Richmond VA’s favorite death metal stoners are unleashing a powerhouse album via the mighty Tankcrimes label this week, aptly titled Beneath The Grow Lights Thou Shalt Rise. Demand for the band’s third official LP is so intense that the band along with Tankcrimes mastermind Scotty Heath, decided to drop the album a week before its original release date of July 12 for masses of resin-scraping metal-heads who have been devouring the downloads and streaming tracks in between weed naps ever since. We have the stream available below, so after you get your ears assaulted, be sure to stop by Tankcrimes and pre-order your copy. The album is an absolute crusher, and for those just tuning into Cannabis Corpse, this album is a great place to start. For those that dismissed the band as a mere Cannibal Corpse parody, you are in for a surprise. We are stoked to have caught up with Cannabis Corpse bassist Landphil (Municipal Waste), for an inside look at the new album and a lil’ nug talk. Without further ado, lets here from Phil!
Joshua BTS: Greetings! Thank you for taking time to answer a few questions for Blow The Scene readers around the World! Let’s begin by having you introduce yourself and declare your onstage weapon of choice with Virginia’s dope smoking extreme-riff-masters, Cannabis Corpse.
Landphil: Hello My name is Landphil I play Bass in Cannabis Corpse.
Joshua BTS: You are set to release your third full-length, Beneath Grow Lights Thou Shalt Rise, on one of our all-time favorite labels, Bay Area’s Tankcrimes on July 12. Give us the 420 on this release, when, where, and whom did you record with?
Landphil: I recorded this album in my home town of Richmond Va and then sent it to Metal master Erik Rutan (Morbid angel, Hate eternal ) for Mixing. I am very happy with how the record turned out and cannot wait to unleash this bad mother fucker on the planet. I worked very hard on all the music for about 2 years so I feel confident that it is my best work yet!
Joshua BTS: We know Scotty at Tankcrimes, and we know how much pride he takes in putting out the raddest, hand-crafted “Die-hard” editions of releases on his label – Tell us, what radical stylings can we expect with Grow Lights Thou Shalt Rise LP?
Landphil: I think the special edition of this release includes a unreleased track on a seperate ‘Flexi-Disc’ and it also comes with a bunch of goodies like embroidered patches and stickers ect. It will be mega sweet!
Joshua BTS: In an earlier BTS Interview with our own horror art master, Matt “Slime” Ferri, Andy Horn said this forthcoming LP, is “Definitely a progression!” Please expand on this. What does the writing process look like for Cannabis Corpse and how did the writing and recording sessions for Beneath Grow Lights Thou Shalt Rise compare to your prior releases (Blunted at Birth, Tube of the Resinated, The Weeding)?
Landphil: The writing of this record was extremely time consuming because I really pushed myself to come up with some original sounding death metal. I did not want to let the fans of Cannabis Corpse out there down with something that was half-assed. I feel like this album is what every fan of Cannabis Corpse out there has been waiting for.
Joshua BTS: The production and recording quality of Beneath Grow Lights Thou Shalt Rise is thicker than sea shit. Everything hits hard as freight train and the clarity holds steady. One for the gear nerds – Any special pieces of equipment whether it be cabs, heads, gits, mics, drums, etc., that you find pivotal in capturing the band’s sound?
Landphil: Well I actually wrote Alex Webster of Cannibal Corpse and asked him what equipment they used to see how close I could get to there sound. It turned out that we already pretty much used everything that they use ha ha! I am trying to get as close to having a giant wall of guitars as possible!
Joshua BTS: Although many of the songs that span Cannabis Corpse’s corpus have a tongue-in-cheek and humorous plight, you do also touch on some serious issues, even with the references in your latest track “Blame it on Bud” which denounces ridiculous drug laws. What is your take on the current “Drug War” in the US and are there any organizations or grassroots movements you guys are supporting and think more people should know about?
Landphil: Eh I think Pot is becoming less and less frowned apon as every year goes by. I am hoping that one day they just bite the bullet and make marijuana legal. I just hope that it doe not affect the quality of buds that we have been smoking you know?
Joshua BTS: True that! Besides the obvious and aforementioned, what are some other lyrical themes fans will find on Beneath Grow Lights Thou Shalt Rise?
Landphil: Well there are giant marijuana portals, going insane with pot abuse, a church that worships weed, igniting yourself on fire trying to smoke weed. You know that old chestnut….
Joshua BTS: Who churned out the radical artwork for Beneath Grow Lights Thou Shalt Rise?
Landphil: The Art was done by buddy of ours from Oakland named Andrei Bouzikov. He is a badass and has worked with tons of bands such as Municipal Waste, Skeletonwitch ect. Check out his art on the interwebs!
Joshua BTS: What does the rest of 2011 like for Cannabis Corpse?
Landphil: We are going out for a euro tour in Aug. and then maybe another long tour of the U.S.A afterwords. We are going to try and promote this album as much as possible. We love bringing our brand of Death metal to all you headbangers out there.
Joshua BTS: Where is best place online for fans to keep up with Cannabis Corpse?
Landphil: WWW.CANNABISCORPSE.COM
Joshua BTS: Ok, time to switch gears into some weed-induced questioning for the stoners out there.
Joshua BTS: Favorite place to smoke out?
Landphil: In Amsterdam
Joshua BTS: Favorite place to eat after said smoke out?
Landphil: Sidewalk Cafe in Richmond VA
Joshua BTS: Favorite video games to play with nice herb buzz?
Landphil: I Hate Video games!
Joshua BTS: We bumped into fellow ganja enthusiasts Cephalic Carnage not too long ago and they were king enough to share with us their custom vaporizers..Does Cannabis Corpse have your own imprint in the weed smoking game? Any Cannabis Corpse pieces on the way?
Landphil: I wish! I need to hit them up!
Joshua BTS: Favorite weed induced experience as of late?
Landphil: I went to see Ring of Honor Pro wrestling the other day and was baked as shit. It was a good time!
Joshua BTS: Least favorite weed induced experience as of late?
Landphil: Waking up and not being able to get out of bed before noon
Joshua BTS: Favorite album to listen to on weed?
Landphil: Cannibal Corpse ‘The Bleeding’
Joshua BTS: Thank you kindly for taking time with Blow The Scene readers from around the World! We look forward to keeping up with future endeavors!
Sample the Album Now before you buy at Tankcrimes!
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