Touring in support of their January 2018 release, No Cross No Crown, Corrosion of Conformity have little to prove. Theoretically these guys have been giving the middle finger to societal norms and even defining genres since 1982. Excuse the labels, then, but for the sake of pinpointing a sound for the reader, Corrosion of Conformity is a gut punching stew of heavy metal, laced with punk that’s been steaming its way through the globe and will head like a freight train to Florida: Sunday, February 24, at the Orpheum Theatre in Tampa and Tuesday, February 26, at Vinyl Music Hall in Pensacola. 

Calling from his farm in the foothills of Virginia, just a few hours outside of Raleigh, N.C., where it all began for Corrosion of Conformity, guitarist and the bands’ stalwart member, Woody Weatherman, is frank about the excitement in creating No Cross No Crown, getting a nod from Brian May from Queen and the anticipation of hitting the road. Or maybe he’s just excited to get away from his cattle. More on that later. 

Response toNo Cross No Crown(Nuclear Blast Records) has been some of the best in Corrosion Of Conformity’s lengthy career. The 15-track album champions the band’s Southern-roots and an arsenal of tireless riffs, relentless percussion and ballsy vocals. At the vocal helm for the first time in 12 years, is Pepper Keenan. The four member band – Weatherman, Keenan, Mike Dean (bass) and Reed Mullin (drums) also achieved its highest Billboard 200 Album Chart spot to date – roaring to No. 67.

One of the ways Corrosion Of Conformity brings the same energy from its live show to the Raleigh recording studio is to use the same equipment such as amps and gear. 

“It’s something that’s kinda hard to do,” Weatherman said “Obviously you’re not in a studio running around and jumping off the drum riser… we just kept it raw. We didn’t go in and demo these songs until they were just dead and lifeless. We pretty much wrote ‘em and recorded ‘em as we went along. We’d show up there in the morning, hit the studio and there’s nothing. That evening we’d leave and there would be a completed song. It was like something that didn’t exist that morning so that was kinda cool exciting to do a record that way.”

Comradery is also a huge part of the recording process. 

“We were doing it in four to five sessions. Pepper was coming in from New Orleans and I was rolling down from Virginia,” Weatherman said. “We were converging on these four to five day sessions and then we would boogie back home for a week or so, and then we would come back again and do another four to five day session. But during that four to five day session, we were pretty much tied at the hip.”

As a guitarist, Weatherman said he had to rearrange his thinking and some of this approach in recording with Keenan. It had been since 2005’s In The Arms of God that the band had been a four-piece; Weatherman, Dean and Mullin were touring as a three-piece. 

“Really the songwriting and the song structures are a little different when you’re syncing as a single guitar player,” Weatherman said. “Because Pepper and I, we sorta play off each other, especially live, we like to do some harmonies. One guitar is doing one thing, and one guitar is doing something completely different…it’s exciting to do these kinds of records.”

Weatherman gave numerous props to No Cross No Crown producer, Grammy nominated John Custer. It was Custer who had been pushing for the band to record a cover of Queen’s “Son And Daughter.” The song made it as the last track on the album and Weatherman felt they really made it their own. 

“He’d been rattling our cage for really, years, to do that song,” Weatherman said.  “He was like ‘you guys and that song are meant for each other.’  This time he put the hammer down.”

Queen guitarist Brian May approved of the cover. 

“Upon the release of the record, we got a nod from Brian,” Weatherman said.  “He gave us thumbs up which meant a lot to us…we’ve always been giant Queen fans.”

Joining Corrosion of Conformity in Florida will be Crowbar, Weedeater, Mothership and The Obsessed. Not too many bands can claim they’ve been traversing the States and Europe for as long as Corrosion of Conformity – and with new songs like “The Luddite” and “Wolf Named Crow” possibly popping up on the set list, one can’t help but think that nothing has changed since the band’s beginnings. 

“Whenever we got cranked up, we were just kids, 1982 or whatever” Weatherman said. “Things were different you know, and I remember you know, going to shows way back when, and punk rockers would fight with heavy metal dudes and rock and roll dudes. It was different scenes and we were like hell, forget that, we like all that stuff, let’s figure out a way. We’re just gonna play our stuff. Back then it was a totally different vibe. Raleigh back then was sort of a small town. It’s grown into a pretty big city now. I mean, we felt a little shut off. There wasn’t a lot of music, but there was a small scene. I think that was one of the reasons early on that we started touring. By 1984, we were still kids, but we were out traversing the country. We made our way out to the west coast and just tried to make sure we played as many shows as we could. I think that’s one of the reasons we’re still here today because we laid that ground work way back then.”

Florida hasn’t tired Weatherman. 

“Florida is full of weirdos – I say that lovingly,” Weatherman said.  A lot of crazy stuff goes on in Florida. We’ve been there a million times and looking forward to going back…I look forward to doing a little sight-seeing. That’s a big part of being on the road is taking the time to learn about places and meet people and you figure things out.”

With just a few weeks left before he hits the road, Weatherman is enjoying sitting outside in the sun on his farm. He breaks out the guitar in his barn and makes “a lot of noise.” He farms cattle. It’s way different than melting faces with his guitar; he saves the hard work for the stage. 

“Really, cattle farming there’s not much to it,” Weatherman said. “The cows are out in the field eating grass and they look at you every once in a while, and moo. That’s about it. It’s not a lot of work.” 

Proving Corrosion of Conformity has what it takes to have the longevity it’s earned, Weatherman does provide advice to newer bands. 

“Get out and play live,” Weatherman said. “That’s where life is at.”