Eyehategod
Encyclopedia
Eyehategod is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 sludge metal
Sludge metal
Sludge metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that melds elements of doom metal and hardcore punk, and sometimes incorporates influences from southern rock, stoner rock and grunge. Sludge metal is typically abrasive; often featuring shouted vocals, heavily distorted instruments and sharply contrasting...

 band from New Orleans who formed in 1988. They have become one of the most well known bands to emerge from the NOLA metal scene. Throughout the years, their core line-up has remained, with the exception of the bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

ist, a slot in which several musicians have played.

Eyehategod have noted Melvins, The Obsessed
The Obsessed
The Obsessed is a doom metal band from Maryland led by Scott "Wino" Weinrich, who also fronted Saint Vitus, Spirit Caravan, Place of Skulls, The Hidden Hand and W.I.N.O.. Formed in 1976, they first split up in 1986 when Wino Saint Vitus, but reformed four years later...

, Discharge
Discharge (band)
Discharge is a British hardcore punk band formed in 1977 by Terry "Tezz" Roberts and Roy "Rainy" Wainwright. They are often considered among one of the very first bands to play hardcore punk, and to mix punk with metal...

, Black Flag
Black Flag (band)
Black Flag was an American punk rock band formed in 1976 in Hermosa Beach, California. The band was established by Greg Ginn, the guitarist, primary songwriter and sole continuous member through multiple personnel changes in the band...

, and Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...

 as key influences to their sound. Heavy, detuned, and blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...

y guitar riffs dominate the band's discography. They are combined with walls of feedback and tortured vocals to create a harsh misanthropic vibe. Their records had been released consistently by Century Media Records
Century Media Records
Century Media Records is an Independent record label with offices in the United States, Germany, Australia, France, Italy, Sweden, Finland, and the United Kingdom.- Background :...

 though the band's most recent output is on Emetic Records, not including the numerous splits
Split album
A split album is a music album which includes tracks by two or more separate artists. There have been singles and EPs released in the same nature, which can be referred to as split singles and split EPs respectively...

 released under various labels. The band is friends with Anal Cunt
Anal Cunt
Anal Cunt, also known as AxCx and A.C., was an American grindcore band that formed in Newton, Massachusetts in 1988. Since its inception, the band underwent a number of line-up changes. Known for its grindcore musical style and controversial lyrics, Anal Cunt released eight full-length studio...

 and performed with A.C. for the first show after Seth Putnam
Seth Putnam
Seth Edward Putnam was the founder of grindcore band Anal Cunt. He was known for his brutal screaming and lyrics that either shock, offend, or invoke morbid humor...

 came out of his coma.

Early years – In the Name of Suffering

Very little is known about early Eyehategod. Jimmy Bower
Jimmy Bower
Jimmy Bower is an American sludge/heavy metal guitarist and drummer who has played with six bands, most notably Eyehategod, Crowbar, Down, and Superjoint Ritual....

 and Joey LaCaze founded the band on April 20, 1988 (in accordance with 4/20 in cannabis culture
420 (cannabis culture)
420, 4:20 or 4/20 refers to consumption of cannabis and, by extension, a way to identify oneself with cannabis subculture. The notable day for these is April 20.- Origins of terms :...

), and they recruited Mike Williams
Mike Williams (singer)
Mike IX Williams is the singer for Eyehategod and former associate editor for Metal Maniacs. He has also worked on other projects.-Eyehategod:Mike was invited to join Eyehategod by Jimmy Bower in 1988...

, Brian Patton and Steve Dale. The band then recorded two demos Garden Dwarf Woman Driver (1989) and Lack of Almost Everything (1990); the latter was sent out to various labels. They eventually got signed to the small French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 label Intellectual Convulsion, and released their first album In the Name of Suffering
In the Name of Suffering
In the Name of Suffering is Sludge metal band Eyehategod's debut album, released on December 1, 1992. The album was originally released on French label Intellectual Convulsion, but only 1500-2000 copies were pressed of this release before the label disappeared. They were then picked up by Century...

on December 1, 1992. The album had a far more primitive and raw sound than later releases (as it was recorded very cheaply and the band members were fairly inexperienced), and had a more hardcore
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...

 feel to it. The label dissolved with only a couple of thousand copies having been printed, so the band had to find a new label. They soon signed with Century Media however, who re-released In the Name of Suffering as it is known today. Also in 2006, In the Name of Suffering was re-issued with four bonus tracks. These four tracks were the same as those on the original demo Lack Of Almost Everything.

