The presumably self-titled demo from Richmond, Virginia, stoner doomers Druglord – aptly named for the sonic haze they create – contains just about no info regarding its origins or those who made it. Literally on the inside of the cover, it has the band’s name, the list of the three tracks, and “Recorded in Room 13 September 2010.” What that recording entailed, who helmed it or where Room 13 might be (probably in Richmond, but you never know) is anyone’s best guess. This might seem like an annoyance, but screw it, in this age of instant connectivity with artists, via social networking, Twitter and the like, it’s kind of fun not knowing how Druglord’s demo was made. Until I searched out their Facebook page, I didn’t even know how many people were in the band or where they were from. I only had the music to go by, and every now and then, I think that’s refreshing.

To sum the 13-minute, self-released demo up in one word: Stoned. Guitarist/vocalist Tommy (Druglord is on a first name basis) has a dank level of distortion on his guitar, crudely captured on lumbering Druglord opener “Smell Your Disease” and thickened – as if such a thing was possible – by Greta’s earthquake, mix-engulfing bass. If you’ve ever listened to Bongzilla, you know the kind of bass I’m talking about. Tommy’s vocals are a drawl, not screamed or shouted, delivered clean, but with that ‘90s-style drugged-out fuck-all that so few can pull off at this point. “Smell Your Disease” handles its evil groove well, and though Bobby is credited on their site (again, nobody’s credited with anything on the disc itself), I’d have sworn Tommy and Greta were backed by a drum machine. It’s demo production, but I’ll be damned if the ultra-fuzz on Tommy’s drawn-out leads isn’t charm put to tape.

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