Menace to Sobriety

On their second full-length album, California's rattiest pop-metal scuzzbags let their dim light shine. When they made it big with "Everything About You," everything about Ugly Kid Joe screamed "one-hit wonder," but on Menace to Sobriety the bandmembers prove they're not going to let their 15 minutes go quietly. Forget the pop, Menace is UKJ's metal offering. Out come the Sabbath references, the monster grooves, and the snarly vocals: This is as ugly as they got. The band's schoolyard sense of humor is still intact, and here the Joe backs it up with the ability to bring the noise, big time. Add grunge maven GGGarth's spanking tight production, and Menace is by far the UKJ album with the most bang for your buck. Highlights include the funk-addled punch of "C.U.S.T.," the coiled surge of "Jesus Rode a Harley," and Whitfield Crane's venomous vocal turn on "God." Ironically though, Menace to Sobriety turned out to be Ugly Kid Joe's poorest seller, and the band was dropped by its label, Mercury, soon after. America's Least Wanted, indeed. ~ Leslie Mathew