If you happen to be a proud southerner with an unhealthy fixation on beer, weed, pussy and PANTERA, SOUTHERN DRINKSTRUCTION’s, self-titled demo will undoubtedly appeal to you. Otherwise, there is a greater chance that you will find few redeeming qualities here.

While it isn’t a breathtaking piece of music by any means, this demo isn’t a hopeless abomination from the get go. The dominating riff to "Vultur Mountain" is heavy and catchy–the kind of riff that will arouse the desire to headbang, and the song also features a brief moment of bluesy, Tony Iommi worship towards the end. Aside from the opener, "Suck. Duck. Truck. Fuck." is the only moment of genuine entertainment on here. "My Only Words" and "The Cursed Track" are both throwaway songs that aren’t remotely compelling; the former ends before it has time to demonstrate any sort of musical ability while the latter is two minutes too long. The demo’s title track is, for all intents and purposes, the most boring song I have ever had to endure. It isn’t until the final fifty seconds of the song, which is upwards of five minutes long, that the band decides to speed the tempo up and introduce one of only two riffs found throughout the song. Sludge clearly isn’t the band’s forte.

"Suck. Duck. Truck. Fuck." is a rare glimpse into the band’s ability to produce songs that fit their lyrical content. In other words: brainless, drunken fun. I don’t know about you, but I don’t enjoy bands that set awe-inspiring lyrics like "oh baby, oh suck my cock" or "we are pigs that live on pornography" to phlegmatic music with no real balls. It’s almost as if they stole a chapter from "LAMB OF GOD 101" and added a contrived southern twist to it. While the lyrics are good for a laugh, and there are a couple of fun songs on here, this demo doesn’t do anything special. I can’t wholeheartedly recommend it.

(Online May 22, 2008)