I really don't like EYEHATEGOD, so whenever I come across a band in any way affiliated with those dirty Sludgemongers, I tend to be a little sceptical. Well, HAWG JAW play NoLa-styled Sludge Metal and feature members of EYEHATEGOD, CLEARLIGHT and OUTLAW ORDER, so going in to this I expected to be completely underwhelmed. Perhaps I shouldn't be so prejudicial from now on, because upon giving "Don't Trust Nobody" a few spins, I found my jaw dropping and my ass being kicked.

Imagine early MELVINS but with the percentage of weirdness replaced by an equal percentage of raw, unbridled anger. You get short, jagged tunes full of quirky changes and riffs like oil in your lungs, with the package being completed by a vocalist sounding like one of the hounds of Hell. Someone must have pissed in this guy's Cheerios - he sounds seriously pissed off and unlike some Sludge throats, manages to sound good while doing it! Tracks like "Devein" sum this up pretty well, dragging you into an alcohol-drenched tar pit and then delightfully watching you sink. What fun! The album's short, clocking in at just over a half-hour, but once the aural destruction comes to an end and the dust settles, you can always hit 'play' again.

For fans of heavy, angry and ugly music. (Online August 15, 2006)