SPECIAL EDITION RECORD RELEASE PARTY RECORD!

Hand numbered, to the first twenty people to buy it at Bender's on Saturday, January 24th!

UGLY CASSETTE AND CD

"The Ugly" three song EP is now available on cassette and Compact Disc!

BUY HERE

THE UGLY ON METAL TEMPLE

A couple of weeks ago, I was asked to review an album from a band from Fresno, California. I will let you figure out which band that I’m talking about but here’s a clue: I hated their music. When I got this EP from San Francisco’s own HAZZARD’S CURE just this week, after the quarter of an hour I spent listening to every song, I questioned just what the hell are San Francisco Metal bands doing right that Fresno’s top-voted band is doing wrong?

What do all of these bands have in common: POSSESSED, VASTUM, ACID KING, MEGADETH, DEAFHEAVEN, DEATH ANGEL, METAL CHURCH, SHRINEBUILDER, SLOUGH FEG, & EXODUS. If you said “They’re all from Fresno, California”, you would be incorrect. They were all founded in San Francisco, California because San Francisco has been one of the capitals for Heavy Metal from the United States of America for over 30 years.

HAZZARD’S CURE certainly continue that tradition with this short but ferocious EP. Back when they released their self-titled full-length album in 2011, their style certainly gravitated to Doom Metal energy. What they’ve done with this EP is; first of all, throw all of that Stoner music out of the window. Secondly, they alternated to a Black Metal sound for this EP. If the guest vocals on “A Body Amorphous” from LUDICRA front woman Laurie Sue Shanaman didn’t give that away by now, I am sorry for spoiling the surprise for fans of older HAZZARD’S CURE.
 
But I really loved this EP. “The Ugly”, which shares its name with the second track, is a perfect fit for

HAZZARD’S CURE have embraced this fascination with the grotesque and mutation of the flesh and the horror that carries as a new direction to go with their sound. A lot of this same expression of carnal frailty can definitely heard in the musicianship as well. The guitar leads carry this gypsy-like vocalizing to them that remind me of those old folk tales of gypsy witches putting curses on people to have them become hideously ugly. I think these Burlesque elements provide a lot of tangible character all of the songs on this record. The guest vocals from Sue Shanaman fit right in but I would prefer if the band kept the male shouting vocals.

There’s not a whole lot more I could say about these three songs but what I will say, in conclusion, is that this EP was a tremendous release and I want to hear more of HAZZARD’S CURE taking this new direction down further and further bringing more horrors to light with their atmospheric music. “The Ugly” was certainly something I could relate to.

what this music comes across as. The vocals, instead of being rasped or screamed, are shouted or sometimes shout-sung. With the exception of the guest vocals, Chris Corona brings a fresh approach to singing Black Metal that definitely sounds ugly. I would even go as far as to say that these kinds of vocals possess a denser sense of grotesqueness than stereotypical howling or screeching vocals. I associate that kind of singing; take the vocals on WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM just as an example, with a vocal dialect that illustrates a language spoken only by ghosts, demons and spirits. Corona’s singing style on “The Ugly” is anchored down by its own humanity, unlike WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM but still expresses a tone of voice as if it came from someone with a severely deformed body. (10/10: Masterpiece)

METAL TEMPLE WEBSITE

THE UGLY ON METAL BANDCAMP

Hazzard's Cure self-describes their music as "epic blackened stoner thrash." I'm usually dubious of these kinds of label mash-ups, but if Ulla's recent review of buioingola has taught me anything, it's that sometimes these multiple-genre descriptions can make a surprising amount of sense.

The breadth of Hazaard's Cure's influence is a bit easier to discern on their self-titled full length, but their EP The Ugly nicely shows off the mix, too. The first two tracks on the EP are firmly rooted in stoner metal. The vocals are delivered in a raspy holler reminiscent of High on Fire and Baroness. The bass playing is a highlight, prominent in the mix and straddling the line between melody and rhythm. The drums easily shift between quiet shuffle and blasting, and the guitar pulls a similar trick, from tremolo riffs, to quiet atmosphere, to even a little Santana-style soloing in near the end of the title track. It's a classic rock foundation that doesn't sound dated, but one that's been angered up to a much heavier level.

 If there's any question about the "blackened" part of the description, it's nicely resolved by the third track, "The Body Amorphous," which features lead vocals from Laurie Sue Shanaman of the late, great Ludicra. With her unmistakable ferocity over blackened, winding guitar lines, you suddenly get an idea of what would have happened if Jefferson Airplane, instead of morphing into the poppy Jefferson Starship, had instead invented black metal and became Jefferson Plague. That probably sounds like I'm making fun, but nothing could be further from the truth. Jefferson Plague is something I didn't know I needed in my life until I heard this track. I would have loved more of this, but as it is, this EP is a great introduction to the band for anyone who likes their stoner metal with a hefty dose of rage. 

METAL BANDCAMP

THE UGLY ON DOOMANTIA

"They have a lot going for them, and have found a unique way to blend black metal, crust punk, doom, sludge, and stoner metal all into one weird and sinister concoction."

