May 15, 1995

UGLY MUSTARD Ugly Mus-tard Making quite a big noise for a baby band, Texas' Ugly Mus-tard serves up a spicy dish of catchy, groove-laden rock and roll, throbbing industrial and aggressive hardcore/power-metal on its self-titled debut. Citing influences from Skinny Puppy and Pantera to Patsy Cline (!), Ugly Mus-tard oozes a profound originality and intensity rarely found in today's fledgling loud rock outfits.Bursting with layer upon layer of intricate, crushing sound and rich emotion, Ugly Mus-tard pushes each song to the extreme with sharp, fluctuating tempos, schizophrenic vocal bursts, tribal rhythms and thick, hook-laden choruses. The extremely infectious "Twist and Shake" will leave you wondering whether or not to wiggle and jiggle the night away with its booty- shakin' dance rhythms or bang your head against a wall in unison with its accompanying heavy grinding thumps. You'll certainly be singing this song for days after just one listen, as its catchy chorus ingrains itself into your brain within seconds. Vocalist/lyricist K. Barker sounds like a gunpowder keg ready to blow at any moment, his on-the-edge vocals shifting effortlessly from evil, gravelly rasps to ferocious, angry shouts to smooth, soaring howls without so much a hint of hesitation. E. Trent's massive keyboard manipulations, M. Daane's heavy bass grooves and F. Rush's thundering drum blows round out the band's distinct, intriguing sound. Check out the fervid splash of "Inkblot," the low-groovin' swirl of "High," the seething explosion of "Hate," the bizarre, frustrated scream of "Sodomaggot" and the grating, high-intensity chaos of "Quicklime."