𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐘𝐏𝐓𝐒 - 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐁𝐔𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊 & 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐘 𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐋…
On December 21, 2012, Flotsam and Jetsam independently released their eleventh full-length studio album Ugly Noise.
The album was re-released on April 16, 2013 via Metal Blade Records.
It is the last album to feature Jason Ward on bass, and Edward Carlson on guitar, although he would be featured on the re-recording of No Place for Disgrace.
Background:
In order to make this album, Flotsam and Jetsam used PledgeMusic, encouraging their fans to contribute funds to its recording and the band themselves to donate to charity as a part of their fundraising.
Ugly Noise marked the first Flotsam and Jetsam album recorded with two of its original members Michael Gilbert (guitar) and Kelly David Smith (drums) since 1997's High. One of Flotsam's primary songwriters before his departure, Michael Gilbert’s return after more than a decade soon found him in a jam session with former Flotsam and Jetsam bassist Jason Newsted that almost brought the band back together. As I said, almost. But, it did produce new music for the album that was co-written by Newsted.
Jason Newsted, 2012.
About Ugly Noise, the albums title track, Michael Gilbert recalled to Greg Prato of SongFacts that the song was one of the first tracks written:
"I was sitting in my studio at home and I was playing this piano part, and I'm like, 'Wow, this sounds really cool. I need to make this into a tune.' So I got the Pro Tools setup at home, and I got about halfway arranged with the song, put some guitar on it, and I haven't saved it yet. This was a boneheaded manoeuvre because I haven't saved any of my work at all. And boom! My power goes out. I mean, everything in my house. I'm like, 'What the heck?'
So I go outside," he continued. "and nobody else's lights are off, but these kids are just taking off down the street. These kids broke into my power box and pulled all my breakers! So I chased them down, gave them a good scare, and came back and finished writing that song. [Laughing]"
Michael Gilbert of Flotsam and Jetsam.
About the song Play Your Part, Gilbert said;
“That's got a pretty good emotion, and it's got a lot of vibe to it. When Eric got on there and all the parts came together, man, I was just like, "This turned out to be really way better than I thought it was going to be."
The efforts of the band resulted in an album that was dark and most definitely emotional. While some of the songs on Ugly Noise do contain bits and pieces that harken back to the bands early days, much of the album has more in common with their album Drift, only less progressive, with a more straightforward Hard Rock/ Metal edge. While I saw the album as a more sophisticated offering from the band, there were those that were dissatisfied with the end result. With the inclusion of Newsted’s contributions, there were some critics that were expecting Flotzllla to return to the days of No Place For Disgrace, resulting in websites like Angry Metal Guy calling the album watered down, while also calling the guitar work of Carlson and Gilbert boring and overly simplistic.
I will agree that Ugly Noise isn’t as heavy as the bands previous album (The Cold), I found it to be more well-rounded with surprising twists and turns throughout (ie; the song, Run and Hide).
When a band with a career spanning just over a quarter of a century (at the time) and 11 albums, there are bound to be those who disapprove of the band or their direction at any given moment. The point is, you can’t please everyone all the time. — E.N. Wells
More Information:
After tracking, Jason Ward was no longer able to commit to touring with the band any further due to his current personal commitments. He was replaced by Michael Spencer, who had previously replaced Jason Newsted in 1986.
During the tour, Edward Carlson started to have extreme physical pain in his lower back and numbness in his right arm. After the tour, an MRI revealed that he had bulging disks in his upper and lower back causing the dysfunction to occur. Flotsam and Jetsam then recruited guitarist Steve Conley of F5 to step in while they finished out their live commitments.
Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells
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