Ugly Kid Joe announces 'Menace to Society 30th Anniversary Edition'

The album will be available on single and deluxe 2 LP

In 1995, Ugly Kid Joe released its second full-length record, Menace To Sobriety. A heavier and darker album than the predecessor, yet the album received little to no promotion in the US, validating vocalist Whitfield Crane’s claim that their label was backing away from them.

Thirty years later, Menace To Sobriety’s true power is evident, without the bias of the times, and with the years having shown that many of the albums that were ignored by the labels prove to have much more life than the ones they spent their PR budgets on, Ugly Kid Joe may have recorded the heaviest and most consequential album of their careers. Menace saw the addition of drummer Shannon Larkin from Wrathchild America, and later of Godsmack, and his impact was obvious from the opening of the powerful lead-off track “God.” His playing propels the doom of the lead-off single “Tomorrow’s World,” a track that shows how big an influence Black Sabbath was on the band, and one of the standouts on this album. The band’s songwriting shines throughout this album, as does the musicianship, and the infamous Ugly Kid Joe sense of humor. “Milman’s Son” shows the depth of the band’s writing, and the different textures of Whit’s voice from smooth to snarl, the melody is memorable and so are the lyrics, sincere, yet humorous. As the record rolls on we hear the powerful chemistry of the guitar duo of Dave Fortman and Klaus Eichstadt with riffs like “Clover” and the amazing “Jesus Rode A Harley”, and the heavy and funky bass playing of Cordell Crockett.

Deko is proud to bring this album back to vinyl for its first official repressing in two different limited edition formats! The single album reissue is on Ugly Kid Joe’s Ghostly Green, and a double LP pressed at 45 RPM on an explosive Orange A-Side/B-Side Splatter that comes in a gatefold, both featuring the bonus track “Slower Than Nowhere,” which was not included on the US release of the album originally.

Ugly Kid Joe was formed in 1989, and has released five full-length albums, two compilation albums, and two EPs. They burst on to the scene with As Ugly as They Wanna Be in 1991 and America’s Least Wanted in 1992, which were both certified double platinum by the RIAA; the former is notable for being the first EP to go platinum, and propelled by the hit songs “Everything About You,” “Neighbor,” “So Damn Cool,” and the huge cover of “Cats In The Cradle.” The band broke up in 1997, and after a 13-year absence, reformed and have been recording and touring almost annually ever since, and they show no signs of slowing down.