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Eyehategod > Take as Needed for Pain > Reviews
Eyehategod - Take as Needed for Pain

A Violent, Sweltering Haze - 95%

psychoticnicholai, August 11th, 2018
Written based on this version: 2006, CD, Century Media Records (Remastered)

Have you ever had one of those days where you feel like you're lost in an addled haze? It's hot, you're tired, you can't think straight, but god-dammit, you are MAD. You want to sway, to stomp, and to smash; and all you're feeling is stress. Eyehategod's Take as Needed for Pain takes that feeling and runs with it, turning it into crushing, coiling, sweltering sludge. This sound of aggressive, drug-addled loathing set to down-tuned guitars was already the standard to follow given how rough, raw, and deliberately dirty their first album was. The difference with Take as Needed for Pain is that this album is less concerned about drowning itself in a murk of low notes and raw production, and more concerned about dragging you down into their swamp of riffs and beating the living hell out of you. In doing so, it laid out a solid, crushing, mud-soaked template for many a future sludge act to follow.

What I mean by "it's concerned with beating the hell out of you", is that this album's rhythm is here to slug you about. It's an extremely riff-centered album, with those being the main attraction and the meat of it all. There's a greater sense of grooviness and bluesy undertones on here than on the first album which was geared towards naked hardcore-styled aggression. It's also meatier. This very "push-and-shove" riffing, coupled with a very heated, oppressive, swampy guitar sound encapsulates the visceral feelings and the stressful environment Eyehategod were wrapped up in at the time. It also loads this thing up with a lot of opportunities for protracted headbanging. These are the kinds of riffs that are perfect for starting a fight to on a hot humid summer day (bonus points if you happen to be high or hung-over). You hear the riffs to "Shop Lift" or "$30 bag" and they awaken a primal desire to stagger and swing one's body around with maximum force and minimal coherency. There is a strong sense of kinesis to this thing that is reinforced by the constant influx of stomping grooves. As for the sound of the guitars, they are as thick and as muggy as the Louisiana swampland that bore this music, and just as fattening and delicious as the food from the same area. The saturation of riffing on here means this album is gripping throughout with little in the way of breaks, and the staggering amount of grime, grit, and feedback only takes the force of the crunch up to eleven.

The main force behind this album is loathing, everything from the angered haze of the guitar tone, to the boil of the riffs, to Mike William's strangling vocal conniptions, to the cover art and song titles themselves. It's all about pain and anger with a strong sense of rot to it all. Titles like "Sister Fucker" and "Kill Your Boss" do lend an air of abject failure and loathing to the already grimy, scathing sound of the riffs. A lot of this is here to shock you, and to drag you around. The crassness and crudeness is part of the experience which adds to the feeling of dejection and staggered motion provided by the riffs. The whole thing exists in a state of nihilistic pain, nothing matters, no regard for yourself, no regard for those around you, no regard for the law, common courtesy, employment, or sexuality. It makes this something great to put on when you're just sick of caring. However, this does lead to some dubious choices, such as the title of "White Nigger" which has resulted in some people pegging Eyehategod as racist, despite constant clear and in-depth denials of such bigotry from the band (and quite a bit of embarassment as a result). It has a good riff and no racist (or even coherent) lyrics, but the title alone makes it hard for me to mention. There are also "Disturbance" and "Laugh it Off" which mostly consist of samples, and despite their fittingly desolate content, feel unnecessary. Even so, they are easily passed by and do add a new angle to the album's air of desperation.

If there was ever an album out there for stumbling home after a bar brawl, doing thankless work in the oppressive summer heat, and portraying addled negativity so well and with such weighty riffing, Take as Needed for Pain fills those roles perfectly. It leaves a trail of dirt and broken needles wherever it goes while channeling such force into the riffing that it makes you want to bang along. It makes you want to throw away all cares and smother yourself in the intoxicating texture and density of the riffs, like dunking your head into an oil drum. These guys may go slow, but they know how to work brilliantly nasty riffing in and vary the tempo for some faster bouts of low-down fury. Plus, these songs and these riffs have a way of sticking with you because of how focused the rhythm is despite the obvious haze of drugs. It's a memorable load of filth, perfect for episodes of violence and despondence with a sound that leaves one sweating for more.

A drugged up sludge metal masterpiece - 92%

Mungo, July 10th, 2007

Eyehategod are seen as godfathers and the masters of the sludge metal genre for a reason. Each one of their albums is a brutal slab of sludgy, downtuned riffs that would in some cases make Iommi jealous. They helped kick start the whole sludge movement in New Orleans, and furthermore set the basis of many sludge albums to follow. ‘Take as Needed for Pain’ is the second release from this band, and is equal to and in some cases surpasses what we saw on ‘In the Name of Suffering’.

The best way to describe the bands sound is a drugged up, alcohol soaked, punishing slab of Sludge Metal. Each track on here is relentless in its heaviness. The riffing pummels the listener to the ground while the tortured screams of Michael Williams sound like a desperate, barely alive drug addict begging for another high. The drumming is loose and barely keeps the band together, while bass plods along, each note hitting your head with intensity.

On the album we have the lengthy, lethargic seven minute tracks which continually bludgeoning the listener, only stopping for some guitar noises here and there. Then there are the shorter, faster paced tracks such as Sister Fucker, which although being faster paced are still heavier than perhaps nearly every other doom band out there. Then there are the songs with drug influenced lyrical themes such as ‘Crimes Against Skin’, which outdoes many Stoner Rock bands in its downtuned simplicity and tortured lyrical delivery. The only down point is the seven minute track ‘Disturbance’, which although providing a break from the real songs, gets boring quickly due to it consisting of random noises.

To sum it up, ‘Take as Needed for Pain’ is quite simply a sludge metal masterpiece. Eyehategod have a formula and they stick with it, and with albums like these it is no wonder they are renowned as among the best in the sludge genre.