Their uncompromising approach toward their craft has seen Eyehategod gigs outlawed and albums banned from shelves, however Williams is quick to dismiss any issues as being in the band’s past. “We had a lot of problems, there were certain places where we couldn’t play simply because of our name. We’ve had churches trying to shut down our shows in places like Tennessee and those red-neck southern areas but that was way back in the day.” With many well documented personal struggles including heavy drug abuse and run-ins with the law surrounding the group and its members, Eyehategod have taken to exposing themselves warts and all though their music. “I think people like that type of riskiness in a band – in the older days we’d be doing a tour and people would be like ‘Go see them now because they may break up next week or someone may overdose or something.’ I think that people are intrigued by that,” he remarks with tongue-in-cheek.
The group’s sincerity and willingness to embrace their inner demons and put it out for all to see resonates with many fans. “I guess they can relate – they listen to us, they read the words and they know our personal histories too. Some of our fans can really relate to what we’ve been through from what we sound like. That’s where the positivity comes from in that it does affect people in a positive way, which is strange because it’s such a negative sound – but it’s not all negative like that,” Williams insists.
Their debut album In The Name Of Suffering (released in 1992 through Century Media) typified the sound the band are now renowned for – abrasive, doom-filled lyrics often delivered in screams accompanied by grungy, down-tuned guitars, courtesy of guitarists Jimmy Bower and Brian Patton – teamed with an ever-changing drum tempo set by drummer Joey LaCaze. “We were listening to bands like The Melvins and Carnivore – at the same time listening to stuff that was southern rock – like Lynyrd Skynyrd, Black Flag and hardcore punk. It all just kind of fell together with all of those sounds,” He says of their influences.
As for being labelled the godfathers of sludge, the singer is somewhat conflicted, “First of all I hate the title, it’s like calling something grunge or speed metal you know? To me it’s all rock’n’roll, it’s all music. We never set out to start anything called sludge metal – so I don’t have any philosophy behind the term at all, we just play this music because we liked the way it sounded.” This year saw the release of the single New Orleans Is The New Vietnam, their first offering in almost 12 years. The recording’s just a taste for fans before the guys head into the studio to record new material for their up-coming, as yet untitled full length album. However, far from feeling pressured to conform to expectations Williams is nonchalant. “We don’t sit down and go like ‘Okay, this has to be Eyehategod.’ I mean we just figure that whatever we do it’s gonna be Eyehategod no matter what we do!”
Describing their formative years as chaotic, Williams seems almost bemused having made it through the time alive, let alone still producing music together. “When we first started we weren’t professional at all, we just didn’t care! We still have that same attitude of ‘Fuck it, we don’t care, we just do it for ourselves,’ but we do have more positivity in our ideas in that we’re trying to push the band as far as we can go, as opposed to in the early days where we just couldn’t care less what happened.” Time may have seen Eyehategod shift to a more professional approach in the studio, however little else has changed as far as their attitude to writing music.
“Lyrically we’re the same negative bastards that we’ve always been this whole time – we’re a bunch of miserable folk sometimes,” laughs Williams. “We still have the same mindset as we did back in the early days.”
After 23 years the unholy quintet are finally headed to Australia, touring the country for the first time. At long last their faithful fans can expect an explosive live show from the southern rockers, with Eyehategod set to headline CherryFest as well as playing side shows nationwide this November. Williams and company are looking forward to tearing it up. “We’re going to give a thousand percent on stage, we’re there to play and we want to play!”
BY MICHELLE GILLINGWATER
