Ugly Kid Joe Stairway To Hell

2013, Seventeen years separates Ugly Kid Joe's last album MOTEL CALIFORNIA with their 2013 return STAIRWAY TO HELL. From the title alone, things feel just like the days of old, with the band back up to their old tricks. So just what do the early ´90s teen pranks and grunge tricksters sound like on their return? Cranked up and ready to tear speakers up. Opening ,,Devil's Paradise" starts with a searing riff that practically screams with ´We're back!` bravado. Whitfield Crane's vocals this time summon a bit of a surprise. On this disc he sounds like himself - only this time coated with a gloss of Layne Staley meets Ozzy Osbourne inflection to his voice. It comes across a bit strange given their earlier works had him using a more distinctive vocal styling. As for the songs themselves, the opener is a time-warped ode to sex, drugs, rock and roll straight out of the 1990s, passed through a heavy grunge filter. It makes for a great way to get things rolling.