CMFT2 (Decibel Cooper / BMG) is the second solo album from one of the largest mouths in Metal, a musician who you might have thought had all bases covered for his creative output by virtue of being the frontman in two wildly successful bands.
But he clearly requires another avenue for his extraordinarily prolific productivity, and this second solo record no doubt provides the most personal representation of where he is at with his songwriting right now. His debut CMFT, or Corey Mutha Fuckin’ Taylor if you will, was polarising for the section of his fanbase that demand only the full-on ferocity of Slipknot at their most chaotic from their favourite vocalist. The same fans for who the Heavy Rock stylings of Stone Sour also falls short of their expectations just did not seem to get where he was going with that 2020 release.
CMFT provided a real mix-mash of styles and primarily softer Rock, with a Country influence on “HWY 666” and “Samantha’s Gone”, a far more ‘Radio Rock’ vibe provided by the likes of “Black Eyes Blue”, “Silverfish” and “Kansas”, as well as a sprinkle of a punk influence on “Meine Lux” and “Everybody Dies On My Birthday”. We were served the piano-led ballad of “Home” and the rap-rock of “CMFT Must Be Stopped”, absolutely nothing if not a confusing mixed bag from the heavy music icon.
He clearly gave no shits about whatever anyone may have expected of him, creating a record that was a little disjointed to say the least but with a backbone of unashamedly clichéd good-time rock, which is clearly a passion of his.
So what of the follow-up? Well, I think it improves on his debut in every single way. Whether he listened to the fans or not only Corey knows, but CMF2 is unquestionably heavier while showing more maturity in the songwriting throughout. He eases us into the listening experience with some elegant guitar and a hint of the Far East in a Led Zeppelin “Kashmir” kind of way on “The Box”. Asking us to “Come on and enjoy the show,” before going somewhere he never did on CMFT by letting rip with an almighty scream on “Post Traumatic Blues”, providing a very modern Slipknot – esq verse before delivering a big melodic chorus.
Were Stone Sour not currently on a hiatus, this is the kind of track which would not have sounded out of place on a new record of theirs, and this can also be said for “Punchline” and “Dead Flies”.
Elsewhere Corey shows he’s been listening to plenty of old-school Mötley Crüe with the punky Cock Rock of “Talk Sick”, and on the awesome “Beyond”, which delivers a kind of a Crüe meets Maiden sound, on a wicked song that would have been perfect for an eighties martial arts, or boxing movie montage sequence. As is par the course for his non-Slipknot output there are a few obligatory ballads on “Breath Of Fresh Smoke”, “Sorry Me” and “Someday I’ll Change Your Mind”, with the latter as cheesy as the Baywatch theme tune, and Corey knows it.
“Midnight” is also somewhat stripped back until a distorted lead guitar adds some bite, and the punk influence from his first record is also represented on the upbeat call to arms of “We Are The Rest”, the sing-a-long Bad Religion – esque “Starmate”, and on the hardcore-tinged “All I Want Is Hate”, where Corey snarls on the vocals in a Slipknot vs Black Flag kind of style.
On CMF2 he has delivered a solid sophomore album with a catchy as hell collection of songs that may well appease certain fans a little more, while also really hitting the spot with a nod back to the eighties Hard Rock glory days, and all delivered with his own unique twist and a two-fingers up to the haters attitude.
Buy the album here:
8 / 10
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