Mike: when you first started out in the band could you imagine that all these years later you would still be at it, as well as being sucessful?
Karl: That is always your hope and dream when you do this, that it's going to keep going! Of course it's not like I found incredible wealth and retirement from it, but that's not the point. Much more important for me as an artist, is to get that love, feedback and respect. I am blown away that I am still considered legitimate and I am part of a greater community that wants me to participate in it. I am just really happy to have the new band, "King Hitter" and two of the guitar players from that band are playing in COC-Blind. With King Hitter, we recently released our five song EP and so far, it has been really well received. It's distributed by Paula Hogan out of the Candlelight office. Candelight has done some other great bands like Corrosion, Orange Goblin and other great bands so it's really cool to be part of that. Paula is a one woman wrecking crew, she has a couple people that help her in the office, but she is just a machine! She runs marathons and has a black belt, I love Paula...For the record I love Paula! (Laughs)
Mike: Now the Blind album marked the time when you crossed over from punk correct?
Karl: Yeah, it was a transition. The thing is, I was on a parallel line with Reed and Woody and all those guys and that's why we clicked when we all got together and I auditioned and got the gig. We all loved Black Flag, but we all like Black Sabbath. We took that Bad Brains energy and combined it with Judas Priest. It was a hybrid thing and we were all just feeling that. That's why I think Blind had some cool and interesting experiments going on and bridged some things between punk and metal.
Mike: So that was a natural bridge?
Karl: Totally natural! People will say "Well, it's totally different from the older stuff". But I say, you know what, we were the guys in the scene that grew our funny haircuts out into long hair. It became more about the music and the vibe and the content rather then our crazy clothes and slam dancing or something. (Laughs) I am not ragging on that, I am proud of where I came from too. In fact I remember seeing COC in 1984 up in Connecticut and was blown away with them with Eric Eycke and" Eye For An Eye". Once "Animosity" came out, that changed my life. I was like man they are nailing this incredible hybrid vibe. My girlfriend painted the Corrosion skull on I don't know how many jackets back then. My hardcore punk band "Seizure" opened up for them in 1985 and we just hit it off and traded vinyl and t-shirts and stuff . From that point on, I would go and see them all over the place as a three piece and seeing them and talking to them along the way, always trying to keep in touch. I was lucky enough to have mutual friends and I saw they were looking for a singer in the Village Voice. It said "Looking for a cross between HR, Alice Cooper and Ian Gillan" and another one said James Hetfield and some other singer. So I thought I love all of this I can do this! And I went down there and got the gig and the rest is history.
MIke: So what's the plan with the band going forward?
Karl: Well that's the tough thing.
Blind is the third studio album by American heavy metal band Corrosion of Conformity, released on November 5, 1991 by Relativity Records. This was Corrosion of Conformity's first album in six years since the release of Animosity, and their first release with rhythm guitarist Pepper Keenan as well as their only recording with Karl Agell on vocals and Phil Swisher on bass. The album saw Corrosion of Conformity change their crossover thrash sound of the 1980s to a more straightforward metal sound. The band recently appeared at Texas Independence F, and Metal Onslaught Magazine had a xhnace to sit down with Karl, enjoy the interview!