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Cannabis Corpse Played a Dank Set of Death Metal Parodies

Austin punk hangout Red 7 hosted D.R.I. the night before, a band that coincidentally hugely influenced Municipal Waste. Although “Land Phil” Hall plays in Municipal Waste, it was his love for death metal, not crossover that brought him into Austin this night. This time he joined with his brother Josh “Hallhammer” Hall and new guitarist Brandon Ellis in support of the band’s latest full-length recording “From Wisdom To Baked" on an Austin stop that is part of a Metal Underground.com sponsored tour.

Before hearing songs of bud monsters and weed-induced murderous rampages, three opening bands sparked up the festivities. San Antonio brutal death squad Flesh Hoarder initiated the melee. The group was short two members due to it having taken on the show on short notice. Ryan Sylvie of Whore of Bethlehem filled in for Nick Moreno and the band played without guitarist Angel Tarin. It’s been a couple of years since Sylvie fronted Scattered Remains, but he was up to the task, as was the band. The group played a mix of slamming rhythms, guttural voices, quick cymbal strikes and down-tempo riffs in the vein of Immolation and Morbid Angel. Songs like “Ejaculating on the Faces of the Aborted” kept their set utterly offensive.

Inanimate Existence kept the death metal machine rolling. Although the Northern Cali band played death metal, their approach was much different than their predecessors. IE played a more technical brand with attention to melody. The band’s singer fluctuated in pitch between middle ranged death growls and quasi-black metal shrieks. Guitarist Cameron Porras moved his fingers with deft agility. His leads were impressive as was his fingers travelling up and down his guitar’s fret. Also, the band’s variety of sounds, which included clean, even Spanish-style notes, made for an entertaining set.

Mammoth Grinder has changed its sound quite a bit since forming. The group used to play hardcore and sludge. Tonight, they were all about death metal. Their approach was akin to Entombed. Although they played fast death metal, the pace was bewildering. Singer/guitarist Chris Ulsh still retains a semblance of hardcore in his voice. The pit really picked up around this time. In fact, Mammoth Grinder’s pit was the largest of the night. Part of the reason for this crowd participation was seeing a local act come back home. Part of it was much of the crowd was stoned during Cannabis Corpse.

There was still a pit during Cannabis Corpse, but it was mostly the same people that started moshing at the beginning of the concert. Phil Hall commented on how chill Austin crowds are and how they must all be stoned. After opening track “Starting Through the Eyes That Are Red,” Hall puffed on a joint that was handed to him from the crowd. He said it was the second song of their set and he was already smoking a doob. A couple of songs later a person dressed up like a giant bud leaf joined the moshers. The person moved exceptionally well for being bogged down in a costume.

Hall’s vocals sounded just like Chris Barnes, including the scream he did at the end of “Staring Through My Eyes That Are Red.” Speaking of Chris Barnes, Hall introduced “Individual Pot Patterns” by mentioning it was written by Christ Barnes and how he played in Cannibal Corpse. He seemed to throw out the Chris Barnes info to see if everyone was paying attention. The crowd was stoned and lethargic, but the group had its attention.

The band also played “Zero Weed Tolerance” from their recent offering “From Wisdom To Baked.” Hall introduced this song by saying it is about someone smoking weed and going on a murderous rampage. New guitarist Brandon Ellis appeared in fine form, too. From his grooves to solos, he was a fun guitarist to watch. Hallhammer bashed his drums with vicious force.

Cannabis Corpse only played about a 45-minute set when the group was billed to play an hour. They totally destroyed in amount of time they played. While the music was excellent, it’s always fun to hear their parodies of classic death metal tracks. Here’s a few of the songs they played: “Blunted at Birth,” “Disposal of the Baggy,” “Sentenced to Burn One,” “Where the Kind Lives,” and “Gateways to Inhalation.”