CORROSION OF CONFORMITY vocalist/bassist Mike Dean is featured in a new interview with David E. Gehlke at Blistering.com. An excerpt is available below:

Blistering.com: When the touring cycle for In the Arms of God ended, and Pepper (Keenan) went back to DOWN, did you think that was the end of COC?

Dean: "I wasn’t really sure. It was always in the back of my head that it could be over with, so it wasn’t a shocking possibility. I was hopeful we could get it back together and do something, although we did start another band called Righteous Fool. I just kept the matter open, basically. I wasn’t counting on anything, basically."

Blistering.com: There’s quite a bit of history with the three of you, going back to the mid-'80s. What was the determining factor in moving forward with this incarnation of COC?

Dean: "Who knows? The generic answer is that Pepper mentioned he had some offers from people to get back together and play a couple of festivals in Europe. It sounded like a good idea. It was exciting to get him and Reed back together and it would be a fun thing to do, but then it turned it out we wouldn’t be able to do it because of Down’s schedule. At that point, we thought, 'Why don’t we do a three-piece?' We could write some new songs so it won’t be a completely nostalgia-based appeal and we could play some shows, and probably, we could do an album if there was some interest. We had the idea, and two years later, here we are."

Blistering.com: The big question hanging over COC is if you’ll ever do anything with Pepper again. I know he’s tied up with Down, but have you had discussions about it?

Dean: "There’s no firm plans, but there is a firm desire to make it happen. We had a really good time doing In the Arms of God and I’m really proud of that album. The only thing missing was Reed. I thought Stanton Moore did a great job. If you’re not going to have your original drummer, then it’s novel to get someone who’s flamboyant to do their take on it. I thought that was a good move. I came away from that thinking that if we had this level of creativity and also had Mullin…that would be a bonus. But yeah, I hope we don’t just get that lineup together for shows or Deliverance nostalgia shows, but get it together with the idea of putting out a record. There’s some controversy to doing the three-piece. People are like, 'Oh my God, no Pepper!' People haven’t even heard it and complain. I’m like, 'Complain on, you’ll see!' There’s a good story behind this version, and there would be a good story behind doing the four-piece again.

Go to this location for the complete interview.

Candlelight Records will release the new self-titled album from Corrosion Of Conformity on February 28th in North America. An e-card for the release is now available at this location.

Recorded at Dave Grohl’s Studio 606 in Los Angeles, the album was produced by the band in cooperation with long-time collaborator John Custer. It was mixed by John Lousteau (FOO FIGHTERS) and features artwork by Seldon Hunt (MELVINS, HIGH ON FIRE). The album will be available on standard CD, deluxe digipak, and two exclusive vinyl formats.

Featuring the esteemed Animosity line-up of vocalist/bassist Mike Dean, guitarist Woody Weatherman, and drummer/vocalist Reed Mullin, the album’s release closes a six year recording gap and completes over a year of concentrated writing and recording for the band.

Corrosion Of Conformity features eleven new songs with the deluxe digipak and vinyl formats including two additional songs. Vinyl collectors will want to seek out both formats of the record; the European configuration confirmed as a double 180-gram clear vinyl and the American version featuring a single 180-gram black-and-white splatter vinyl with a limited 7-inch which will include the album’s bonus songs. Both versions will feature a gatefold sleeve.

With over 1.1 million albums sold in the United States alone, the new album will be the band’s first since 2005’s In The Arms Of God. The album artwork can be seen below:

Corrosion Of Conformity tracklisting:

'Psychic Vampire'

'River Of Stone'

'Leeches'

'El Lamento de Las Cabras'

'Your Tomorrow'

'The Doom'

'The Moneychangers'

'Come Not Here'

'What We Become'

'Rat City'

'Time Of Trials'

'Canyon Man' (deluxe/vinyl only)

'The Same Way' (deluxe/vinyl only)

The tracks, 'The Doom' and 'Time Of Trials' can be heard in the YouTube clip below: