In the Name of Suffering

This is where sludge started to get really, really mean. We're talking "touch me and I'll cut you" levels of mean. It's one of the first to give off this kind of disposition, taking the genre away from its initial punk-like roots with already dingy, but still clean-sung Melvins into much darker and more uncivilized territory. It helped make sludge into the soundtrack for filth and violence we know it as today. While this album is part of sludge's foundation, it's also Eyehategod's first album, and if there is anything that makes Eyehategod sound as they do, it's pure, excessive rawness. And the songs on this album are derived from demos which were SO raw that they were borderline unlistenable. Even so, Eyehategod's debut was made cheap and dirty with the band themselves setting the recording up. What resulted is Eyehategod's roughest full-length with steamrolling dirges, punk-like animosity, and an overdose of pure indiscriminate hate distilled into musical form.

Calling this rough is an understatement when describing this thing. The songs are often started and ended with static that's just there to make your ears hurt. The guitars are tuned so low that they practically blend in with the bass. And in that lowness, we find Eyehategod's signature, rotten sound that's swampy and diseased as always. That fat tone is suffocating with how it slowly rolls over you with an agonizing sense of doom. The sluggish speed makes things feel painful and blends perfectly with such a tone. Even with all this being said, it's also Eyehategod's least bluesy or groovy album. This is more akin to hardcore punk with how abrasive everything is. The cymbal bashing, the jagged but simple riffing, the occasional fast passages that are as sudden and as violent as a junkie's fits, all these factors plays into the more punk veneer of In the Name of Suffering. It's simple, it's violent, and it's effective.

While this is one mean motherfucker of an album, the simplicity and the single-minded obsession with filth does hold this EHG album back compared to the others. The songs on here are pretty much stuck in two gears, either stewing and slow, or breakneck in the most literal way possible. The raw, punk-infused "hate everyone, break everything" attitude is in full force, especially on the few faster songs that rise out of the murk like "Left to Starve" and "Hit a Girl", or even the more solidly riff-loaded "Depress". While it's dragging and hostile to listen to, it does end up resulting in the slower songs fusing together with one another and making this into an experience that isn't as memorable or as gnarly and groovy as on their next two albums. Eyehategod's inexperience and insobriety are probably big factors in this.

While this is a decent album for pessimism and anger, as well as an important step forward for sludge metal, this album doesn't garner the same kind of attention that later albums do for several reasons. This album goes for full-on overkill with the filth and the anger and doesn't quite know what to do with itself afterwards. If this had more of the signature headbanging stomper riffs of Take as Needed for Pain I'd have more reasons to come back to this. Even so, the overall album is good even if the songs do blend together. It's also important for making sludge into the much meaner and hazier genre we know today. This is landmark album and one that packs plenty of heat, even if it is incoherent at times. But hey, that's probably just the drugs doing their thing.

Eyehategod are, along with Crowbar, pioneers of the extremely heavy, muddy and just disgusting type of twisted doom metal brewed in the swamps of Louisiana in the late 80s/early 90s known as sludge metal. With their 1992 debut album 'In the Name of Suffering' the band introduced us to the vilest piece of music imaginable without actually getting silly a la brutal death metal/goregrind. There are no lyrics about dismembering children and eating them for breakfast or raping fragile, old women. Front-man Mike Williams writes the lyrics for Eyehategod and they're some of the darkest and most misanthropic lyrics you can come across. Personal struggles that include drug abuse, self abuse, rape, torture and what not are some scary things that are perhaps way too common among us. Williams sounds like he's been drinking and smoking way too much (which probably was the case at one point). His vocals are harsh, brutal and agonizing to hear and suit the equally agonizing music perfectly to create a very bleak atmosphere of dead hopelessness.

