Live music review: Metal veterans Corrosion of Conformity rocked Far Out Lounge
It’s July in Texas. means it dsis a season of hiding inside until the deadly laser we call the sun disappears before even remotely considering an outdoor venture. Outdoor shows in Austin are a tall order, but for the return of North Carolina metal veterans Corrosion of Conformity, exceptions can be made. The Raleigh heavy-hitters made their way to South Austin on July 8 at The Far Out Lounge & Stage to deliver a career-spanning set, backed by an opening bill that paved the way in furious fashion. During an usually slow season for live music, both older heads and the young ones made their way to the homegrown Austin backyard for some metal riffs on a sweaty Wednesday night.
Pennsylvania’s Crobot opened the evening, a 2011-formed outfit that pays worthy homage to the pillars of classic metal. Frontman Brandon Yeagley is an electrifying presence, appearing to get a full-body workout whenever he’s on stage. You can hear the DNA of the greats in the vein of Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, and a little Lemmy coded into the mix. It’s less headbanging metal, more hip-shaking, whiskey-soaked rock and roll that happens to hit like a truck – an ideal kickoff for the rest of the bill. With their new LP Supermoon showing a continued upward trajectory for the group, the quartet doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon.
Atlanta’s Whores are no strangers to Texas. Between packed headlining gigs, festival appearances, and a wild stint in the noise rock underground, the singer and guitarist Christian Lembach-led trio has embraced their cult status as one of the most unforgiving forces constantly circling the globe. Since landing in Rolling Stone’s top 20 metal albums of 2024, Whores have been on something of a victory lap, with promises of new material to come. Through bludgeoning riffs, monstrous bursts of piercing noise, and a rhythm section that packs a relentless audio assault, the band has fans begging for more with each appearance. Their 45-minute set at Far Out felt like seeing an old friend – I can count on two hands how many times we’ve seen these guys, and it never gets old.
Corrosion of Conformity has a resume that needs no introduction at this point, but we’ll go through it anyway. CoC has toured with just about every legendary act under the sun. Metallica, Soundgarden, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Dead Kennedys, you name it. Their proto-sludge sound is baked directly into the DNA of metalhead favorites like Down (also featuring Keenan), Crowbar, and Kylesa, all of whom call them their “musician’s band.” In 2026, their name still comes up daily. It’s hard for a self-aware metal fan to ignore their reach. Guitarist and frontman Pepper Keenan stepped up to deliver their pivotal record Deliverance in 1994, cementing their legacy from that point forward – there was no looking back.
With 11 albums in their catalog, Corrosion of Conformity isn’t the type of act to coast on nostalgia. The setlist leaned on the classics but made room for a handful of cuts from their latest efforst, Good God/Baad Man, their first full-length in nearly a decade. On a small stage built for a commanding live spectacle, fans packed the Far Out for a horns-up show that saw new and old fans moshing side by side. Even after sundown, the humidity never let up for the entirety of the sweaty, three-band onslaught. The diehards were doing it for metal, and nothing was going to stop them.
Corrosion of Conformity continues down the road in the United States through July before heading to Europe for another run of shows. Tickets can be found via the band’s website.
All photos by Justin Clark
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