CORROSION OF CONFORMITY - Animosity LP (Violet/Blue Marble Vinyl)

Limited to 300 copies and includes b/w lyric insert and download card.

"Animosity" is one of those records that invites you to explore what 'crossover' even means in the first place. A lazy definition of the genre would describe it as a mix of thrash and hardcore/punk, but this neglects the fact that all thrash is influenced by punk anyway. A better definition of crossover is that it marks a time in the 80s when bands from the hardcore/punk scene started using more metal riffs, resulting in music that sounded a lot like thrash but was distinct from it. This explains why the classic crossover albums sound as different from one another as the classic thrash albums do. There may be similarities between D.R.I., Raw Power, Cro-Mags, Cryptic Slaughter or Suicidal Tendencies, but there are plenty of differences too. Amidst it all, Corrosion of Conformity might have quietly perfected crossover on this album, way back in 1985.

This is a special album, the perfect example of a hardcore band taking the brevity of their home genre and mixing it with metallic heaviness to create the best of both worlds. "Animosity" is a definitive crossover recommendation for all the thrashers out there who have ignored it thus far. The first side is probably my favourite blast of crossover ever, and the second side has grown on me over time. As an album, it destroys the likes of "Join the Army" and "Crossover" (both of which it predates by two years), and it also outflanks subsequent hardcore classics like "Age of Quarrel" and “Life of Dreams” (being heavier, darker and earlier than both). I love this one to death and you will too