Jimmy Bower and Brian Patton are responsible for the guitars. The tone is incredibly dirty and muddy, and are somewhat similar sounding to Saint Vitus' guitar (Dave Chandler), but even more twisted and ugly sounding. The amount of feedback squealing in the mostly extremely slow and heavy songs, threatens to shatter your ear-drums. Despite the riffs being excruciatingly slow and heavy, as well as one-dimensional, they're enjoyable (in a very masochistic way, mind you). There's a bluesy southern feel to them, and at times they kick up the tempo a fair notch and go into a thrashy hardcore punk style to further corrupt this already nauseating music. It has to be said that the bass and drums are also vital to Eyehategod's sound as they're in no way shy. One of my favourite aspects of this band, is that they're not afraid to let the bass be heard. It's heavy as hell and sounds as sludgy as the guitars, but makes things somewhat cozy and warm for a brief period, when it takes "the lead". The drums are perfectly executed and save the music from sounding like a truck stuck in the swamp struggling to escape the marshes and lurking gators.

Muddy, sludgy, disgusting, vile, agonizing, nauseating... I have used all these adjectives to describe this album, so you would think that I dislike it. But the truth is, I really like it. It's the type of extreme metal that is so hopelessly bleak that it becomes beautiful in its own twisted way. I will admit that this isn't Eyehategod's strongest album. Not even close. And musically, it's the least "developed" one, too. That's not to say that the band would abandon the wretchedness that is present here. But the music would become more engaging and varied on later albums and less prone to the songs sort of running into each other.

'In the Name of Suffering' is more influential than amazing. It paved the road for many great sludge metal acts such as Acid Bath, Sourvein and Iron Monkey and will be remembered as the filthiest and most messed up sludge metal record ever, and probably one of the nastiest pieces of music ever released. It's a must listen for people interested in the sludge metal genre, as well as hardcore punk and stoner and doom metal. There's no guarantee you'll like this, even if you're into this music, because this is truly nasty on another level. Not for the faint-hearted.

Highlights: "Depress", "Shinobi","Left to Starve" and "Hit A Girl".

If there is a singular offering within the field of Southern fried sludge metal that really typifies all the best and worst aspects of the genre, the extremely raw and fairly disjointed debut of Eyehategod is about as good of a representation as Amebix’s early material is for crust punk. There’s no beating around the bush here, and no semblance of the cleaner, groove informed sound that tends to be associated with the more widely known representative of this style in Crowbar. It’s about as angst filled as they come, packing 6 times the mud and noise of the most obnoxiously low-fidelity grunge album, and oozing with transmogrified doom and punk riffs. But perhaps most ugly of all is the crackling, choking on the smoke of a thousand cigarettes vocals of Mike Williams, whose maniacal ramblings are a bit more agonized than most death metal singers, but just about equal in sheer intensity.

The somewhat sloppy and free flowing mishmash of mud and grit that is “In The Name Of Suffering” is fairly difficult to digest, and is definitely an acquired taste even for the most rabid of hardcore fans. The extremely loud and clunky drum sounds, combined with Williams’ strained wails and enough guitar feedback to shatter a glass building is definitely not for the faint of heart nor the weak of stomach. But amid it all is a rather clear foundation of mostly slow grooving, bass heavy guitar riffs that take a number of hints from the early days of both Black Flag and Saint Vitus, though moving much slower than the former and not playing up the lead guitar as much as the latter. This is music that is content to keep things so simple and humble that one can’t help but hear every single detail for the sheer lack of subtlety going on here.

The Achilles Heel of this album is that, in spite being really original and wanting for nothing in the aggression department, the songs tend to run together a bit. A few stand out more than others, particularly “Shinobi” for its continually slow moving feel and heavily Sabbath oriented riff set, and “Godsong” for a slightly faster version of the same with a series of sampled quotes from Charles Manson. There’s also a few solid numbers where the tempo is picked up a bit and the punk/thrash tendencies of the genre are given their time in the sun, particularly that of “Man Is To Ignorant To Exist” and “Left To Starve”. But even with these songs, the presentation is largely two-dimensional, and the frequent references to guitar feedback as a way to either create segues between sections or to provide a sort of mini-lead break gets a little bit old.

Ultimately, this is the sort of album that can and should be appreciated for how it has influenced the genre and paved the way for a number of solid albums. However, in terms of how good of a listen it is overall, this is a band that has yet to mature and would get much better on later albums. It’s not overtly bad, but it definitely comes off as extremely green and somewhat unfocused, almost like a kid who learns a few tricks and proceeds to overuse them before glomming on to something different. Fans of sludge may way to pick this up at a slightly reduced price, while fans of doom metal who are interested in its ugly Southern cousin might want to look into “Dopesick” or “Confederacy Of Ruined Lives” instead, as they feature more ingenuity within this style’s somewhat limited approach.

