Deadeyejack – S/T (Fuzzfarm Records) By Jay Snyder (www.hellridemusic.com) November 26, 2007 "An excellent album is not necessarily one that reinvents the wheel. Sometimes all it takes is superior song-writing in a well worn style to make the grade. Simply put I can’t get enough of Deadeyejack’s debut record. This is classic southern sludge/hardcore done to perfection with just enough of the band’s own spin on things to make it well known that this isn’t no damn copycat but a brand new, altered beast purveying a vintage sound. No sir, Deadeyejack mean business with every riff, southern lead, skull-splattering beat and throat ripping vocal literally making the weak run and cower beneath the rock they popped out from. This calls to mind the great riff masters of past and present including Cavity, Eyehategod, Iron Monkey, Sofa King Killer, Bongzilla, Kilara etc. They take that sound and distill things down to the most primal, important ingredient; the almighty riff. These riffs are truly monstrous and everything that surrounds them is just an extra layer of gravy to make it even better. The tracks are often quick and straight to the point eschewing any droning tendencies for full on ass kicking. The torrential downpour of swinging riffs in opener “Project Mayhem” sealed the deal from the very first moment for me. This song is classic, digging deep into the southern roots of this style and locking into a groove that is heavy on the boogie but still descends into more biting, doomed out tendencies. Vocalist Craig Hill has a fearsome growl that makes him a new voice of this misanthropic gruel with a guttural, throaty tone that sounds as if his larynx will come gushing out of his ears at any moment. The rest of the record sees the band mixing it up between the monster swing tracks (which are in abundance) and a couple of drawn out, slower numbers. The slower, more crawling tunes are all hugely effective, which shows that the band have the ability to master both sides of the southern sludge coin. “Hell is Comin’ to Breakfast” stumbles on broken, bloody stumps as it spews out a hazy, smoky groove that is as heavy as they come. The mid-section breaks up the oppressive crawl with a punchy groove but for the most part this is the more knuckle dragging side of Deadeyejack. They work with this template again for the bruising mid-record romp “Boots in the River” and closer “Cowboys and Christians”. “Cowboys and Christians” boasts some excellent lead work that helps bring the track to a rocked-out finish. Elsewhere the band plunders the wells of classic bands that have blazed this trail before them. They nail it every time too. The sarcastically titled, “High Speed Chase at 20 m.p.h.” brings the bass to the forefront to create a thick, syrupy wall of distortion that bleeds into high octane stoner grooves. These top choice riffs remind me hugely of Cavity as I taste the hickory flavor of punk n’ hardcore in addition to grade A sludge beef. The riff at the end of this song will stop your heart. “Yeah Yeah Yeah” is a show stealing track that I had on repeat play for the better part of two days; no kidding either. The riffs in this song collide with a punishing wall of busy drumming and roaring vocal explosions making for the kind of din that will cause your neighbors to run for the hills. The twin guitar attack of Todd and James cooks up some of the best riffs I’ve heard in the genre in quite sometime. The same can be said of the remaining tracks including the blistering trio of “Country Western Hits”, “Six Shooter Standoff” and “Wouldn’t Couldn’t Wouldn’t Oldsmobile” which drill your psyche with riff after riff of lowdown, southern-fried fury. This is a masterpiece of southern sludge. Deadeyejack’s take on this classic style is downright masterful, spilling forth 9 tracks of bestial hatred that are essential for the ears of sludge fans. They make use of an economical “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it approach” while reminding one of the classics but only sounding like Deadeyejack. This is a take no prisoners, unrivaled unit. I do believe they’ve endured some line-up changes since they recorded this back in 2005 but the band is still active today playing shows and busting heads. So far this is a self released, prototype disc through the band’s own Fuzzfarm Records imprint and it would be great to see this being available through wider distribution. This album also has impeccable production for a DIY release with an appropriately filthy cover by Tom Denney. I’m not even kidding when I say that this is one of my favorite discs as of the year. I was in need of something of such a high caliber within this genre. Deadeyejack answered my prayers with this one. I can’t recommend this disc enough for fans of the slit-wrist, southern blues." "Over the last few years DEADEYEJACK has experienced some line up changes,including our new brothers bryce sarver on guitar and gray warlick on bass. We are currently stronger than ever and working on new material.."- craig(sickjagger)hill. DxExJx Visit the Deadeyejack website at www.myspace.com/deadeyejackmusic --------------------------------------------------------------------------------