Take as Needed for Pain

Eyehategod then went on to record Take as Needed for Pain
Take as Needed for Pain
Take as Needed for Pain is the second album by American sludge metal band Eyehategod, released on November 22, 1993. According to Mike Williams, it was the favorite album of nearly all band members, and his favorite album title, with the exception of Poison Idea's Record Collectors Are Pretentious...

in 1993 with new bassist Mark Schultz who had also contributed on In The Name Of Suffering. The album was recorded at Studio 13, a small label working from the 13th floor of an abandoned department store
Department store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...

 on an old canal street in New Orleans. The band played daily during this period to put down tracks for the album. At the time, Mike Williams was homeless (having been thrown out by his former girlfriend) and living in an abandoned, flea-infested room above a strip club
Strip club
A strip club is an adult entertainment venue in which striptease or other erotic or exotic dance is regularly performed. Strip clubs typically adopt a nightclub or bar style, but can also adopt a theatre or cabaret-style....

 just a few minutes away from the studio. The sound of Take as Needed for Pain seemed much closer to what the members intended than the material on In the Name of Suffering, and it shows a cleaner, more distinct sound with better defined riffs. The southern rock
Southern rock
Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music, and genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues, and is focused generally on electric guitar and vocals...

, blues and doom
Doom metal
Doom metal is an extreme form of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other metal genres...

 influences are also more distinctly felt on this album. After the release of the album, the band toured extensively with acts such as Chaos UK
Chaos UK
Chaos UK are an English hardcore punk band formed in 1979 in Portishead, near Bristol. They played fast aggressive hardcore punk rock initially. The original line up of Simon on vocals, Andy on guitar, Chaos on bass and Potts on drums recorded two EP's and a full LP for Riot City Record...

, Buzzov*en, White Zombie
White Zombie
White Zombie was a Grammy Award-nominated American heavy metal band. Based in New York City, White Zombie was originally a noise rock band. White Zombie are better-known for their later heavy metal-oriented sound...

 and Corrosion of Conformity
Corrosion of Conformity
Corrosion of Conformity is an American heavy metal band from Raleigh, North Carolina formed in 1982. For almost the majority of its existence, the band has consisted of guitarist Woody Weatherman, bassist Mike Dean , drummer Reed Mullin and vocalist and rhythm...

. After touring, the band members briefly spread out in different directions. Mike Williams busied himself contributing to Metal Maniacs
Metal Maniacs
Metal Maniacs was a heavy metal magazine founded in 1989 by Mike G. and Katherine Ludwig of Metal Shop. It was focused largely on covering extreme metal, with emphasis on the black and death metal genres...

magazine. Jimmy Bower played drums on Crowbar
Crowbar (U.S. band)
Crowbar is an American sludge metal band from New Orleans, Louisiana, characterized by their extremely slow, low-keyed, heavy and brooding songs that also contain fast hardcore punk passages...

's Broken Glass
Broken Glass
Broken Glass is the fourth album by Crowbar released on October 29, 1996.-Track listing:#"Conquering" – 2:48 #"Like Broken Glass" – 3:43 #" Turn Away from Dying" – 5:00 #"Wrath of Time Be Judgement" – 3:32 #"Nothing" – 5:29...

as well as Down
Down (band)
Down is an American heavy metal supergroup that formed in 1991 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist Phil Anselmo, guitarist Pepper Keenan, guitarist Kirk Windstein, bassist Pat Bruders and drummer Jimmy Bower. Since their formation, Down has gone on hiatus twice...

's debut album, NOLA
NOLA (album)
- Band members :* Phil Anselmo - vocals, guitar on "Pray for the Locust", mandolin on "Jail"* Pepper Keenan - guitar* Kirk Windstein - guitar, bass* Jimmy Bower - drums- Guest musicians :...

. Brian Patton recorded Soilent Green
Soilent Green
Soilent Green is a grindcore and sludge metal band that hails from Metairie, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans.-Overview:Soilent Green was founded in 1988. Their début album wasn't released until 1995, when Pussysoul came out on Dwell Records...

