UGH!
Metaustrat (CD) 2003 Elektrohasch
UGH!'s 'Metaustrat' is yet another entry into the world of heavy tuneage from Colour Haze guitarist Stefan Koglek's Elektrohasch label, which even now is slithering through Germany's musical underground, devouring all in its path like the proverbial two-ton gorilla with a bad case of the chucks. With a stable of bands of this quality, labels worldwide better start watching their backs, cause the happy boys at Elektrohasch are coming up fast. The band has been around since 2000 or so, and was originally intended as a project employing a musical trio jamming with a revolving door of other musicians. They've stuck to their guns, and on this particular disc we have extras like Flo Erlbeck on Pissed Sax and Fozzie the Duke on Trash n' Roll guitars, not to mention Koglek himself jamming out on guitar on a couple of tunes. Eschewing the rather more unified approach of labelmates Colour Haze and Hainloose, UGH! Dips their wicks in a number of different musical genres, including sludge, garage, hypno, desert, and good old hard psych, with several of these often popping up in the same song. They're aces at everything they try; a strong testament to their talent. Personally, I think the last two songs work the best; 'Deep Red River' sounds like something they'd play while the credits of a particularly demented David Lynch film roll by, while 'Terminus' is just excellent, driving hard stoner psych. Well, this is yet another testament to the depth of new talent in the stoner/doom scene. UGH! Have provided the perfect soundtrack to your next exfoliation and defenestration (lol!) party; now all you have to do is go out and get it!!	1. In Vain 2. Hermetic 3. Pagan Ride 4. Tandoori Beefeater 5. TrashKen 6. Fatburner 7. Cubicle 8. Deep Red River 9. Terminus Approx. 52 minutes
Reviewed by: Kevin McHugh
Meat Fairies (CD) 2005 Elektrohasch
Like their previous Elektrohasch label outing, 2003's 'Metaustraut', Germany's Ugh! continues their sonic exploration of the dark territory between hardcore, AmRep and Alternative Tentacles noise, and stoner riffrock with 'Meat Fairies'. This ongoing project of a band cannot be pinned down, although their sound is easily recognized. In addition to the above-referenced touchstones, Ugh! fills their music with anxiety and a sly humor that may not be obvious at first listen, but which the listener eventually comes to realize is all-pervasive. Take the background vocals, for instance. Community members conversant with the so-called "wyrd folk" phenomena of the early 1970s, best exemplified by holy grails such as Comus' 'First Utterance', will be on solid ground here. Imagine if Comus, that acid-soaked forest dementoid, grew a mohawk and listened to Rapeman and Black Sabbath! That's the spice that makes Ugh!'s angular noiserock a unique entity, negotiating the nervously shifting terrain of sludge, stoner, noise, and punk with black humor and Teutonic purpose and precision. This is not easy music, but it goes to show that if you give crazy people enough cream soda and mota, interesting results may follow. And don't forget to check out the artwork; it's surely one of the year's best covers. The front is reminiscent of those old time photos that sought to "prove" the existence of fairies, while the back is a head-shakingly gross take on those cutesy renderings of babies with butterfly wings found in suburban bookstores. It's an accurate summation of the music within.	1. Roach 2. Ostrich Skullery 3. Bogy 4. He 5. Rag Doll 6. Hogfather 7. Comet 8. It's OK to Order Chrome 9. Ginkgo 10. She Approx. 46 minutes
Reviewed by: Kevin McHugh