Let’s face it: Much has gone down in the COC universe since their last album smacked us upside the head. Back in 2018, when No Cross No Crown dropped like a rock n’ roll atom bomb, the tried-and-true COC lineup of Pepper Keenan (vocals/guitar), Woody Weatherman (guitar), Reed Mullin (drums), and Mike Dean (bass) was still going strong. Four brothers united in a decades-long history kicked off by a roving pack of teenage punks in Raleigh, NC, circa 1982.
COC’s first four albums left a permanent mark on headbangers, longhairs, and street punks everywhere: Underground classics Eye for an Eye (1984) and Animosity (1985) followed by slightly more overground bangers Blind (1991) and Deliverance (1994). By the time COC carved off No Cross No Crown nearly a quarter century later, they were legends in their own time, revered by two generations of punk, metal, and rock fans.
Then tragedy struck: In January 2020, Reed Mullin left this earthly plane.
It was a devastating blow, both personally and professionally. How do you replace a brother? You can’t. All you can do is soldier on in his memory. Which is that the rest of COC did—until Covid shut down the globe. Then Mike Dean decided to go his own way. It was an amicable split, but it left Pepper and Woody to contemplate their next move. They hunkered down at Pepper’s place in Mississippi, listening to all the music they love. Discharge. ZZ Top. Motörhead. Neil Young. Black Sabbath. You know: The good stuff.
They started writing. They didn’t stop, not for a long time. Matter of fact, they wrote an honest-to-God double album. “As we went on, we had such a crazy plethora of songs, it was almost like two different directions,” Pepper says. “We knew we had to split it into two different albums. Then we came up with this concept.”
The concept happens to be the title of the record. It’s called Good God / Baad Man. “Our producer, Warren Riker, kept calling it Dark Side of the Doom,” Pepper says. “In my head, it’s a weird love letter to all things rock n’ roll. We used that for the freedom to go in different directions. Each album is its own tiny universe, has its own identity. Good God leans toward the heavier/pissed end of the spectrum. Baad Man is more on the throwdown rock scope. As we went along, it became clear which songs went on which album.”
They brought in drummer Stanton Moore, who played on COC’s 2005 album, In the Arms of God. They brought in bassist Bobby “Rock” Landgraf, who did time with Pepper in New Orleans heavyweights Down when he wasn’t terrorizing the locals in his own band, Honky. “With a lot of these songs, we’re trying to make Reed Mullin proud,” Pepper says. “He was a badass, and a one-of-a-kind drummer. And the stakes were high.”
The first single is “Gimme Some Moore,” featuring backing vocals from Uncle Al Jourgensen of Ministry and Madonna guitarist Monte Pittman. The hook of the song is Struggle is worth the fight/Leather, chains and spikes. “Me and Woody wanted to write a song as if we were 17 years old again,” Pepper explains. “We even made a seven-inch for it.” Said seven-inch is an early ’80s punk throwback, complete with black & white photo collage and a Fear cover on the flipside. It’s a ripper.
“Lose Yourself” is a song the guys all wrote together. Propelled by a beefy groove, you just might hear echoes of COC’s 1996 heater, Wiseblood. “It’s short and to the point,” Pepper says. “It’s kind of about not taking life too seriously. If things are getting in the way, just get away for a while, lose yourself, get your head straight.”
On the other side of the coin, Good God closer “Run For Your Life” is a powerful psychedelic dirge with heavier-than-heavy spoken word from an old friend who happens to be a US military combat veteran.
“Baad Man” opens the second album with a jive-talking dose of grand funk, straight from the grimy streets to your tender earholes. “It’s a weird ’70s rock stomper thing,” Pepper says. “It’s about a guy who thinks he’s a badass, but he really ain’t.”
The album’s final track, “Forever Amplified,” boasts guest vocals from Anjelika “Jelly” Joseph of the long-running New Orleans jazz-funk band Galactic, of which Stanton Moore is a founding member. “She grew up singing gospel in a Baptist church, and she nailed the hell out of the song,” Pepper enthuses. “It’s a dedication to all the people we’ve lost, including Reed.”
Produced by Grammy award winner Warren Riker (Fugees, Down, Cathedral) and featuring cover art by famed New Orleans artist Scott Guion, Good God / Baad Man was recorded at Blak Shak Studios in Riffissippi, USA, Dockside Studios in Maurice, Louisiana, and—get this—Bee Gee Barry Gibb’s home studio in Miami.
“His studio is a magical time warp,” Pepper says. “He was drinking Cuban coffee and hanging out with us while we were tracking guitars. I played Maurice Gibb’s Strat on ‘Baad Man.’ The whole experience was a game changer—big time.”
Bottom line? COC is back. In a big way. Born again for the last time, you might say. “Woody and I are guys who love music, period,” Pepper says. “We had open minds through this whole process. We love ZZ Top as much as we love Black Flag. With this record, we’ve got a whole new paint palette. We made a mess and went Maad.”
