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List Price: $13.98 | | Label: Sanctuary Records
Salesrank: 19649
Released: April 5, 2005 |
| Our Price: $5.62 |
| Used Price: $2.94 |
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| Media: Audio CD |
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In the Arms of God Track Listing:
1. Stone Breaker
2. Paranoid Opioid
3. Is It That Way
4. Dirty Hands Empty Pockets (Already Gone)
5. Rise River Rise
6. Never Turns to More
7. Infinite War
8. So Much Left Behind
9. Backslider
10. World on Fire
11. Crown of Thorns
12. In the Arms of God
Editorial Review:
Corrosion Of Conformity In The Arms Of God 12 NEW TRACKS PRODUCED BY JOHN CUSTER PEPPER KEENAN β vocals/guitar, WOODY WEATHERMAN β guitar/vocals, MIKE DEAN β bass/vocals and special guest STANTON MOORE (from GALACTIC) on drums NO STRANGER TO BUCKING TRENDS, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY REMAIN FAITHFUL TO THE CORE WITH BOTH MUSICAL AND POLITICAL CONTROVERSY AND THE AGGRESSION THAT THRU TIME HAS BECOME THEIR CALLING CARD. IN THE ARMS OF GOD, THE LONG AWAITED STUDIO RETURN, IS BRUTAL PROOF THAT THE UNDERGROUND UNREST OF MIDDLE AMERICA IS STILL ALIVE AND WELL ... AND SCARY AS HELL! THE ALBUM IS A BLEND OF COC DARK CORE ROOTS SMEARED WITH THE HEAVY TAUNTING OF A 'SABBATH' ON STEROIDS. BY FAR ONE OF THE BAND'S HEAVIEST EFFORTS IN MANY YEARS, THE ALBUM REFLECTS AN EVOLVED HEAVY CLASSIC SOUND BLESSED WITH MODERN WISDOM. DESTINED TO DELIVER A JOLT TO METAL AND ACTIVE RADIO, IN THE ARMS OF GOD WILL SATISFY THE LOYAL AND SOLEMLY CONVERT NEWBIES TO WHAT IS... THE REAL DEAL.
Description of In the Arms of God:
After a lengthy break from recording, Corrosion of Conformity have come back strong on this 2005 release. As direct and tight as Wiseblood, this new outing displays the grooves and heaviness apparent with other NOLA bands, exemplified by heavyweights Down and Crowbar. Itβs hard and heavy yet melodic throughout. C.O.C. remain one of the more overtly political bands on the hard rock scene. Tracks "Dirty Hands, Empty Pockets," and "Never Turns To More" are direct odes to the tarnished American dream and the struggle to remain individual as a human. The album also has a sublime and spiritual feel to it. The combination of these factors, along with the sludgy metal, makes this album feel like the direct descendent of such Black Sabbath classics as Masters of Reality and Sabotage, which is pretty amazing lineage. --Robert Arambel
In the Arms of God Reviews:
Excellent 
2009-09-29 - I am not a metal student: beoynd basics I know little about the genre. But if I had to pick a horse like a novice gambler at a racetrack, I would assuredly put my money on Corrosion Of Conformity.
Hearing this album, what strikes me most is the genuiness of this band: you sure as hell won't confuse them with Poison or Loveboy. The monster vocals take getting used to if you're a progressive rock or jazz fan like me; but then again, listen to Ian Gillan and then play this, and the leap is really not that big.
Second, I like the writting. COC may play metal. But like metal of very old, it is based on the blues. These are not the standard 12-bar riffs that you would hear on an old Blue Cheer album, but this music has the decending scales, minor tonics and sting riffs that are blues derived if not blues itself. I don't know if these guys had a lot of exposure to 60s blues based metal--listen to Blue Cheer's "Dr. Please" to hear what I am talking about-or if COC have dug Muddy or the Wolf for themselves. But it does not matter: they get the job done.
COC's songs also have many parts and suprises. They know how to weld chunky riffs to create what is more than the sum of the pieces. This is not a progressive rock band, but if progressive heads want to delve into metal, COC will more than fit the bill.
If these guys are head bangers, they have banged their heads in all the right places. Check them out.
One of COC's Best 
2009-07-30 - This is such an incredible CD from start to finish. I've seen a lot of comments about this being a return to form, and it does seem to have a more eclectic, wild vibe than Wiseblood or America's Volume Dealer, sounding more in the Deliverance vein. The songs are truly great, and the riffs are fantastic. I can listen to this album straight through without finding a dull moment. Out of their albums from "Blind" to this one, I used to like "Blind" the most. Over the years as I've listened to them more, and as my own musical tastes have grown and matured, I now prefer "Deliverance" and "In the Arms of God," as both seem to present the best mix of heavy, Sabbath grooves, up-tempo rock/metal numbers, occasional hardcore moments, soulful, slower, acoustic songs, and just overall outstanding songwriting and musicianship. Plus, Pepper's vocals on "In the Arms of God" sound more like "Deliverance," a little less controlled and mainstream sounding than on the last couple of albums. This CD has 13 tracks, so I'll just highlight a few of the better ones:
"Stone Breaker"-- Incredibly heavy opening track; awesome riffs and vocals.
