''Ugly'' is the second album released by American

alternative metal Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With r ...

band

Life of Agony Life of Agony is an American alternative metal band from Brooklyn, New York City, formed in 1989 by singer Mina Caputo (then known as Keith Caputo), bassist Alan Robert and guitarist Joey Z. The band has released six studio albums to date, most ...

. The band incorporates a more melodic and less heavy alternative metal sound compared to the heavier,

New York hardcore New York hardcore (also known as NYHC) is both the hardcore punk music created in New York City and the subculture and lifestyle (sociology), lifestyle associated with that music. New York hardcore grew out of the hardcore scene established in Wa ...

-influenced sound heard on their 1993 debut, ''

River Runs Red ''River Runs Red'' is the debut studio album by American alternative metal band Life of Agony, released on October 12, 1993 by Roadrunner Records. It is a concept album, telling the story of a teenager, from a troubled household, who ultimately ...

''. ''Ugly'' still features the band's trademark heavy riffing (e.g. 'I Regret', 'Damned If I Do', 'Fears'); however, elements such as "gang" backing vocals and double-bass drumming have been replaced by slower, more melodic moments (e.g. "Let's Pretend") and even acoustic guitar (e.g. bonus tracks "Coffee Break" and bonus Bob Marley and the Wailers cover track, "Redemption Song"). Lead singer,

Keith Caputo Mina Caputo (born Keith Caputo; December 4, 1973) is an American singer best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of New York City alternative metal band Life of Agony. Caputo came out as transgender in 2011 and transitioned to fem ...

, opted for a more natural vocal delivery, eschewing the baritone howls heard on the previous record. The majority of ''Ugly'' was written by and even performed by the band during the extensive touring in support of their debut album. Known for his work with

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKa ...

and

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

, producer Steve Thompson was brought in to work on the album, which was recorded at Systems Two in Brooklyn, NY. Thompson also mixed ''Ugly'' with longtime partner

Michael Barbiero Michael Francis Barbiero (born June 25, 1949)Infidel Biography
. Infidel Records. Retri ...

. ''Ugly'' was released by

Roadrunner Records Roadrunner Records is an American record label focused on heavy metal and hard rock bands. Founded in the Netherlands in 1980, it is now a division of Warner Music Group and is based in New York City. History The label was launched in 1980 in t ...

in 1995. That same year, Roadrunner Records issued a limited, European edition of the album in a custom, tin metal case. This edition featured exclusive artwork and two bonus tracks recorded during the ''Ugly'' recording sessions. Alternate mixes/versions of these bonus tracks were later released on the ''1989-1999'' compilation album. However the versions found on the European limited edition of ''Ugly'', are the original Steve Thompson and Michael Barbiero mixes and are exclusive to the metal box release. Original drummer,

Sal Abruscato Sal Abruscato (born July 18, 1970) is an American drummer, guitarist and singer, best known as the original drummer for Brooklyn metal bands Type O Negative and Life of Agony.Hart, Josh (2011)Interview: Sal Abruscato and Matt Brown of A Pale Hor ...

, left the band after the album's tour in 1996, due to, "creative differences", but later rejoined for LOA's first, ''River Runs Again'' reunion in 2003. Abruscato would ultimately leave the band for the final time in 2018. While many fans consider ''River Runs Red'' to be Life Of Agony's definitive work, some consider ''Ugly'' to be one of the most overlooked alternative metal albums of the '90s, with some critics describing the album as, "near flawless".

Reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

praised the album writing in his review "For listeners unaccustomed to blistering, noisy

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

, Life of Agony will be agonizing. However, fans of the genre will find the band to be among the best of the mid-'90s, capable of spitting out razor-sharp

riffs A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accomp ...

. What makes Ugly work is the band's grasp of sonic texture -- they can make even their quiet moments menacing." Critically, the album performed well, but did not repeat the sales of ''

''; this can most likely be attributed to the album's considerable change in sound.

Track listing

Personnel

Life of Agony *

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

- drums & co. *

Alan Robert Alan Robert (born 1971) is an American musician and comic book creator, known as the bassist for the alternative metal band Life of Agony, his work on his graphic novels ''Wire Hangers'', '' Crawl to Me'' and ''Killogy'', as well as his horror-t ...

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

*Joey Z. - lead & rhythm guitar Additional musicians *Ed Terry -

Keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

and

Synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

(on "Unstable") Technical personnel * Steve Thompson -

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

*Steve Thompson and

Michael Barbiero Michael Francis Barbiero (born June 25, 1949)Infidel Biography
. Infidel Records. Retri ...

- mixing *

Mike Marciano Mike Marciano is a two-time Grammy Award-winning audio engineer, and six time Grammy nominated, multi-platinum and gold record award, GMA and Junos award recipient. He started his career in 1980, working exclusively at Systems Two Recording Studi ...

, Eddie Reed and Jay Ryan -

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

*George Marino - mastering

References

{{Authority control 1995 albums Life of Agony albums Roadrunner Records albums