Corrosion of Conformity and Down guitarist Pepper Keenan has officially confirmed he is working on his first-ever solo album, revealing that he is “pulling out all the stops” for the upcoming project.
The legendary Southern metal riff-master discussed the endeavor during a recent appearance on the “We Wreck Records” podcast, hosted by New Noise magazine’s Christina Rowatt.
When asked how the solo project originated, Keenan explained that he had been stockpiling material for years.
“I have a s**tload of songs I’ve been saving. A lot of them I was keeping and I was, like, ‘Well, I’ll just save this till I get older.’ ‘Cause they were very like stare-too-long type of songs. I don’t know if you know what that is. Those type of things. I was, like, ‘Ah, I’ll just save them till I get older.’ And I was, like, ‘F**k, I’m old.’ But that’s not here or there right now. But it’s in the back of my brain. I’m starting to slowly organize stuff, so when I have some downtime, I can start saying, ‘I want this guy to play guitar on this one.’ ‘I need this drummer to help on this one,'” he said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth).
Since the early 1990s, Keenan has been a driving force in Southern heavy music, anchoring the groove-laden sound of both Corrosion of Conformity and the New Orleans supergroup Down. He originally joined Corrosion of Conformity in 1990 as a guitarist before stepping up as the lead vocalist for their landmark 1994 album, Deliverance. To date, he has appeared on seven studio albums with the band.
Following a decade-long focus exclusively on touring and recording with Down, Keenan reunited with the core Corrosion of Conformity trio, guitarist Woody Weatherman, bassist Mike Dean, and late drummer Reed Mullin, in 2014 to resume heavy touring and recording.
Both of Keenan‘s primary bands have major releases and activity scheduled for the near future. In April, Corrosion of Conformity released their double album, Good God / Baad Man, via Nuclear Blast. Produced by Grammy-winner Warren Riker (Fugees, Down, Cathedral) with cover art by New Orleans artist Scott Guion, the record was tracked across multiple locations including Blak Shak Studios in Riffissippi, Dockside Studios in Louisiana, and Bee Gees legend Barry Gibb‘s home studio in Miami, Florida.
Meanwhile, Down, featuring Keenan alongside vocalist Phil Anselmo (Pantera), guitarist Kirk Windstein (Crowbar), drummer Jimmy Bower (Eyehategod), and bassist Pat Bruders, is gearing up to release their highly anticipated new studio album, Volume V, in November.
Fans can catch Keenan pulling double duty on the road this fall, as both Down and Corrosion of Conformity have several major festival appearances and special events lined up for late 2026.