Many people praise these guys as being one of the most ruthless sludge bands there is out there. While "Eyehategod" is nothing short of an amazing band title and the music itself, where there is actually something going on is quite intense and great, this album fails at one central aspect, namely not being annoying. Sludge metal is, by definition slow, muddy, dirty, raw and aggressive. It's the South's version of doom metal. Eyehategod are definitely representatives of this style, yet the overall atmosphere is incredibly hard to digest.

This album reminds me of something very annoying from a band a like very much, namely Finnland's Rotten Sound. Their early EP, "Psychotic Veterinarian", that was released three years after "In The Name Of Suffering", had a similar impact on me. On that EP each and every song was ended with some sort of rubbish the vocalist did with his mouth by imitating a sort of shotgun blast or something really irritating and stupid. This album destroys 99% of the atmosphere by using a great amount of feedback in almost any part of each song. This nerve shattering noise is even more unpleasant than most of Merzbow material (and I've listened to a lot of that stuff without experiencing such antipathy). Wherever there are some great sounding riffs accompanied with blasting drumming this shit-piss feedback garbage comes and kills everything. Imagine a great black metal band using happy baby laughing in their songs, or a thrash metal band incorporating a washing machine ad somewhere in their songs. Yes, I know, the comparisons are crap, but that's exactly my point. There have never been elements in an album that destroy the overall enjoyment more than this retarded feedback and it's so incredibly frustrating, since this could have been one of the most amazing sludge albums out there. There are times when vocalists suck, where riffs suck or where the drummer is out of sync, but when guitarists add random annoying feedback one hundred fucking times in a song it annihilates any and all aesthetic enjoyment.

The songs are slow and the vocalist sounds pretty much like the tormented drug-addict he is/he is trying to be. There is nothing wrong with the songs, lyrics or overall presentation, except for what I've mentioned before. The music itself is very trimmed, in other words, it seems as if the band were playing under a huge pile of debris with the weight on their shoulders. That's the overall feeling you get. The anguish is further raised by the constant breaking of the songs' flow and there are many common elements between each track, which makes the album somewhat monotonous and bland. Overall I'd say this is more an album for punk/hardcore fans than it is for the average heavy metal fan. You have been warned.

(corrected on 4.03.2010)

I can try to rant and rave about how this is one of the pioneering sludge albums, how it's an incredibly dismal, depressing, and angry album, or go even further and talk about how Eyehategod is seemingly the perfect sludge band. Yeah, yeah, I know, you've heard similar claims before for *insert cult heavy metal band here*. So I won't take that route. Rather, I'll expand on how "some kids just trying to play hardcore" stumbled across one of the bleakest musical sounds one will ever have the pleasure of hearing.

Instantly, one will notice the atrocity that is the sound quality of this recording, which sounds as though it was recorded in an old, small quarters basement that has been in ruins for years, which is now covered in disturbing graffiti and crawling with drug fiends of every kind; the perfect canvas for one ugly (albeit great) painting. The feedback, the dirgy, heavily distorted guitar sound, Mike Williams' pissed off, tortured screaming centered around themes of violence, drug abuse, and depression leave the listener convinced that what they are hearing is REAL, and not a group of people trying to be "extreme" or "shocking".

"Perversion is insanity; lust for rape, a reality..."

Infusing old hardcore punk with a little bit of southern flair and Black Sabbath comes easy for these guys. At first glimpse, it sounds as though they have the serious, down-to-business, old hardcore sound down, and the bluesy Sabbathisms show their faces when the band incorporates their own special touch of NOLA (few and far between here, though they would expand further on this influence on their next album). The music here can go from a heavy, treacherous crawl, to an outburst of quick, grimy punk rock, and sometimes there are really no smooth transitions between tempos, but this method of songwriting just works for the sound that has been crafted here. It eliminates any sense of security the listener may be holding on to, forcing them to just give in to this dirty, oppressive experience.

