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| WHAT DO I KNOW? I could
describe Eyehategod for you but it would be a waste of breath. They’re
heavy metal; if you have even a passing interest in that genre, or
in the visions of decadence that so inspired French and American authors
in the late years of the nineteenth century and the early years of
the twentieth, then you ought to hear them; they’re from Louisiana
and their stream-of-unconsciousness lyrics sometimes vomit shining
gems of free association (from Confederacy of Ruined Lives,
rendered here in all-caps as in the booklet: “MY GOAL TO BECOME
LORD OF ALL DULLARDS, LIKE THE TIME I GREW ANTLERS IT ALMOST COST
ME MY JOB”; from Dopesick: “Folk art tribe devils/Screen
all calls”). They sound like a few other bands -- the Germs or
early Black Flag; the abovementioned Blue Cheer and Black Sabbath
minus the blues influence -- but bear their own standard and are recognized
as leaders in their admittedly tiny field. The end-product of their
raging against the dying of the light is grimmer than grim, leagues
darker than dark. They make Joy Division sound like S Club 7. Their
sleeve art is utterly stunning in its ability to simultaneously provoke
discomfort and cheap voyeuristic thrills. (It’s not porn, by
the way: it’s image fetishism.) In a number of ways, they rule,
and I’m going to return to these two albums next week, and then
the week after that, at which point I’ll weigh in with my end
of the verdict. (I hope those of you with an opinion on the question
will give me yours.)
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