What better way to spend the two-hour commute to your work induction than to listen to some Stoner Metal? Well, personally I could think of a few, however, I have started up my computer on the train on a bright and crisp morning hoping to take the edge of a nervous first day.

BRAIN FOG, how appropriate of a name. With interests such as Kush and influences like Mary Jane listed on their Facebook page its little wonder as to what the band's main driving force is. Hailing from Sydney the young outfit have been around since 2018 and are just releasing their EP "The Weedzard", through this we are offered a glimpse into what the band can produce and offer.

The artwork is true to the name of the EP, with a depiction of "The Weedzard" ripping on a bong and conjuring fire. In the ganja induced haze we see both the band and EP's name written.

The two track EP opens with "Ganja Golem". This near 9-minute slog is an example of music. Nothing more and nothing less. It is heavy, the production isn't the clearest, with levels seemingly ignored, perhaps this was to create an effect? I am unsure however; I am also unsure of the facilities utilised by the band. With very simplistic riffs, accented by some impressive drum fills, but to me this was the only thing impressive throughout the track. It almost feels lazy and half arsed. Now I really am not a Stoner Metal aficionado, but I would have loved to have heard some more demonstrations of musical ability, some guitar breaks or even a bit more of an interesting breakdown than just long open-ended chords that seem to follow the similar three chord pattern experienced throughout.

The second, final track and namesake of the EP, "The Weedzard" is a continuation along the themes presented in the opening. Its heavy, I won't deny that but lazy heavy. It feels as though the music is dragged along kicking and screaming as opposed to flows and again at 7 minutes long, it's almost an effort to listen to. The lack of clarity to the vocals is again an example of the low-end production that the EP suffers from throughout.

Overall "The Weedzard" is an initial offering by a young band. They can improve from here and grow, there are signs of promise with them if they push their art musically and put a little bit more thought into the production, again this may be due to the facilities that were available to them when this was recorded. However, I will keep an eye out for their next release and will see where they have chosen to take their music from here.