ALBUM REVIEW: Nug So Vile – Cannabis Corpse
Starting all the way back in 2006, CANNABIS CORPSE have gone far beyond being just another side project, becoming an established and well respected band in their own right and writing some brilliant music in the process. The band have, over the course of the last thirteen years, produced six full length albums, with each one being better than the one before, not only bringing in a variety of musical influences that spans the whole spectrum of death metal, but also inserting some great humour into their lyrics that shows the bands knack for coming up with good weed based puns.
Their latest record, Nug So Vile may be perhaps their best album to date, and as the title, with its obvious nod to Canadian tech death legends CRYPTOPSY, suggests, the band have developed a more technical and varied approach to their music, which makes for what could be one of the most underrated death metal records of the year.
Conquerors of Chronageddon helps to start this record off incredibly strong, with some fantastically fierce death metal with some slick, soaring lead guitars, which pierce the general chaos of the music really well. It’s an unflinchingly intense and powerful opening statement, with ferocious gutturals, that sets the listener up for the rest of the album extremely well. The albums titular track makes for a slightly more focused offering, with sudden time changes and slight, tech death flourishes giving this a far more intricate and virtuosic sound. The guitars are noticeably more animated than the far more rhythm heavy opener, with some excellent, tight drumming and chugging guitar hooks complementing the sludgy quality of the vocals perfectly.
Blunt Force Domain, a steady, monolith opus with some great bass and guitar work, sees the band branch even further out into far more technical territories, with a solid groove giving this song a forceful undercurrent that really helps to create a dense and crushing sound that it’s hard not to love. Cylinders of Madness is a monstrous piece of music with a brilliant groove that makes it one of the more memorable songs on the albums first half. It’s still got plenty of good, disjointed melodies that make the give the music is slightly grating tone, something which only serves to make this song even better. It’s a juggernaut of a track, and an early album highlight that doesn’t fail to please.
Blasphemy Made Hash, with its chunky guitars, authoritative drumming and feral vocal delivery, is another impressive track with a huge sound, with plenty of adventurous lead guitars to keep it interesting from the first note to the last, jumping between energetic riffs and a whirlwind of chaotic sections with ease, adding lots of variety to the proceedings. Cheeba Jigsore Quandary makes for a much more atmospheric affair, with an eerie sound that immediately draws the listener in, with the opening motif quickly giving way to some dizzying, frenzied musicianship on all fronts, resulting in a far more cacophonous number than the first five. It strikes a great balance between the aforementioned frenetic moments and far more robust, catchy ones really well, making sure that this is a song that is likely to appeal to death metal fans across the board.
Edibles Autopsy is a far more intense and aggressive affair, and all the better for it; with some visceral, crunching guitar hooks, speed driven drums and rabid vocals, it proves to be another fantastic, primal slab of caustic death metal with some amazing leads that really help to elevate this song from a good track to a great one. Dawn of Weed Possession possesses a far more classic death metal sound, with gnarly guitar and bass parts dominating the sound, with the drums setting a measured, hypnotic pace in the background. The track gradually descends into madness, with the music becoming decidedly more frenzied and fast, ultimately giving us a song that is one of the more intense on the record, if not the best.
The Cone is Red (Long Live the Cone) manages to capture the essence of the NAPALM DEATH track from which is takes its name, with this song ending up being a short sharp shock of acidic guitars, punishing percussion and bestial vocals, adding a slight tinge of melody to the mix, which makes for another excellent and memorable offering. The Ultimate Indica-ntation makes full use of a more prominent bass line, which works extremely well on this track, with the rest of the track being just as impressive and aggressive. The lead guitars are, as always, fantastic, and the vocals add a depth to the sound that works incredibly well and makes for a far beefier offering than many that have come before it. It’s a great penultimate track that sets the listener up for the final song incredibly well. From Enslavement to Hydrobliteration, another NAPALM DEATH inspired song, provides a brief yet brutal end to a fantastic album, with the demonic guitar passages and brutal gutturals giving this a very robust sound, with the drums padding out the sound even more, making for one last, gargantuan slab of monstrous death metal ferocity. Tying together the intensity and the intricacy of the rest of the tracks, it’s a brilliant way to bring this record to its conclusion.
If you’re the sort of person who believes that this band is built solely on weed puns, we would thoroughly recommend giving this record a spin in order to put that false ascertain to bed. The music on here, on all fronts, is utterly fantastic, from the first song to the very last one. CANNABIS CORPSE are clearly branching out into a far more technical, yet fierce, sound that manages to blend together all the myriad elements that make death metal so great. Although many may consider CANNABIS CORPSE a band who is focused solely on parody and comedy, it’s hard to deny that they are excellent musicians with a lot to offer, not just in terms of their lyrics, but also their music. Don’t let the marijuana theme get in the way of fully appreciating this album, because it would be a shame if you did so.
Rating: 8/10
Nug So Vile is out now via Season of Mist.
Like CANNABIS CORPSE on Facebook.