Review & photos by Andrew Bansal
December 8th 2014, The Echoplex, Los Angeles CA: Hailing from Richmond, Virginia, Cannabis Corpse are currently on a mission to spread their message of marijuana-themed death metal through a US headline tour along with support acts Mammoth Grinder and Inanimate Existence. Founded 15 years ago by Phil ‘Landphil’ Hall (Municipal Waste, Iron Reagan) and his brother Josh ‘Hallhammer’ Hall, Cannabis Corpse released their third studio album ‘From Wisdom To Baked’ earlier this year on Season Of Mist, comprising a set of death metal tunes with typically hilarious titles and lyrics. A week into the tour, the three bands arrived at the Echoplex in Los Angeles for a gig that was presented and promoted by local establishment DoLA and also included black thrash marauders Witchaven as local openers. Unlike Municipal Waste, Cannabis Corpse is the kind of band that enjoys more of a cult following, but there’s no denying that their fans are equally dedicated, and showed up in decent numbers, all in readiness with the whole range of paraphernalia appropriate for this occasion.
Doors opened at 8 PM, and a little over 30 minutes later, Witchaven kicked things into motion with a quintessentially fierce half hour of unbridled blackened thrash. Mosh pits were already going at full tilt even at this early phase of the evening, owing to Witchaven’s undeniably strong performance. Frontman Henry Montoya and his band mates were ready for the kill and raring to go right from the moment they set foot on stage. They went through some strange transitional periods in the past year or so, but seem to be back on the right path now, as is clear from this gig. Credit goes to the local organizers for picking the absolute perfect local opener for this event.
(More photos at the bottom of this post)
Witchaven links: facebook | twitter
San Francisco Bay Area-based Inanimate Existence were up next to present a set of technical death metal. Considering their musical style and that of the other bands on the lineup, I had a bad feeling about their set even before they stepped on stage, and as it turned out, my concerns were valid. This band, in complete contrast to Witchaven, was did not fit whatsoever into this show. The audience stared at them with blank faces throughout the set and aside from a few scattered golf claps, Inanimate Existence did not garner any kind of response. This wasn’t their night by any means, but their musicianship and live show would certainly be far better appreciated at a different time and place.
Inanimate Existence links: facebook | twitter | instagram
Next up, Austin, Texas trio Mammoth Grinder put forth a tremendously impressive set of high-octane extreme metal/hardcore punk that brought the best out of this crowd. They were one of the standout acts at this year’s Power Of The Riff festival on this very stage, and they succeeded in replicating the impact of that performance at this gig as well. The general admission floor at the Echoplex converted into one giant circle pit as soon as Mammoth Grinder started, and didn’t disperse until the end of the set. Talking of which, the set came to an unusual, rather confusing close as the three members quickly left the stage amidst a loop of guitar feedback, and people weren’t exactly sure what was going on, whether or not it was actually the end of the set, which was the only reason Mammoth Grinder’s departure wasn’t accompanied by loud applause. Toiling hard for almost ten years now, Mammoth Grinder are currently at the peak of their powers on the back of great recent releases ‘Underword’ and ‘Cosmic Crypt’, and a powerful live show. They’re as good a reason to attend a show on this tour as Cannabis Corpse.
Mammoth Grinder links: facebook | twitter | instagram | bandcamp
At around 10:40, Cannabis Corpse took the stage and brought the house down with a relentless onslaught of death metal and marijuana jokes for a set that lasted less than an hour but seemed ideal for both its quantity and quality. As soon as I walked into the venue, I saw Brandon Ellis sitting alone in a corner, and my first thought was, what on earth he was doing here. But when he stepped out on stage as the Cannabis Corpse guitarist, the pieces came together. It’s no surprise, considering the guy’s ridiculous range of talent and skill on the instrument, having played in bands such as Arsis, Sylosis and Finntroll and being able to acclimatize to each band’s requirement effortlessly. He gave more than his 100 per cent to Cannabis Corpse as well, and for once, was able to express himself as this band’s sole guitarist, as opposed to performing his usual role of second guitarist in other bands.
Landphil was in his element on bass, vocals and stage banter, as his announcements of the song titles were as enjoyable as the music itself. ‘Individual Pot Patterns’, the song and the Chris Barnes story that accompanied its arrival, stood out as the highlight of the set. But then came their ‘weed monster’, diving into the crowd and landing in the center of the mosh pit, raising the excitement level inside the Echoplex tenfold. Joints were being lit up in every section of the crowd and the fragrance of cannabis was strong in the air.
As entertaining as it was to witness Landphil’s stand-up comedy, the most notable feature of this Cannabis Corpse performance from my perspective, though, was the musicianship itself. The band isn’t perhaps taken as seriously because of the over-the-top lyrical themes, but beneath the layer of marijuana humor is a group of very solid musicians who are no slouches at their respective instruments, and if perceived as a proper death metal band, Cannabis Corpse certainly are a match to just about anyone in the genre.
The Echoplex was by no means sold out for this event but the turnout was appreciable for a Monday night, for a headliner with a small dedicated following. All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable evening of diverse extreme music.
Cannabis Corpse links: website | facebook | twitter | instagram
Check out more photos of all four bands below:
Remaining Tour Dates:
12/9 Fresno, CA @ Strummers
12/10 Oakland, CA @ The Metro (All ages)
12/11 Ventura, CA @ The Garage
12/12 Las Vegas, NV @ The Dive Bar (early show)
12/13 Salt Lake City, UT @ The Loading Dock (early show)
12/14 Denver, CO @ Marquis Theater
12/16 Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock
12/17 Chicago, IL @ Cobra Lounge
12/18 Columbus, OH @ Ace Of Cups
12/19 Brooklyn, NY @ Saint Vitus
12/20 Richmond, VA @ The Broadberry
DoLA links: website | facebook | twitter | instagram
The Echo/Echoplex links: website | facebook | twitter | instagram