This is one of the few albums out there in the extreme music world that is, for the lack of a better phrase, genuinely scary. From the opening screeching of feedback on "Depress", to the pummeling crunch of "Run It Into The Ground", and finally to the excellent closing piece that is "Hit A Girl", there will probably be many thoughts flying through one's head. In my case, though, there was only one thought that remained throughout this record's entirety...

"This album is disgusting."

Eyehategod is a unique band that only appeals to the senses if you are one of those people who listens to sludge metal frequently or even occasionally because the roots of stoner/doom are so strong in this album which is why it makes them such a great tremendous force in metal and and sludge leading me up to this cd, In the Name of Suffering. Throughout this album, it serves up a blend of southern slugde/doom and Louisiana culture to make you feel like you are actually deep in the swamps of New Orleans. The first track to the album, Depress, is probably one of the best EHG songs recorded and the music stays that way throughout the whole album. This album also offers a series of atmospheric, pain-ridding induced lyrics and music which almost makes you feel sad that the record is ending at one point.

The production which is very solid and low goes along with the album because it offers a series of brutal sludge and hard packing depression. The music almost feels like pure hatred and disgust are coming out the speakers because it sounds so dark and atmospheric.

Also, if you like anything dark and doomish like black sabbath or punkish then this band is perfect for you. If you are wondering deep in to territories of metal and you are just getting into it then I dont suggest it at all because if you listen to this album during that stage you will probably think this is almost along with the lines of Gorgoroth or Mayhem purely based on production.

To summon things up this release brings out a sludge punch of music that makes you want to buy some crawfish and head right over to Bourbon Street. So if you are into alot of slow, heavy derived music or bands I have mentioned (Down, Crowbar, Soilent Green, Acid Bath, Black Sabbath Etc...) I suggest you download a couple songs from this album and if you are into ANY type of doom metal, buy this album because even though it doesnt offer that slice of straight doom this record could be easily put along the lines of many doom acts out there today. In conclusion, buy this goddamn album if you like anything I have said because sooner or later you wont regret buying this when you spend some time taking a good listen to it.

Well, this is the first one from Eyehategod, and if you don't like sludge metal, and I mean SLUDGE, stay far far away.
Chances are if you are reading an album review on a heavy metal website about Eyehategod, then you have a minimal interest in Sludgey music. So, given that rationale, check this one out. This band went on to record album after album of brutal, slow, feedback-drenched Sabbathy grooving music - filled to the brim with tortured screechy vocals hissing stream-of-consciousness lyrics about drug abuse, self-hatred, depression, and getting more out of life by taking fun vacations in the Caribbean. Minus the last one, anyway.
Alright, enough nonsense. This album sounds like it was recorded in somebody's basement, cuz it probably was. The drums sound tinny, the vocals are mixed too low, the wailing feedback hurts your ears, and the guitars and bass sound fuzzy as hell. But all of that makes this album deeply endearing. This is where I started with Eyehategod, and I love SUFFERING. Straight from the awesome "Depress" on, this wonderfully woeful disc just slaps you in the face with slow, painfully drawn out METAL. No cheeseball solos, no keyboards, no clean (aka fruity) vocals - just simmering resentment, rage, and Southern-style drawling doom.
So again, get over the production and you have a somewhat repetitive, but almost genre-defining disc that is well worth listening to on a regular basis. Personal favorites include the aforementioned "Depress," "Shinobi," the hilarious "Godsong" (a rumbling sludge background over which some crazy bastard talks about being Jesus and killing people, RAD), and "Hit A Girl."
I like the layout of the liner notes too - they don't seem to be in any order, are hard to read, and there are lots of sweet little pictures cut out collage-style to add to the schizo feel. I read somewhere that they recorded this to make fun of all the ultra-speed metal coming out at the time, but the result comes across as very serious - a heavy, sad and hopeless feel pervades all. But the riffs are fun, the drums (which would later evolve to fit this style perfectly, and the drummer went on to Crowbar, another sludgey crew) are cool, and the vocals sound like someone needs to see a throat doctor immediatley. Very good, recommended by fans of the band looking to check out their history or those looking to experience sludge metal from its watery, boozy roots.