Midwest Buy & Sell , Rock N Roll Vintage , and Music Solutions Bolingbrook present
Sunday , November 12 , 2023 9 AM - 4 PM
Vendors will be showcasing their gear .
Prospect Crossing Plaza
1273 N Rand Road Arlington Heights , IL 60004
$ 5 ADMISSION 16 & Under FREE
Buying & Selling & Trading
22 illinoisentertainer . com october 2023
Vinyl record dealers on site as well !
Midwest Buy & Sell - mwbuynsell @ sbcglobal . net - 773-545-2020
MEGA MUSIC RUMMAGE SALE
SATURDAY , OCT . 28
7:30am
*$ 20 Donation
8am - 2pm
* Free Admission
Thousands of items ! LPs , 45s , 78s , CDs , DVDs , VHS , Cassettes , 8-Tracks , Videogames , Sheet Music , Stereo Equipment , Instruments , & More !
Prices Start at $ 1
For Donations and More Information , Call us @ ( 815 ) 740 - 3697
1550 Plainfield Rd ., Joliet IL
Bring in this ad for one FREE
Record , CD or Video !
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thing else than we had done previously . We made the decision that we weren ' t just going to be stuck being a hardcore band for the rest of our lives , and that ' d be all that we ’ d do . We wanted to branch out and be true to the other half of our roots . That ' s how the Blind record came about . It was a game changer , and we did a lot of touring for that record as well .”
Three years later , more changes within the band were afoot with the next album Deliverance . With each album up to that point , the band changed musical directions as well as vocalists . Keenan , who sang lead vocals on the track “ Vote With A Bullet ” on the Blind album , took over as permanent lead vocalist on Deliverance after Agell left after just one album with the band , once again changing the dynamic and musical chemistry . “ That was a massive move for us once again ,” Weatherman explains . “ Between Animosity , Blind and then Deliverance , each one of those moves was a giant step forward for us . The Deliverance record had songs that actually made it on Commercial Rock Radio , which was a complete trip for us . It opened up a lot of doors for us , and once again , we toured massively for the Deliverance record , followed up by Wiseblood . The same thing ( happened ), we toured forever . It was a dream come true , being able to improve each go-round on the last one and improve what we had done previously . In our minds , we were moving forward .”
At the time , Keenan was confident of the band ’ s new direction and everything fell into place on Deliverance . “ We were on a mission ; we knew what we wanted to do , and we knew that we could do these things ,” he states . “ It just felt like a positive , forward-moving thing . It really wasn ' t conscious . We just knew we were onto something that was different and in the world we were coming from .”
During its 40-plus-year career , COC has endured two hiatuses . The second one occurred from 2006 to 2010 while Keenan was recording and touring with his side project supergroup Down , which also featured Pantera frontman Phil Anselmo . Although Keenan says Down is always writing new material , there ’ s no definitive timeframe to start recording a new album , as Anselmo is busy touring with the reformed Pantera , and Keenan , as well as the other members , are busy with their own main bands .
UPWARD SURGE
Although COC has been signed to several prominent record labels throughout its career , its current relationship with Nuclear Blast has been one of its strongest . “ Our dude at the label is Monte Connor , and we ' ve known him for 30 years or more . Monte said , ‘ Do it when you get ready , and we ' re here for you ’ kind of thing . There ’ s no prodding , no bullwhips come out , and there ' s no torture techniques or anything ,” Weatherman says with a chuckle . “ Those guys have really treated us well ; we ' re lucky to have that label . They ' re the hardest working label I would say we ' ve ever been on , and Monte spearheads all that . So it ' s a pleasure to make records for them .”
The band ’ s last album , 2018 ’ s No Cross No Crown , was drummer Reed Mullin ’ s swan song , as he passed away in 2020 . Mullin had been replaced live for a number of shows in the past four years due to a variety of health issues , including an alcohol-related seizure he suffered in June 2016 . “ He had his problems , and we were all rooting for him ,” Weatherman confesses . “ But it got to the point where he was putting such a burden on us with all that kind of stuff . We wound up with an excellent drummer , John Green , who did most of the rest of that No Cross No Crown tour . It was sad when Reed left us , as things like that always are , to lose a lifetime friend . I ' d known Reed since before we started the band ; we were buddies . So it was hard to see him go like that . He ’ s definitely missed .”
COC has a home studio at Dean ’ s house in Raleigh , where the boys recently convened to work on new material for an upcoming 2024 release . The first single from the album , “ On the Hunt ,” was released in April and contains all of the COC trademarks . “ We ’ re working in the studio once again with the fantastic Stanton Moore ( who played on the In the Arms of God album ) and yet another drummer ,” Weatherman explains . “ He and Pepper flew up from New Orleans to Raleigh , and I just drove down ( from Virginia ). We all met up in Raleigh and hit the COC studio ; Mike Dean ' s the wizard behind our little studio . We had a blast for about a week and got about five or six more solid ideas on tape . We ’ ve got a pretty good pile of tunes worked up . We haven ' t really decided where we ' re going to track the actual album yet , but it ' s well on its way . It ’ s a work in progress .”
Keenan says the direction of the new material has been an organic process , where the songs actually dictate the direction themselves . “ Having a drummer like Stanton … he is so ferocious and so in the pocket ,” Keenan explains . “ We sit back and listen to some of these songs we ' re working on , we ' re trying to com-