UMUR "In The Name Of Suffering" is the debut full-length studio album by US, Louisiana based sludge metal act Eyehategod. The album was originally released in 1990 through the small French Intellectual Convulsion label (only pressed in 1500-2000 copies before the label was shut down), but was picked up by Century Media Records for a more widely available December 1992 re-release. Eyehategod formed in 1988 and released two demos, "Garden Dwarf Woman Driver" and "Lack of Almost Everything", in the years 1989 and 1990, respectively. "In The Name Of Suffering" was recorded and produced by the band themselves and cost them only $1000 to record.

"In The Name Of Suffering" is one of the earliest examples of sludge metal, before such a term was even coined. Stylistically the music is ultra heavy doom metal with a southern groove and aggressive snarling hardcore vocals. The album is drenched in a bleak atmosphere of despair and depression, and it´s the kind of release designed to crush your positive spirit and leave you a depressed cynic. Eyehategod paint the picture of a nightmare world, which song titles like "Depress", "Man Is Too Ignorant to Exist", and "Left to Starve" bear witness to.

The album features a raw, organic, and filthy sounding production. At times it almost sounds like the album was recorded live in the studio. Loud chrashing drums, distorted guitars/bass which often make screaming feedback noises, and lead vocalist Mike Williams screaming his lungs out in front. The material on the 10 track, 35:05 minutes long album are generally well written and there are several killer riffs and grooves on the album, but the songs aren´t always easy to tell apart, and a few more catchy hooks, could have made the album an even more effectful release. As it is, "In The Name Of Suffering" is completely uncompromising and there´s of course a great charm and boldness to that, and to those who enjoy their heavy music as raw and unpolished as possible, this is definitely a mandatory listen. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

siLLy puPPy Sludge metal is one of those shapeshifting sub-genres that has been quite prolific in frolicking with everything from grindcore (Soilent Green) and crust punk (Dystopia) to stoner metal (Melvins, Bongzilla) and progressive rock (Mastodon, Intronaut) however in the beginning the fledgling metal style actually resembled the doom metal template from which it was derived. EYEHATEGOD was one of the forerunners of the scene which incorporated the doomy guitar riffs of classic Black Sabbath, the more updated doom diversity of Saint Vitus, the indie extreme motifs of Celtic Frost and the healthy punk infused errant attitude of hardcore bands like Discharge, Black Flag and other crust punk. The Melvins who proved to be a middle ground between the doom and sludge worlds also provided plenty of inspiration.

EYEHATEGOD emerged out of New Orleans, Louisiana on April 20, 1988 (420 man!) by guitarist Jimmy Bower and vocalist Mike Williams and soon recruited drummer Joey LaCaze. All three would remain permanent members until the band’s most recent album released in 2014. After a few lineup changes and the recruitment of Steve Dale on bass and Mark Schulz as second guitarist, EYEHATEGOD recorded their debut album IN THE NAME OF SUFFERING after the two demos “Dwarf Woman Driver” and “Lack Of Almost Everything.” Although these guys didn’t really take their style too seriously as it was merely a reaction to the musical scene of the era (think glam metal ruling the world) it nevertheless caught the attention of the small French label Intellectual Convulsion which released no more than 2000 LPs and CDs and soon went bankrupt. After signing to Century Media, this debut album found a second life and was re-released in 1992 with different artwork.

As with all cases of metal history, sludge metal took various elements of established bands and made them more extreme. EYEHATEGOD excelled at cranking out the plodding down-tuned guitar riffs that alternate with hardcore punk fueled quickened outbursts but most of all IN THE NAME OF SUFFERING debuts a healthy dose of feedback fuzz that would be taken even further with drone metal bands like Boris. This album is dripping in heavy psych laced distortion with every riff reverberating to high heaven accompanied by crazy squealing pitches that would make Jimi Hendrix have an orgasm. While doom metal plods along, this new sludge break away republic alternates between doom, hardcore and crust punk and even some death metal moments. Plodding riffs can spontaneously burst into freeform quickened frenzies and the squealing feedback outbursts can sound like a nest of horny birds on acid chirping to the gods for an infinite feast of juicy worms.

