I don’t know exactly why, but metal is so ripe for parody sometimes. Maybe it’s because it’s pretty easy to make fun of metal at times, and there’s such a uniform style that it’s just easy to ape. It can also be so chaotic that the bands themselves are just having a good time and feeling themselves a lot which lends itself to a good joke. The best bands will completely own the joke and make really serious music at the same time. Cannabis Corpse is one of those bands. Nug So Vile is the perfect example of a record that’s silly and serious at the same time.
For anyone unfamiliar, Cannabis Corpse is another brilliant off-shoot of the Municipal Waste tree. Unlike Municipal Waste, Cannabis Corpse makes some pretty brilliant and fun death metal. Sure, all of their records and songs are marijuana-themed puns of classic tracks and album titles. But don’t let that fool you in the slightest. This is some pretty serious death metal. In a way, it didn’t fall too far from the Municipal Waste tree. It’s just fun tracks of some brutal grinding death metal.
Nug So Vile is no different from the band’s previous releases. The riffs are there, and they are a whole lot of fun. They’re as mind-bending as you would hope from a death metal band. The drums create some very lively driving beats that keep your blood pumping like they’re supposed to. All the blast beats anyone could ask for. Landphil Hill’s guttural vocals really tie everything together in the best way possible, completing the death metal package just as you’d like it. It lives up to their Bandcamp biography: “The band was a heart-felt tribute to smoking pot and crushing death metal.” You couldn’t summarize it better.
The best part about this record is that it just goes so friggin’ HARD. Hope you weren’t expecting a ballad or something because it’s just not going to happen on Nug So Vile. The trio really has the death metal chug down. The riffs are acrobatic, sure, but you need something to fill up the space between the licks. It just keeps the aggression up and gives it all the drive. If you want a constant barrage of sensory overload guitars, look no further than the latest from Cannabis Corpse.
All that being said, no one should be surprised when they find out this isn’t some life-changing progressive record full of ideas that get to the meaning of the human condition. The band is called Cannabis Corpse. The album cover features marijuana buds maiming people in the streets. If you were expecting something more, that’s your fault. Much like Municipal Waste and bands of their ilk, sometimes you just need to have fun so you can take a break between deep thinking.
However, this is a ridiculously fun record to listen to. If death metal is your jam, this record is going to feel like eating a meal of comfort food. It has everything you want and nothing you don’t. It’s fun enough that it would be a great introduction to death metal for anyone looking to understand the subgenre a little bit better. Hopefully, you live in a state with full legalization. It’s probably the best way to enjoy this record, but you don’t have to get yourself in legal trouble to enjoy it. Enter the cylinders of madness. Cannabis Corpse lives.
…
Nug So Vile is available Nov. 1 via Season of Mist.