"Paranoid Opioid"-- This track would fit right in on "Master of Reality." One of my favorite COC songs ever.
"Dirty Hands Empty Pockets/Already Gone"-- Featuring Pepper's ZZ Top vocals and powerful riffing, plus a fast, southern-rock tinged second half.
"Rise River Rise"-- Acoustic track with great vocals.
"Infinite War"-- Borderline hardcore track with Mike Dean vocals.
"The Backslider"--One of the songs that sounds to me the most like "Deliverance"-era.
"In the Arms of God"-- Title track and album closer, this song sounds like it could be on "Blind." Very heavy.
Any COC fan should have this CD, as it stands up to anything else they've done. These are high quality metal songs by a band that is not as appreciated as it should be. This album shows that COC is still capable of putting out some of the best music out there, but with Pepper's commitments to Down, their fans, like me, have to wait far too long in between new releases. Hopefully their next one will be as good as this.
Not Quite There Yet 
2007-06-10 - There are some good riffs on this album, as one would expect from COC. I also enjoyed almost all of Pepper Keenan's vocals, as I usually do. But this disc lacks something that keeps it out of the 4 star range (if I could I'd give it 3 1/2 stars). Perhaps it is that the disc reminds me of mid-90's Metallica a bit too much at times, or that one of the best riffs on the album (from Paranoid) sounds almost the same as the riff from the song Bottom Feeder (on Wiseblood). Perhaps it just sounds too much like stuff I've heard too many times before. Whatever the case, while there are some pretty good southern rockish/metallish songs on the CD, and some good Sabbathesque riffs, I don't think they've gotten back to the heights they reached on Blind, Deliverance, and Wiseblood. I would say that this is a step in the right direction, though.
Rocks!
2007-05-05 - I just listened to two tracks on the CoC myspace site. This album is heavy and totally rocks! They still got it!
Excellent Return To Form
2007-01-13 - It's good to see COC back in action, making a new album and touring, as they were one of my favourite acts from the 90's. With "In The Arms of God" the band return to form, combining the elements that made them such a great band in the first place - good song writing/melody, and of course lots and lots of bluesy riffs.
After leaving their hardcore/thrash/metal fusion beginnings behind, the band created a series of stunning metal releases. This was not a view held by all however, as the band lost fans, claiming they had `sold out' with the new old-school metal approach. For me, a fan of retro metal, especially in the stoner/doom styling, albums such as "Deliverance" and "Wiseblood" did the trick, and this new release is in a similar vein.
What distinguishes COC from all the other riff-heavy metal bands is their excellent song writing ability, combining great riffs with actual good structures and melodies. After the flowing start of "Stone Breaker" with its spacey intro and relatively straight-forward styling, the band really kick things off with "Paranoid Android", which combines everything I was previously talking about. The song starts with an infectious Pepper Keenan bluesy riff, albeit rather repetitive, but then the band really begin to show their colours, switching things up with numerous middle sections, all with varying riffs, melodies and tempos. Another example of the bands superb song writing comes in my personal favourite, the sprawling "Never Turns To More". This is possibly COC's best song to date, with rich vocal harmonies, infectious riffs and overall stellar musicianship from the whole band. This song also has a very dreamy and ethereal aspect to it, due to many of Keenan's vocal notes being held and delayed with effects (this is also used in other standout track "It Is That Way"), and some of the lead solos having a similar echoed and delayed effect. The band really hit the nail on the head with this song.
To me there are also promising signs of development from the band, experimenting with different sounds and vibes. For example "Rive River Rise" has a very cool middle-eastern/Asian vibe to it, with its use of shakers, congas and driving acoustic guitars. The album's closer, the title track, sounds to me like Keenan was greatly influenced by his time with super group Down, as this song could've easily been on either of their releases. Starting with pummelling riffs and aggressive vocals, the song draws to its massive climax with simply THE riff on the album, the structure reminds me a lot of the epic closer to "NOLA", the fine "Bury In Smoke" which ends with the albums most brutal and engulfing riff. This is not to say the band has lost any of its original sound and style, as this album is packed with killer and classic COC songs (such as "Dirty Hands", "Backslider" and "World on Fire"), all adding up to an album with NO filler, and not a single weak track.
Due to this reason, I am very tempted to say this is COC's best album yet. Whether it's a maturing or simply the benefits of taking time out, whatever it is...this band has hit their peak.
