EHG

In The Name Of Suffering (Intellectual Convulsion, 1990)

Review from Encyclopaedia Metallum:

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."