's debut album, Pussysoul
Pussysoul
Pussysoul is the debut album from sludge metal band, Soilent Green. It is the bands first and last album released through Los Angeles based record label Dwell Records...

.

Dopesick

The band had been recording several demos, which were released on various seven-inch records and splits on various labels, but finally in 1996 settled down to record a full length record, with Pepper Keenan
Pepper Keenan
Pepper J. Keenan , is an American vocalist and guitarist, best known for his work with heavy metal bands Corrosion of Conformity and Down. He joined Corrosion of Conformity in 1989, but did not become the lead singer until the recording of Deliverance in 1994...

 of Corrosion of Conformity as producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

, and new bassist Vince LeBlanc, which would be named Dopesick
Dopesick
Dopesick is the third studio album by the American sludge metal band Eyehategod, released on April 2, 1996. It was reissued in 2006 as part of Century Media's 20th Anniversary series with three bonus tracks that were recorded during the original Dopesick recording sessions.-Recording and...

. At the time, Mike Williams was living in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn
Clinton Hill, Brooklyn
Clinton Hill is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City. It is bordered on the east by Bedford-Stuyvesant, on the west by Fort Greene, on the north by Wallabout Bay and on the south by Prospect Heights...

 in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, and so had to travel between there and New Orleans frequently for the recording sessions. The recording sessions were infamously chaotic, and involved the studio owner reportedly calling Century to ask if the band were insane, and threatening to kick them out. This particular incident occurred after Mike Williams had attempted to record the sound of smashing glass for the introduction to the album, by smashing a bottle on the floor of the studio. In the process he slashed his hand open badly and bled all over the studio floor (this recording did make it to the record as the introduction to the first track, "My Name is God (I Hate You)"). One of the band members then apparently smeared the words "Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...

" and "Death to Pigs
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...

" in Mike's blood. Brian Patton and Joey LaCaze then flew out to San Francisco to mix
Audio mixing (recorded music)
In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...

 the album. This album was far more chaotic than their previous, but still retained the distinct southern, bluesy feel, distancing it from In the Name of Suffering. The band then embarked on a US tour in the spring of 1997 to support the album, supporting White Zombie
White Zombie
White Zombie was a Grammy Award-nominated American heavy metal band. Based in New York City, White Zombie was originally a noise rock band. White Zombie are better-known for their later heavy metal-oriented sound...

 and Pantera
Pantera
Pantera was an American heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas. Formed by the Abbott brothers, Vinnie Paul and Dimebag Darrell in 1981, bassist Rex Brown would join in late 1981 with vocalist Terry Glaze. Looking for a new and heavier sound, Pantera had Terry replaced in 1987 with Phil Anselmo as...

, bringing their music to a far wider audience, raising the profile of sludge metal
Sludge metal
Sludge metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that melds elements of doom metal and hardcore punk, and sometimes incorporates influences from southern rock, stoner rock and grunge. Sludge metal is typically abrasive; often featuring shouted vocals, heavily distorted instruments and sharply contrasting...

, and becoming (in)famous as one of its founding acts.

Confederacy of Ruined Lives

Eyehategod then went through a period of internal disputes, and went on unofficial hiatus as its members scattered again to record and tour with their various side-projects; namely Soilent Green, Corrosion of Conformity and Crowbar. Eventually, in 2000, the band reconvened (again with a new bassist, this time Daniel Nick) to compile their various Take as Needed for Pain and Dopesick era singles, seven inches and split records into one record, Southern Discomfort. This reconvention gave them the impetus to knuckle down and record another album, and that album was 2000's Confederacy of Ruined Lives
Confederacy of Ruined Lives
Confederacy of Ruined Lives is sludge metal band Eyehategod's fourth album, released on September 19, 2000. As of 2011, it is their latest studio album...

. The album was a much more polished, sober affair, and so sounded distinctly more like a sequel to Take as Needed for Pain than Dopesick. After its release, the band then toured extensively (embarking on a world tour for the first time, with dates in Europe and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

), while its members still juggled their various side-projects. During this time, Down recorded their second album, and Bower formed the mostly instrumental band, The Mystick Krewe of Clearlight
Clearlight (band)
Clearlight is an instrumental heavy metal band from New Orleans, Louisiana. They are also known as The Mystick Krewe of Clearlight due to other bands using the same original name.-History:...

