The Weedzard

If there's one band that's been copied to death, it's Black Sabbath. Now don't get me wrong, Sabbath is definitely a highly influential band in the metal genre, and there has been some good clone bands. But for every Electric Wizard out there, there's also 100 cheap rip-offs of this genre, and one of them is the Canadian stoner/doom metal band Brain Fog, who released their debut EP "The Weedzard" in 2020. Now this isn't the worst Black Sabbath clone I've ever heard, but it's definitely the most average.

One thing about the album is the instruments. The instruments take on some inspiration from bands like Black Sabbath and Sleep, and it shows in this EP. The guitars play some very slow riffs that have a very heavy sound in them. The drums also beat in slow patterns that set in a mysterious atmosphere. The bass is also just as heavy as the guitars, and has its own slow riffs. This sounds good on paper, but the main issue with the instruments is the production. The guitars sound very distorted, and overpowers the bass multiple times. It gives the instruments a sound of an early death metal demo of the 80s, and not a very good one at that. Also, for some reason, the two tracks on this EP sound very similar to each other, with "Ganja Golem" just being a minute longer. The instrumentals are fine on their own, but having poor production and repetitive riffs makes it sound rather poor and tedious.

But that's nothing compared to the vocals. The vocals are done by Stéfane Samson, and he isn't awful, but he does need some work. He goes for some growls and screams in this EP, but they feel forced and unemotional, as it feels like he's screaming at a wall. Not only that, but it also sounds terrible with the production. The poor production muffles most of the vocals, and I can barely hear the lyrics he screams. Not only that, but the guitar is played so loud, that there are times where I can't even hear the vocals at all! Seriously, the vocals sound okayish on their own, but combined with the terrible production, it's a disaster.

But this isn't to say that the EP is absolute trash. The instrumentals are fine on their own, and some of the guitar riffs sound genuinely heavy. The main problem with this EP is that the production is poor and the bland vocals are practically buried in the mix. Now if one of the band members just so happen to be reading this, I'd suggest to strive for some better production and improved vocal skills for your next release. While every band has to start somewhere, this was a rather bumpy start to your career. But if you improve your work, you can make some great stuff.