Cannabis Corpse knows how to parody, that much is clear. From this album title, Blunted At Birth (a take on Cannibal Corpses’ Butchered At Birth), to songs (I Cum Bud instead of I Cum Blood, for example), down to their very band name, they know how to take on something as brutal as Death Metal and make it funny. Which is what they do. But imagery and lyrics aren’t everything, and that’s where this record falls, but more often than not we experience flashes of brilliance.
One of the major problems this album has is that everything on this record seems too fast to take in, which hardly leaves anything memorable or lasting behind. Not fast as in a blastbeat sense, fast as in quick short songs that seem sloppily put together. The tracks come and go, and only a handful from Blunted At Birth actually seem enjoyable on the first listen, which is another downer; the first-listen appeal isn’t great, and may turn many people off. This is bad, because Cannabis Corpse shows lots of potential. Many of the albums great aspects are brought down, not just because of slack in the songwriting department, but because this bands immaturity and careless show within the production as well.
Recorded entirely on a Boss BR 900 Digital 8 track, the drums are completely dominating. While not as bad as it might seem, because Josh ‘Hallhammer’ Hall is by far the best aspect this band, with technicality and a keen sense of his instrument showing throughout, it does get on ones nerves after so many listens. Splashes because of the cymbals, and the thud of the kick drum especially stand out. The growls and grunts could be thought of as the next layer in production, but why would you want to hear these kind of vocals? Strained, pushed…just some of the things that come to mind when listening to Andy ‘Weedgrinder’ Horns vocal performance. But, as which you will read later on with the rest of the band, the screaming does have a decent amount of brilliant performance clips. ‘When Weed Replaces Life’ (probably the best track on the album) have some of the best grunts on the album. What’s the problem, then?
They aren’t Weedgrinder.
You see, Bunted At Birth has two guest performers on two tracks; Jeff 'Wartom' Bush on 'Force Fed ***ty Grass' and Will 'Power' Towles on the aforementioned 'When Weed Replaces Life'. So most of the great vocals on the album, which come from those two tracks, are irrelevant because they are not from a member of the band. Well, at least we have the guitars. Both Nick Poulos and Philip "LandPhil" Hall (Yes, from Municipal Waste, who also plays bass on this album) are recorded here, but that's not saying much. Because of the production, guitars not only take a huge leap backwards in terms of layering, which makes most of everything stand on front of them, but they sound muddled together as well. Like on 'When Weed Replaces Life', when the only guitar solo on the album is approached, you can barely hear it, and by then you’re so tired of trying to decipher the sounds of the album you just give up all together. However, Blunted At Birth has some good riffs, chugging poweress, and heaviness when you listen repeatedly. The trade-off for that aspect is that, right from the albums title track, they are either completely ripped off each other or branched off one another, and makes a very repetitive album. As for the bass, well, when you can hear it, it's quite impressive, but 95% of the time its just drowned out by the rest of the band. Check out 'Force Fed ***ty Grass' for most of LandPhils finger work on Blunted At Birth.
Now most of you might be muttering about how this isn’t supposed to be taken seriously, and that I am on some kind of high horse. But you forget my rating. Most of this albums appeal is the sheer fun, the pure “laughabillity” that Blunted At Birth beholds. From the water bong sound clip on ‘Staring Through My Eyes That Are Red’ to the atrociously funny lyrics of ‘I Will Smoke You’…
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by I Will Smoke You
Bleed from my pipe
Revenge on treacherous ganga
I will smoke
Breaking my buds
Sticky fingers my catharsis
I will toke
Into the lungs
Bong injects smoke
Stoned
The one that they got high
He will always stay fried
Plagued by the buds
I will smoke you
Filled in my lungs
Smoke at my face
The grisly resins went un-scraped
Until now
Deep in the hole
You are out of weed
But stoned
Choke on your smoke
Your brain the smoke cuts off
Then your legs
The one that you got high
Will smoke you this way
Scarred by the buds
I will smoke you
Killed by my lungs
Into the throat
The smoke injects
Warm cloud sprays out
The aroma entices
Pull out your lighter
And let you watch
Shove the bong to your mouth
And light the batch
I watch you get stoned
I am released
From years of pain
You weed averted
My becoming insane
I am stoned
I have smoked you!
|
…Cannabis Corpses debut, while not showing tremendous musical legacy, states that they have enough of the 'fun factor' to save this record from oclivion and appeal to most metalheads. Major props must go to all the guys for recording this album while gone on “the finest bud in Oregon Hill”, but major awe should be towards the bands best (at least the best heard), Hallhammer, for executing such precise accuracy while thoroughly baked. So while I certainly don't regard this as an excellent outing for one of Death Metal's finest, it is great fun to listen to, ripped or not.