, as well as Soilent Green releasing their third album. Mike Williams also founded Outlaw Order and Arson Anthem
Arson Anthem
Arson Anthem is an American hardcore punk band, formed in New Orleans in 2006. The lineup comprises singer Mike Williams of Eyehategod, vocalist Phil Anselmo of Pantera, Down and Superjoint Ritual on guitar, country musician, punk rocker and Assjack frontman Hank Williams III on drums, and bassist...

. During all this activity, Eyehategod found time to compile and release their live album 10 Years of Abuse (and Still Broke)
10 Years of Abuse (and Still Broke)
10 Years of Abuse is the title of Sludge metal band Eyehategod's only live album, released on May 29, 2001. Although not all the tracks are live, it is still considered a live album, as the majority of tracks are live, and there are no studio tracks...

(which was mainly released due to a contractual obligation with Century Media), and record and release yet more split records and 7 inches. With the release of their live album, the band were free of their contract with Century, and chose to sign to Emetic Records (with their fifth and current bassist, Gary Mader) for the release of their 2005 stop-gap compilation album, Preaching the "End-Time" Message, much in the vein of Southern Discomfort, but this time with some unreleased studio tracks.

Recent events

Following the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...

, singer Mike Williams
Mike Williams (singer)
Mike IX Williams is the singer for Eyehategod and former associate editor for Metal Maniacs. He has also worked on other projects.-Eyehategod:Mike was invited to join Eyehategod by Jimmy Bower in 1988...

 and his now ex-girlfriend Alicia Morgan (a member of sludgecore band 13) were arrested in Morgan City, Louisiana
Morgan City, Louisiana
Morgan City is a city in St. Martin and St. Mary parishes in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population was 12,404 at the 2010 census....

 on a narcotics charge. Williams spent 91 days in the Morgan City
Morgan City, Louisiana
Morgan City is a city in St. Martin and St. Mary parishes in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population was 12,404 at the 2010 census....

 Jail, and kicked his heroin habit.

With the help of his Eyehategod bandmates and supporters such as Phil Anselmo
Phil Anselmo
Philip Hansen "Phil" Anselmo is an American musician who is best known as the lead singer for the heavy metal band Pantera. He is currently the frontman for the Louisiana-based metal act Down. He is also the owner of Housecore Records....

, Williams was released from jail on December 2, 2005. The band played a set at the 2006 Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras
The terms "Mardi Gras" , "Mardi Gras season", and "Carnival season", in English, refer to events of the Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after Epiphany and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday...

 festival, the first since the disaster. Emetic Records released a various artists tribute album
Tribute album
A tribute album is a recorded collection of cover versions of songs or instrumental compositions. Its concept may be either various artists making a tribute to a single artist, a single artist making a tribute to various artists, or a single artist making a tribute to another single artist.There...

 to Eyehategod on March 20, 2007, titled For the Sick
For the Sick
For the Sick is the title of the various artist tribute album to one of the most influential sludge metal bands, Eyehategod. It was released through Emetic Records on March 20, 2007.-CD 1:...

. On August 29, 2008, the band celebrated their 20-year anniversary with a show at One Eyed Jacks in New Orleans. The band played a few shows in the American South in May 2009, and are on tour the same winter. They also performed at Hellfest
Hellfest Summer Open Air
Hellfest is an annual music festival which takes place in Clisson, France in mid-June. It is held within the Val de Moine sport complex in Clisson, approximately 35 km south-east of the city of Nantes, and approximately 400 km south-west of the nation's capital Paris. Billed as an "extreme music...

 in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 in June.

Jimmy Bower announced in a recent interview that Eyehategod are still active and preparing a new album. The band played at the Inferno festival in Oslo, Norway on 1 April 2010 and also played two sets at the Roadburn festival later that month.

Eyehategod performed a new song called "New Orleans Is the New Vietnam" during their set at their July 1, 2011 show in Roskilde Festival
Roskilde Festival
Roskilde Festival is a festival held south of Roskilde in Denmark and is one of the six biggest annual music festivals in Europe . It was created in 1971 by two high school students, Mogens Sandfær and Jesper Switzer Møller, and promoter Carl Fischer...

, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

.

Members

Current
  • Mike Williams
    Mike Williams (singer)
    Mike IX Williams is the singer for Eyehategod and former associate editor for Metal Maniacs. He has also worked on other projects.-Eyehategod:Mike was invited to join Eyehategod by Jimmy Bower in 1988...

     – lead vocals (1988–present)
  • Jimmy Bower
    Jimmy Bower
    Jimmy Bower is an American sludge/heavy metal guitarist and drummer who has played with six bands, most notably Eyehategod, Crowbar, Down, and Superjoint Ritual....

     – guitars (1988–present)
  • Brian Patton – guitars (1993–present)
  • Gary Mader – bass (2005–present)
  • Joey LaCaze – drums, percussion (1988–present)

Former
  • Steve Dale – bass (1988–1992)
  • Mark Schultz – bass (1992–1995)
  • Vince LeBlanc – bass (1996–1999)
  • Daniel Nick – bass (2000–2004)

Discography

  • In the Name of Suffering
    In the Name of Suffering
    In the Name of Suffering is Sludge metal band Eyehategod's debut album, released on December 1, 1992. The album was originally released on French label Intellectual Convulsion, but only 1500-2000 copies were pressed of this release before the label disappeared. They were then picked up by Century...

    (1992)
  • Take as Needed for Pain
    Take as Needed for Pain
    Take as Needed for Pain is the second album by American sludge metal band Eyehategod, released on November 22, 1993. According to Mike Williams, it was the favorite album of nearly all band members, and his favorite album title, with the exception of Poison Idea's Record Collectors Are Pretentious...

    (1993)
  • Dopesick
    Dopesick
    Dopesick is the third studio album by the American sludge metal band Eyehategod, released on April 2, 1996. It was reissued in 2006 as part of Century Media's 20th Anniversary series with three bonus tracks that were recorded during the original Dopesick recording sessions.-Recording and...

    (1996)
  • Confederacy of Ruined Lives
    Confederacy of Ruined Lives
    Confederacy of Ruined Lives is sludge metal band Eyehategod's fourth album, released on September 19, 2000. As of 2011, it is their latest studio album...

    (2000)
  • TBA (2011)

Outlaw Order

While Jimmy Bower was busy playing drums for Down
Down (band)
Down is an American heavy metal supergroup that formed in 1991 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist Phil Anselmo, guitarist Pepper Keenan, guitarist Kirk Windstein, bassist Pat Bruders and drummer Jimmy Bower. Since their formation, Down has gone on hiatus twice...

, the other four members of Eyehategod formed a side-project called Outlaw Order (abbreviated to OO%). The band released a limited edition 7" EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

 in 2003 called Legalize Crime
Legalize Crime
Legalize Crime is the name of the debut EP by Outlaw Order - a sideproject of Sludge metal band Eyehategod, released as a limited edition 7" in 2003, and rereleased on CD with a bonus live track on October 25, 2006...

, which has since been re-released on CD with a bonus live track and is available through Eyehategod's webstore. The criminal theme is apparently because at the time of the band's formation all 5 of the members were on probation
Probation
Probation literally means testing of behaviour or abilities. In a legal sense, an offender on probation is ordered to follow certain conditions set forth by the court, often under the supervision of a probation officer...

, and have consistently been in trouble with the law. Marc Shultz is currently serving a prison sentence and so has been replaced by Justin Grisoli. The band have recorded their debut full-length, Dragging Down the Enforcer
Dragging Down the Enforcer
Dragging Down the Enforcer is the name of the debut album by Outlaw Order, a side-project of the pioneering American sludge metal outfit, Eyehategod. It was released in November 2008 in both jewel case and metal box formats. It was originally due to be released on the 13th and 14th of October, but...

, and it was released on November 10, 2008, through Season of Mist
Season of Mist
Season of Mist is a record label and record distributor with subsidiaries in France and the United States. The record label was founded in 1996 by Michael S. Berberian in Marseille, France. From the start releasing black metal, pagan metal and death metal records, the label moved on to releasing...

.

External links

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