To understand Weedeater, one must understand Buzzov*en and the deep history of southern fried sludge. A lax view on recreational drugs is only the beginning, as the style is littered with vast disdain and misanthropy. Weedeater is less an anthem for stoners as it is a hymn for the burnt out and trampled. This is important as the band's sneering humor and metaphorical middle finger has been raised in the direction of audiences since 2001. _Jason... the Dragon_ is not played for anyone but Weedeater. If you get the joke, then you can hang with them; if not, they will make fun of you and hit on your sister.

Producer Steve Albini works his magic once again channeling the sometimes chaotic nature of Weedeater into a focused direction. As with 2007's _God Luck and Good Speed_, the teeming sludge madness is reserved to act as coals to blazer and burn throughout the album. The reservation works again for Weedeater, as patience plays an integral role in the ultimate enjoyment of the album. Collins' voice is stripped to a razor thin rasp that makes deep cuts within each of the songs' interior. The title track takes its time to work the introduction before making slow punches with concentrated effort. The album's symmetrical template, with weird ass interludes and closers, portions out the dosages while keeping the high going strong. The new Weedeater is a clean high, marking a distinction from the earlier days when blackouts and unexplained bruises were common.

Despite the mature album art and phenomenal production, _Jason... the Dragon_ is still being made by the same pissed off southern teenagers in 1989. Song tiles like "Turkey Warlock" and "March of the Bipolar Bear" not only give the album an irreverent tone, but make Weedeater who they very damn well want to be. Weedeater and Collins' history within the sludge scene practically goes back to the beginning, thus granting them a certain seniority to do whatever the fuck they want -- and most certainly without any audience expectations. _Jason... the Dragon_ could have been a derivative work content to rest on laurels and bricks of hash. The fact that it isn't makes it all the more better.