FULL REVIEW HERE

REVIEW OF "THE UGLY" ON ECHOES AND DUST

Hazzard’s Cure is a band from San Francisco in sunny California. Not heard of them before I was intrigued to hear what they sound like after their drummer Clint Baechle got in touch with me asking me politely if I could listen to their new 3-track release The Ugly EP. I am a sucker for nice cool artwork as it quite often makes me press play a lot quicker and in the case of The Ugly EP the stunning artwork by Lukas Krieg definitely got my attention. The metal world seems to have evolved into a symbiotic relationship with fantastic artwork similar to how a clownfish and an anemone need each other in order to survive. It simply is a mutualistic relationship.
Now, let’s focus on The Ugly EP. What we’re dealing with here are 3 tracks of thunderous thrashy heavy metal, dipping into more progressive and extremer blackened metal genres at times. Bassist Shane Bergman plugs away impressively on the 3 tracks on offer here and the drums are up tempo with plenty of nice fills and breaks. The vocals by guitarist Chris Corona have a bit of a Lemmy-like rawness to them and guitarist Leo Buckley is shredding away like there’s no tomorrow.

There is quite a bit of Motörhead going on here, perhaps it’s the bass playing or those vocals, but halfway the second track ‘The Ugly’ the sound turns around a bit to some progressive melodic metal piece, with melodic solos over slower played drums. But then it kicks back into heavier chugging riffs and a near Darkthrone-like black metal sounding shredding ending this fantastic slab of heavy metal.

The last track ‘The Body Amorphous’ hits upon all these above mentioned elements even more as this track is a near 7 minutes heavy metal track of epic proportions. It reminds me a lot of Vöhl, one of last year’s highlights as it’s all blackened heavy metal played in that extra gear, thundering away. The guest vocals by Laurie Sue Shanaman of legendary avant-garde black metal band Ludicra are awesome and fit the music perfectly.

There is only one minor criticism here, this EP is way too short! I want more of this! If you were as impressed as I was by Vöhl’s release last year or you’re a fan of blackened, thrashy heavy metal then I recommend you get this in your system right now. The EP is available as digital download for only a couple of bucks, but German label Ulterior Records are releasing a limited run on transparent one sided 12" vinyl with a screenprint on the b side in February. So you know what to do!

REVIEW OF "THE UGLY" EP ON LAST RITES

Too many people slept on the 2011 full-length debut from San Francisco's Hazzard's Cure – a very enthusiastic hodgepodge of knotty thrash, sludge, stoner and the kitchen sink that coulda-shoulda-woulda landed the band on a Hell of a lot more radars if the Earth was actually a fair place to inhabit. Alas, these dirtballs remain mostly unheralded, so the respective members supplement extra time not spent crapping together on a fancy tour bus by laboring in a pile of other notable Bay Area outfits such as Walken, OWL, and Bädr Vogu.

Well, now any previous "sorry, never heard of 'em" transgressions can thankfully be washed away by re-dedicating some worthy time to the freshly dropped Hazzard's EP, The Ugly – 17 minutes of very enthusiastic knotty thrash that dismisses virtually all of the previous effort's sludge in favor of a more blackened blister that's further bolstered by a guest vocal appearance (background on "Terminal Frost" and lead on "The Body Amorphous") from howler Laurie Shanaman of sadly defunct SF legends, Ludicra.

As evidenced by the bulk of the above tune, The Ugly is primarily concerned with the task of hacking faces to ribbons, but there are a couple moments where the band allows their softer, prettier side to emerge – like a tiny glimpse of a rainbow in a spill of dirty oil. All-in-all, The Ugly represents another glimpse into a talented Bay Area band that somehow manages to survive and thrive, despite getting paid mostly in cheap beer and dusty schwag. Don't let this one pass by unnoticed. [Michael Wuensch]

LINK TO LAST RITES WEBSITE HERE

UPCOMING NEW RELEASE! "THE UGLY" EP

Artwork by Lukas Krieg




In July of 2013 we stormed into Trackworx studio in South San Francisco, California, a for a blitzkrieg two day session. At the controls was the venerable Justin Weis, known for recording such bands as Ludicra, Hammers Of Misfortune, and Slough Feg. We thought he was the right man to capture our sound. We were not wrong.

Hazzard's Cure recorded three new songs: Terminal Frost, The Ugly, and A Body Amorphous, the last of which we had the unique privilege of being joined on vocals by the legendary Laurie Sue Shanaman (ex-Ludicra)!

Ulterior Records of Leipzig, Germany has agreed to release our new recordings as a limited edition one sided 12" EP.

You can listen to the new songs and pre-order the record art the Ulterior Records Bandcamp site. There is an option to purchase one of 30 special "pre-order" packages, which includes the new 12", a cassette tape of the first Hazzard's Cure album, and a T-shirt with a new design.

HERE: http://ulteriorrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-ugly-ep

The new songs are also streaming on the Hazzard's Cure bandcamp page
HERE: http://hazzardscure.bandcamp.com/album/the-ugly

Thank you all for your continued support! We look forward to 2014 being a badass and productive year for Hazzard's Cure.

-Chris, Shane, Leo and Clint