Exclusive: Ugly’s Autograph Finds Abyssal Doom and Sludge in the Arizona Desert

I don’t know what’s up with Arizona, but it’s a dark and fucked up place if the sonic output found in Ugly’s new full-length album Autograph is any indication. Over the course of its five tracks, this new album due out tomorrow via Satanik Royalty is as oppressive and punishing as any doom/sludge record out these days and we’re giving you special access to it down below.

Recorded and mixed back in 2021 by bassist and vocalist Brandon Hayden, Autograph features a sort of take-no-prisoners approach to its wall of sound. According to the band, this record is conceptually based on “deep-seated illusions of vanity, acceptance, and fanatical egocentric ideology that blights human beings to the core.” And after listening to this one a couple times, I get it. Through its nigh-apocalyptic sound and fury, Autograph is a hard listen in the sense that it’s constantly layering more darkness on top of itself.

And while one could only imagine the flat lands of Arizona as a dry, hot wasteland in the American southwest, it’s important to know where Autograph really seems to come from: the frigid desert nights that seem impossibly cold. Those evenings where temperatures plunge beyond your expectations, leaving you reeling from nature’s harsh mood swings. It’s in that chill and displeasure that Autograph plays.

So if all that sounds like a good time, be sure to check out the full album below. Ugly’s Autograph will be available tomorrow via Satanik Royalty, but you can preorder your copy today.