Cannabis Corpse

It feels strange calling Cannabis Corpse death metal, even though the Richmond band sounds a whole hell of a lot like a handful of influential ’90s death metal bands from Florida—Morbid Angel, Obituary and, duh, Cannibal Corpse. Because death metal, I think we can freely admit, was so named not only because of the aggressive, bass-heavy brutality in the sound but because of its thematic tropes of decay, dismemberment and, duh, death.

Though they’ve mastered the aggressive, bass-heavy brutality, Cannabis Corpse don’t write songs about death and murder and bodily ruin. They—as the name suggests—write songs about cannabis. Before the novelty-band stigma creeps in, let’s be clear; Cannabis Corpse writes quite good death metal songs that just happen to be about weed. Just like their titles just happen to parallel hilariously closely to Cannibal Corpse titles (Cannabis’ 2008 LP, Tube of the Resinated, had more than a few echoes of Cannibal’s Tombs of the Mutilated). Besides, it’s not like you’ll know what they’re screaming without a lyric sheet, anyway.

When you find out that Cannabis Corpse shares a drummer with the goofball party-thrash outfit Municipal Waste, it starts to make a little more sense: Of course there’d be a band as in love with death metal as it is with social drug use and unruly fun. 

And even if we can agree to treat Cannabis Corpse as a novelty act, it’s still a top-tier parody. If the band offers little by way of originality, who cares? First, early American death metal brings a power that’s held up. It’s no surprise Cannibal Corpse still commands the marquee slot on tour. And secondly, people are ready for death metal that doesn’t take itself so damn seriously. The runaway success of Dethklok, the death metal Monkees, proves this. Consider Cannabis Corpse another dealer ready to dole out the primo for your headbanger’s ball. —Bryan Reed