Metal Underground.com

"From Wisdom to Baked," the Season of Mist Records debut by Cannabis Corpse, gives a Zig-Zag twist to Gorgut's influential prog death outing. The Virginian stoners blow smoke in Gorgut's direction with songs like "With Their Hash He Will Create," "Considered Dank," and "From Wisdom to Baked." Overall, the song titles pay homage to the field of progressive death metal artists. "Zero Weed Tolerance," "THC Crystal Mountain, "Individual Pot Patterns," and "Medicinal Healing" are pot-laced parodies of classic Death material.

Ingesting a Cannabis Corpse album is akin to buying a bag: you want to analyze it first--smell it and look at the hairs and crystals--before trying it out. Outward appearance is certainly a selling point, but the music on "From Wisdom to Baked" is some heavy duty shit. The album kicks off with pounding bass and guitar that alternates between speakers. This gives the listener an idea of the dank tones and apparent bass lines found on the album.

"Zero Weed Tolerance" parodies Death, but the song has more in common with Cannibal Corpse, especially in pace. Land Phil's bass lines on "Individual Pot Patterns" would fit well on a Death album, but the speed and guitar play are again more in line with Cannibal Corpse. In fact, ex-Cannibal Corpse, current Six Feet Under vocalist Christ Barnes puts his own putrid stamp on this tune. While the songs resemble Cannibal Corpse, there are always segments that sound like no one else. Around the 2-minute mark, Brent Legion plays a guitar melody that's outside of parody or homage. The bass during chorus lines also takes the song in a different direction, one recalling bands like Atheist and Death.

"Pull The Carb" features slick fret work and hard grooves that step down the pace into doom-y territory. Also, check out the scream seemingly plucked from the lungs of George Fisher. Oh yeah, that's not the neighbor's creating that hydro vortex, it's a sample of a bong toke, probably taken from the band's own smoking session. "THC Crystal Mountain" opens with psychedelic noises probably created through a pedal. Brutal drum beats, ringing-chord breaks and the occasional mind-boggling solo provide ear-catching change ups on this rad tune. Looking for more speed? Check out "Medicinal Healing," a song that probably wouldn't sound as fast when heard on all the medicine this song describes.

It almost goes without saying that fans of death metal who commune with Mary Jane will get the most enjoyment out of "From Wisdom to Baked." The music is strong enough that if you take away the stoner themes that any fan of Florida death metal, Cannibal Corpse in particular, will still put the album on continuous play. In terms of past album comparisons, Cannabis Corpse has improved its production values and overall song writing. While buried under mountains of THC and embedded in the greasy marrow of Cannibal Corpse, Cannabis Corpse still manages to find its own voice, coughs and all!