Cannabis Corpse: Beneath Grow Lights Thou Shalt Rise

Marijuana metallers Cannabis Corpse evidently like two things: cannabis and Cannibal Corpse. And with a name like that it'd be easy to dismiss them as a bit of a joke, but Beneath Grow Lights Thou Shalt Rise is a damn fine record from a damn fine band that has ventured even further down the left-hand path to pay homage to those other masters of death, Morbid Angel and Deicide. 'Visions from the Dankside' is a short intro featuring a heart monitor surrounded by eerie sounds – a glimpse at the album cover should clear up what this is about. With 'Lunatic of Pot's Creation', the bands tight musicianship, crunching guitars, guttural growls, and ear for a crushing tune are brought rapidly to the fore. At 36 minutes, Beneath Grow Lights Thou Shalt Rise is a dense and tightly packed album with as many fast riffs and frenzied drum-work as is inhumanly possible to compress into 12 tracks. With titter-inducing song titles and satirical lyrics to match – though there is a serious message in there somewhere – this is much sharper than it may first appear. Mid-paced grooves are matched with death metal ferocity in "Sworn to the Bag" and Where the Kind Lives". "Blame it on the Bud" has more than a liberal a dose of punk submerged beneath the massacre. And "Dead by Bong" is just ridiculous, as fun as it is pummelling. This is a killer death metal album that without the (loving) mockery of Deicide and Morbid Angel titles and dope-laden lyrics would stand up against the best of 'em. In fact, it stands up with them. As a parody band, you could argue that Cannabis Corpse has peaked, but I suppose Phil Hall's got Municipal Waste for his "serious" band. In the meantime however, maybe death metal will find a wider audience through this excellently executed parody. There may be the odd track that feels generic in places, but collectively there is not one track here that lets the album down. Should they so wish, Cannabis Corpse could abandon both homage and caricature and stand tall alongside the death metal deities whom they hold in such high esteem. While Morbid Angel stroll around with their heads up their arses trying to find the light switch, get Beneath Grow Lights Thou Shalt Rise. You won't be disappointed.

Track Listing

1. Visions From the Dank Side
2. Lunatic of Pots Creation
3. Blame it on Bud
4. Chapel of Bowls
5. Dead by Bong
6. Immortal Pipes
7. Where the Kind Lives
8. Sworn to the Bag
9. Blaze of Torment
10. Gateways to Inhalation
11. Slave to the Chron
12. Beneath Grow Lights Thou Shalt Rise

Added: July 18th 2011
Reviewer: Jason Guest
Score:
Related Link: Band Facebook
Hits: 3296
Language: english

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