Just as Anthrax weren’t a punk band, they borrowed certain things from that genre all the same. Most crossover hardcore bands of the era were like the punk equivalent of Metallica, Exodus, Anthrax and Slayer-while not necessarily fully embracing the trappings of metal, they found things they liked about it and simply incorporated them into their music. While these Raleigh, NC punks had certainly taken a step toward a more metal-influenced sound, made all the more evident by the session with Metal Blade producer Bill Metoyer that constituted the first five songs on the album, stylistically they were radically different than labelmates (and tourmates) D.R.I. The same could certainly be said of Corrosion of Conformity, particularly with the release of their second album (and first as a trio), Animosity, issued on Metal Blade’s crossover label, Death Records, that same groundbreaking year.

Know, Broken Bones and, of course, D.R.I.-among others-were at various times shoehorned into the emerging genre, though objectively they shared few stylistic similarities, other than perhaps a penchant for “metallic” guitar and speed. In 1985, any punk band with the temerity to add metal elements to their sound were rather haphazardly lumped into the “crossover” category. 72 Animosity Label: Death/Metal Blade Release date: 1985 -– Hall of Fame Corrosion of Conformity, Hall of Fame.

Animosity songs