Pepper Keenan has confirmed he is working on the first solo album of his career, saying he is «giving it everything». The Corrosion of Conformity and Down guitarist discussed it on the «We Wreck Records» podcast, hosted by Christina Rowatt of New Noise.
He’s been collecting material for years: «I have a bunch of songs I was saving. A lot of them I held onto thinking “I’ll save these for when I grow up” — they were the kind you stare at for a long time». As he put it, the moment arrived: «And I’m like, damn, I’ve grown old». He’s now starting to slowly organize the material, thinking about who he wants to play guitar and which drummer on each track.
Since the early 90s he has been a constant presence in southern heavy music, keeping the groove character of Corrosion of Conformity and New Orleans’ Down. He joined CoC in 1990 as guitarist and moved to vocals on 1994’s «Deliverance», reaching seven studio albums with the band. After a decade devoted exclusively to Down, he returned in 2014 to CoC’s core trio — guitarist Woody Weatherman, bassist Mike Dean and the late drummer Reed Mullin.
His two main bands have other things ahead. In April Corrosion of Conformity released the double «Good God / Baad Man» via Nuclear Blast, produced by Warren Riker with cover art by New Orleans artist Scott Guion, recorded in several places, among them Blak Shak Studios, Dockside Studios in Louisiana and Barry Gibb’s house in Miami. Down — Keenan, Phil Anselmo, Kirk Windstein, Jimmy Bower and Pat Bruders — are preparing «Volume V» for November. This autumn Keenan will be working double shifts, with Down and CoC both having festivals and special appearances in late 2026.
See also: Down: Pro-shot video for «Bury Me In Smoke» | DOWN: They return with a new album after almost 20 years
