Eyehategod
Southern Discomfort
[Century Media]
It was supposed to be the sludge-core kingpins' posthumous release, but, as
it turns out, the band have reformed after a lengthy hiatus. While I don't
mean to downplay the quality of this outing, arguably, it could be more
essential to the band's fans if it was indeed Eyehategod's final communiqué.
But with the talk of recording a new full-length, "Southern Discomfort" could
be looked at as more of a filler for the starved fans. However, with each
subsequent listen, I tend to refute this point of view more and more.
The album encompasses three of Eyehategod's hard-to-find 7-inches (two of
which were actually split singles with 13) and some rare studio out-takes
like the alternate versions of "Peace Thru War (Thru Peace and War)" from
"Dopesick" album or "Depress" from "In The Name of Suffering." It is a very
decent collection in its own right, especially considering the inclusion of a
harrowing 16-minute sludge-fest called "Dopesick Jam," which sounds exactly
like its name implies.
The production and the overall sound are quite good, which is increasingly crucial for a bottom-heavy band like this, although, some people may disagree and favor something more raw sounding like "In The Name of Suffering." In any case, the songs were probably remastered for that reason, and also in order to achieve a more wholesome sound to keep the flow of the songs uninterrupted by production divergences, which, in turn, makes "Southern Discomfort" feel more like a real album. Oh, and if you haven't heard Michael D. Williams' vocals yet, I suggest you at least catch a glimpse of the kind of loathsome screams he is able to belch out.
Ultimately, the band's fans would want to have this disc in their collections. The only complaint that I could think of is that there is not enough material included. The CD includes only nine songs, which, one could argue, is not enough for a more or less comprehensive compilation such as this because the band's hardcore fans would want to hear more of the rare, unreleased stuff. But on the other hand, it's better to put fewer songs on an album than to contaminate it with loads of inferior tracks, so it's all good.
If you are a newcomer to Eyehategod, I can easily recommend "Southern Discomfort" as a starting point (although "Take As Needed For Pain" is their best and most influential work, so you would want to get that first), especially if you want to know what Black Sabbath would sound like if they got stuck in the slums of New Orleans for a long-long time, ran amuck and went on a rampaging killing spree.
© 2000 boris
The production and the overall sound are quite good, which is increasingly crucial for a bottom-heavy band like this, although, some people may disagree and favor something more raw sounding like "In The Name of Suffering." In any case, the songs were probably remastered for that reason, and also in order to achieve a more wholesome sound to keep the flow of the songs uninterrupted by production divergences, which, in turn, makes "Southern Discomfort" feel more like a real album. Oh, and if you haven't heard Michael D. Williams' vocals yet, I suggest you at least catch a glimpse of the kind of loathsome screams he is able to belch out.
Ultimately, the band's fans would want to have this disc in their collections. The only complaint that I could think of is that there is not enough material included. The CD includes only nine songs, which, one could argue, is not enough for a more or less comprehensive compilation such as this because the band's hardcore fans would want to hear more of the rare, unreleased stuff. But on the other hand, it's better to put fewer songs on an album than to contaminate it with loads of inferior tracks, so it's all good.
If you are a newcomer to Eyehategod, I can easily recommend "Southern Discomfort" as a starting point (although "Take As Needed For Pain" is their best and most influential work, so you would want to get that first), especially if you want to know what Black Sabbath would sound like if they got stuck in the slums of New Orleans for a long-long time, ran amuck and went on a rampaging killing spree.
© 2000 boris