show, with plenty of room to move around, a friendly staff, and tolerant security. Oh yeah, and a clean, crisp sound system that will blow the doors off the place. It's a fun place to see a show.

Getting things started from Dallas, TX was MOTHERSHIP . The supersonic intergalactic hard rock trio have a nice unique approach to the heavy arts, blending a bit of NWOBHM, with some good 'ol Texas blues swagger. It's riff heavy, funky and full of fuzz in all the right places. Brothers Kyle Juett on bass/lead vocals and Kelley Juett on guitar/vocals as well as Judge Smith on drums brought the heat on this night.

 

Whether it was "Crown of Lies" from their most recent release "High Strangeness" on Ripple Music, or the earlier cuts like "Lunar Master" or the set ending "Angel of Death", the trio made the absolute most of their allotted time. I was really looking forward to catching MOTHERSHIP for the first time and they most certainly did not disappoint. I hope to see them roll back through sooner than later for some extended playing time.

Up next, we had none other than WEEDEATER, the finest variety of Weed Metal to be found. What's WEED Metal? Well, take a little Doom, a bit more Sludge, a bunch of Stoner, some Evan Walker Kentucky bourbon and a whole bunch of weed. Swirl it around and there you have it….WEEDEATER.

The provided what for me was the absolute best set of music of the night. I've been fortunate to have seen the band a few times, most recently just last year. The set they delivered on this night was the best I've seen. Dave 'Dixie' Collins, Dave 'Shep' Shepherd rocked, and rocked hard, with drummer Ramzi Ateyeh (BUZZOV*EN, SOURVEIN) doing a more than admirable job following the untimely death of Carlos Denogean. This was a power set if there ever was one. Cranking out eight songs in their short time, they played the best of the best.

 

"God Luck, Good Speed", "Wizard Fight", "$20 Peanut" and "Monkey Junction" were all represented, and represented well. Oh yeah, and "Time Served", and a special call out to Ben Jones (BONES OF MARY) for taking a break from the merch table for that guest vocal. Always a treat. I'm telling you, WEEDEATER's set this time was enough to make me want to load up a vehicle and hit the road following them. It really was that good.

Taking the Diamond stage next was CROWBAR. This was my first time seeing them after being told about them by countless friends and musicians. Despite their hometown New Orleans Saints being robbed just hours earlier, the band killed it. Perhaps there was a bit more intensity raging in the band as a result of this most recent NFL blunder, but nonetheless, all those recommendations were spot on.

 

Opening their set with "All I Had", followed by "And I Suffer As One", guitarist/vocalist Kirk Windstein and the boys delivered a set like they were extracting vengeance. CROWBAR has always had a bit of a revolving door when it comes to their members, with only Windstein the constant. The current touring lineup consists of Matt Brunson on lead guitar, Tommy Buckley on drums and Shane Wesley handling live bass duties.

 

With this lineup being my first real taste of CROWBAR, I came away quite impressed.  The remainder of this high octane set included personal highlights of "I Am The Storm" and the closing "Broken Glass". Well done boys. Well done.

Headlining and closing out the night was none other than North Carolina's Heavy Metal Sludge lords CORROSION OF CONFORMITY. C.O.C. last graced the Diamond Ballroom stage a mere six months ago handling a support role for BLACK LABEL SOCIETY. (That review is available here: http://www.metal-temple.com/site/catalogues/entry/worldwide_live_shows/black-label-society_2.htm

That performance was my first time seeing the band, and I had decided it wouldn't be my last. They impressed me on that previous performance, and they continued to do so on this evening.

 

Starting off with "StoneBreaker" from 2005's "In the Arms of God" was a good sign and backing it up even further to tackle 1996's "Wiseblood" was even better. "Wolf Named Crow" brought us back to the present and was the first of several songs from their fantastic current Nuclear Blast release, "No Cross, No Crown".

If forced to lodge a critique, it would be that the first half of the set seemed a bit disjointed. Like an engine firing on only seven instead of eight cylinders.  It wasn't really bad in any way, just a little 'off', and still better than many bands on a great night. Maybe it was the beginning of the tour rust. Maybe it was revisiting some of the older material.

 

Whatever the reason, everything absolutely began to fire and hum with "Paranoid Opiod". It was like a switch went off. This was followed by an absolutely blistering "13 Angels" which sees Pepper Keenan handle lead guitar duties, giving Woody Weatherman a chance to rest those fingers. This version of "13 Angels" was without question my highlight of the night. It was extended, jammed out and just fantastic. Keenan, Weatherman, bassist extraordinaire Mike Dean and drummer Reed Mullin closed out this exciting night of heavy music with "Albatross" and "Clean".

Each band brought their version of heat on this January night. Overall this tour was one of the best Metal nights I've seen in quite a long time. If this tour heads your way, I highly recommend catching it.