Outlaw Order's long-delayed debut full-length,
Dragging Down the Enforcer is bound to draw comparisons to
Eyehategod, not only because of the bandmembers involved (most of whom also play in
EHG) but also because of how the music sounds. However, given that
EHG's last true studio album,
Confederacy of Ruined Lives, was released in 2000 -- and given their status as pioneers of the whole Southern sludge-metal phenomenon -- that's not at all a bad thing. Clocking in at around a half-hour long, this concise album (nine songs plus an intro and outro) delivers on the promise of the hard-to-find Legalize Crime, the band's 2003 Southern Lord EP (one of whose songs, "Double Barrel Solves Everything," is reprised here). The music is a blend of bluesy,
EHG-style sludge and crusty, uptempo hardcore influences, with plenty of guitarist Brian Patton's imaginative guitar riffing on display. Drummer Joey LaCaze's playing is more aggressive and upfront than it usually is in
Eyehategod, and he plays with a great sense of feel, especially given the elastic, off-center rhythms that many of the guitar riffs are built on. Mood-wise, song titles such as "Narco-Terroristos" and "Alcohol Tobacco Firearms" sum up the vibe pretty well. The production is excellent -- loud and clear (but not too clean) overall, with a thick, dirty guitar sound that sounds better the louder you turn up the volume. All in all, this is an excellent, to-the-point album featuring some of the meanest sounding metal going as of the late 2000s. ~ William York