A lot has happened since LIFE OF AGONY initially exploded from the nexus linking New York hardcore and metal in the early nineties. The band captivated the underground with "River Runs Red", a melodic, metallic hardcore tour de force. Following the group's sophomore effort, "Ugly", it took its high-adrenaline intensity and grit and applied it to alternative rock with 1997's radio-friendly-styled "Soul Searching Sun". The album was followed up eight years later with the similarly sculpted "Broken Valley".
It's been a decade since the band last entered a recording studio together, and "A Place Where There's No More Pain" marks its first effort since vocalist Mina Caputo, born as Keith, came out as a transgendered person. For Caputo and fans alike, LIFE OF AGONY's passionate music, music that's instantly soothing and appealing, remains a conduit through which one can express emotions on a deep level.
"A Place Where There's No More Pain" features the unit's classic "River Runs Red" line-up—Caputo as well as guitarist Joey Z. , bassist Alan Robert, and drummer Sal Abruscato—and the band successfully synthesizes the driving power of those early days with the hook-laden melodies and hard rock structures it first introduced on "Soul Searching Sun". The end result proves to be even more catchy than anything from the group's previous work.
TRACK LISTING:
1. Meet My Maker
2. Right This Wrong
3. A Place Where There's No More Pain
4. Dead Speak Kindly
5. A New Low
6. World Gone Mad
7. Bag of Bones
8. Walking Catastrophe
9. Song For The Abused
10. Little Spots Of You