Written By: Nameless_N00b_90
With the recent slate of studies linking alcohol to cancer, Weed Demon is here to remind you there are other mind-altering drugs at your disposal. Their latest dispensary of choice is The Doom Scroll, the third full-length LP by these Ohioans. While weed-infused band names are a dime bag a dozen in the stoner metal scene, you might be surprised to learn these guys have been at it for a decade.1 Like the drugs that inspire the music, stoner metal is meant to help you relax, maybe bob your head a little, and occasionally pull off the perfect Keanu “Whoa!” The question is, does Weed Demon have this excellent sauce, or does The Doom Scroll incur the nasty side effects of the local dealer’s bath salt-laced wares?
At its core, The Doom Scroll is a mix of sludge ‘n’ roll and stoner doom. The guitar tone is thick, low, and heavy, and the tempo is (mostly) slow enough to be chill. Songs alternate between heavy stoner riffs à la Black Sabbath and Mastodon and exploratory instrumentation more akin to Pink Floyd. Appropriately, Weed Demon also likes to experiment. There’s some high-tempo thrash, the twang of blues, and organs for a trip into dungeon synth. And while some of these styles certainly feel out of place for a stoner album, there’s enough wah pedal psychedelia to remind you it’s all part of the trip. However, Weed Demon are at their best when they stick to simple, catchy riffs, putting tunes in my head that just won’t get out.
Weed Demon leans heavily into the instrumental prowess of its members. On guitars Andy Center and Brian Buckley (Elk, Wurm Sun) switch seamlessly between various styles, playing dreamy expository passages one minute and then strumming some muscular riffs the next. Their repetitive, no-flair riffing sets up the most memorable moments on tracks like “Tower of Smoke” and “Roasting the Sacred Bones.” Behind the kit, Nick Carter (Wurm Sun, not Backstreet Boys), keeps the tempo relaxed without bashing the drums too loudly because he knows you might be hungover. When the vocalists do make an appearance (“Coma Dose”, “Roasting the Sacred Bones”), they’re a mixed bag. Guest vocalist, Shy Kennedy (Funerals, Horehound) sounds like he’s singing into a microphone muffled by a pillow, an odd production choice. On the other hand, Jordan Holland’s (Domestic Terror) hoarse death metal growls add a lot of needed weight to the music, and I think The Doom Scroll would have benefited from using him more.
As much airtime as the catchy riffs get in my head, there’s just not enough of them. In fact, there’s hardly enough material to justify a full-length record. While five songs and thirty-one minutes sounds like a concise length,2 The Doom Scroll would have been better served as an EP at half the length. The two bookends in particular feel out of place. Intro track “Acid Dungeon” is nearly three minutes of trippy synths, while closer “Dead Planet Blues” would have had a better home on Lathe’s country metal EP, Hillclimber. Of the remaining songs, not one is under 6 minutes, and each could use a bit of trimming. Weed Demon, simply, spends too much time on their intros and outros. “Roasting the Sacred Bones” suffers from having two distinct introductory sections. “Coma Dose,” which breaks the nine-minute mark, ends with four minutes of discordant riffage, only one minute of which works, carrying on for too long like a trip gone awry.
Though The Doom Scroll isn’t quite satisfactory as a whole, Weed Demon have displayed they have it in them to make a killer album. They have an infectious swagger but lack the discipline to focus and tighten up their sound. Don’t let the score below keep you from giving this a spin or two. There are some truly impressive moments that still get replay in my head long after The Doom Scroll is over. There’s plenty of great ideas here, but they just needed more time to cook. As such, I await the next batch of product from these guys with hope and excitement for a good time.
Rating: 2.0/5.0
DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Electric Valley Records
Websites: smokeweeddemon.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/weeddemonsludge
Releases Worldwide: January 31st, 2025
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