UMUR
"Megalodon" is an EP release by US stoner/heavy metal act Corrosion of Conformity. The EP was released as a free digital download by Scian AV in November 2012. It´s the group´s second major release this year as they released their self-titled comeback album back in February.
While the self-titled full-length was a bit of an eclectic release, which featured both hardcore, traditional heavy metal and stoner metal elements, the "Megalodon" EP features 5 tracks that are firmly placed in the stoner metal style. The Black Sabbath worship is obvious and at times (Especially in the opening track "Feed On", there are nods towards mid-nineties Cathedral). The tempo is mostly mid-paced and the riffs are blues based and doomy. The three members of the band again share the vocal duties (like they did on the preceeding album release), and again it´s drummer Reed Mullin that leaves most of an impression on me. While the other two deliver some decent vocal performances, it´s obviously in this department Corrosion of Conformity are a bit lacking. Losing a strong and distinct sounding vocalist like Pepper Keenan is always going to be a big loss and while the three remaining members do a decent job, I suspect Corrosion of Conformity won´t hit the major leagues again before they recruit a more distinct sounding lead vocalist. A bit harsh maybe, because the rest of the music is of high quality and the same can be said about the sound production and the songwriting in general, but it´s my honest opinion.
Of course that doesn´t mean I don´t enjoy "Megalodon", because I certainly do. It´s just that I think, it probably would have been an even stronger release with another lead vocalist. As it is now, it´s still a very strong release though and the fact that it´s offered up for free download sure doesn´t make things worse. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.