The reigning kings of heavy, swampy, southern riffs, Corrosion Of Conformity, made their return to London for a sold-out show at The Dome last week. Ahead of their performance at Download festival and a large European tour, the band played a sweaty and heaving show for those lucky enough to be there.
Corrosion Of Conformity
The Dome, London – 10 June 2026
Words: Kahmel Farahani
Photography: Peterson Marti / Chaoszine
Corrosion Of Conformity have just released their superb new album Good Good/Baad Man. It is arguably their best since Wiseblood, and a contender for Metal album of the year in this writer’s books.
The band walk on stage with no fanfare and get right down to business, with feedback peeling out of their mountain of Orange amps. “What’s up, London?” says a smiling Pepper Keenan. “It’s been a while. Thanks for not forgetting about us”.
From the moment they launched into Asleep On The Killing Floor, it is clear the band has only gotten tighter and sharper over the last few years.
You Or Me is one of the highlights of the new album, and it sounds absolutely massive live. A swirling pool of heavy riffing and soaring solos, it sounds like Lynyrd Skynyrd crossing over with Black Sabbath.
Speaking of mixing new and old, tonight’s setlist was beautifully paced, balancing fan favourites like My Grain and Who’s Got The Fire with the new material.
“You like weird shit?” Pepper asks the crowd. “You like heavy shit?” Another roar of approval answers this one. “So you like heavy weird shit!”
It leads into the Deliverance classic Shake Like You. Like everything Corrosion Of Conformity does, it is a blend of crushing heaviness while staying catchy and hooky as hell.
Guitarist Woody Weatherman is absolutely outstanding, and when he locks into a groove with Pepper, it is a blast to watch. If Pepper Keenan is not the most underrated riff writer of his generation, he is certainly in the running for that title.
Songs like Seven Days have a crushing groove between the riffs and the rhythm section that grabs the crowd and refuses to let go. It is one of the highlights of the night.
Paranoid Opioid delivered one of the evening’s heaviest moments, while the haunting psychedelic Metal of 13 Angels is beautiful, and Pepper Keenan’s vocals are flawless. In a genre of music where every single band is indebted to Black Sabbath, Corrosion Of Conformity are one of the few bands writing and performing songs that do not sound dated or derivative.
They have perfected a classic formula and added their own flavour, totally free of clichés and tropes that too many similar bands employ.
New songs like the catchy Baad Man, and the brutal hard punk of Gimme Some Moore kept the momentum going before the charged social anthem Vote With A Bullet, the song’s message still scarily relevant decades after its release.
“I don’t remember London being this hot,” says Pepper Keenan from the stage, as the sweaty audience jostles closer to the stage. “I’m from a fucking swamp, but this is hot!”
The encore starts with the soaring riff of Albatross, and it brought on one of the loudest sing-alongs of the night, before the razor-sharp Clean My Wounds closed the gig.
Tonight’s show was a masterclass in heavy, riff-driven music delivered by a band that remains every bit as powerful, relevant, and uncompromising as ever.
Corrosion Of Conformity are around their 40th year as a band, depending on your start date. Yet they flex with the musical muscle of a band just getting started.
We can only hope the band continues to spread its wings and soar in the coming years.