The best thing about IN THE NAME OF SUFFERING is that it sounds like that raw and unpolished underground metal that all the filth worshippers crave. While the Sabbath riffs are quite apparent, the overall compositions are quite varied in how they meander through different tempos, riff changes and of course there’s those feedback squeals! With an emphasis on cannabis culture, it’s not wonder a whole new strain of stoner metal evolved from this early sludge template as it totally sounds like it could take the next step into Sleep or Electric Wizard territory. While sludge metal has gotten increasingly sophisticated over the years with atmospheric progressive bands like Intronaut and The Ocean totally upgrading the sub, these early years of unadulterated sludgery are quite satisfying and no album quite hits the spot like EYEHATEGOD’s bass heavy sludge-fest IN THE NAME OF SUFFERING with angry screamed vocals struggling to be heard over the overweening guitar distortion and sparse drumming style that would become synonymous with this style of metal.

Doomster Imagine waking up one morning and finding yourself in a random back alley in a city you are not familiar with. You are puzzled, and you feel starving. Doors leading into some buildings are decaying and rotting. Horns from cars blare all around you, with various drivers spitting profanities faintly heard over the city noise. The sky is grey and bleak, shrouded with a cloud of blackened dusk from the smoke stack of a factory. Rats are chewing on garbage all around you. It's essentially a depressive and miserable setting, and you feel hopelessly lost, and frightened. That's what EyeHateGod's "Dopesick" album is like.

EyeHateGod, along with the equally wonderful Melvins, are widely considered as the pioneering act of sludge metal. "Dopesick" is an essentially legendary album that has crafted the path for pretty much every sludge doom act to this day - even the stoney jams of Bongzilla, Electric Wizard, Weedeater, and Ufomammut all pay their respects to EHG. "Dopesick" is often cited as their finest work, and I must agree.

Wikipedia defines sludge metal as "a subgenre of heavy metal that melds elements of doom metal and hardcore punk, and sometimes incorporates influnces from from southern rock, stoner rock and grunge. Sludge metal is typically abrasive; often featuring shouted vocals, heavily distorted instruments and sharply contrasting tempos." If this definition is correct, then EHG's "Dopesick" is the pure definition of sludge metal.

"Dopesick" expertly encompasses the bleak corruption and darkness of modern society with mere music to do the job. EHG's lyrical themes often follow stories of depression, anger, misanthropy, and hatred toward life and modern society. It is saying that humans are worthless, and that we will all just die a miserable, painful death - not as an opinion, but as a menacing, clear statement of fact.

The music on "Dopesick" relies heavily on distortion and guitar feedback. Intros of many of the tracks on this album will feature squealing feedback which sometimes carries itself throughout the song. The drumming is mid-tempo'd, probably not essential to this album's enjoyment, but pleasent just the same. I don't have much to say about the bass, but it has some pretty cool solos here and there. EHG's style of sludge is alot faster than bands like Fleshpress and Cough which feel like massive slogs through the muck of an abandoned swamp, but it's not much faster than that.

The set kicks off with the 5 minute "My Name Is God (I Hate You)". It starts off as a slow, lumbering beast of a song which crushes all your hopes of having a pleasent listen. The song is mainly a monolith of sludgy madness, but halfway through, it explodes into a massive punk rock groove, before introducing some more "Godzilla stomping through city streets" riffs. Chock full of monstrously heavy groovy riffage, it is the perfect opener for the album and a preparation for the massive onslaught that is about to continue.

The vocals are stunning. Vocalist Mike emanates a torturous scream which just burns with so much hate, rage, envy, and every other negative emotion you can think of. They don't seem like singing, or screaming even, but rather, like a mentally enstranged man who has had just about enough screaming for mankind to just wake up.

"Dixie Whiskey" is another highlight, which features some even more intensified aforomentioned screams, a repetitive riff which sounds like a rendition of Sabbath's "Paranoid", and a wonderful hateful atmosphere captured throughout the whole song. The only qualm I have about this song is that it is so short (2:55).

Also, if you happen to have the reissue version, it contains an opus called "Dopesick Jam", a monster of a track which lasts a little over 16 minutes. It is a combination of everything heard previously on the album, and ends the set with a bang.

"Dopesick" is a masterpiece of sludge doom. EyeHateGod revolutionized an amazing genre with their releases. This is essential to anyone who enjoys a good taste of Weedeater, Buzzoven, and Bongzilla. Highly reccomended, and I cannot wait for new material!