In recent years, a plethora of acts have tapped into the nostalgia market, playing in their entirety assorted classic albums. Personally, I don’t have a problem with that, and have bought into the whole ethos. I was at Download when Metallica redeemed themselves from the tinny, therapy inspired, solo-free shambles that was St. Anger when they played Master of Puppets. I caught Testament last year when they played The Legacy and New World Order in their entirety in Islington (http://www.metalteamuk.net/review-testament.htm), and I was massively disappointed when The Almighty’s Powertrippin’ tour was cancelled due to agent problems. Most proudly, I was at The Astoria when Dio recorded the superb ‘Holy Diver’ DVD. As such, it was with massive anticipation that I got my hands on the combined DVD/CD of Life of Agony playing ‘River Runs Red.’
River Runs Red was a classic when it was released, not only being a combination of individually excellent tracks, but also a testament to what a well-written album could accomplish in its entirety. Track by track, the album takes the listener through a journey of a life filled with turmoil, a Life of Agony if you will. Every emotion of loss and anguish is wrung out, from the mother that opted to kill herself and the son that blames himself, to the father that wasn't there and the friends that never were. Sometimes, in tracks like ‘Bad Seed’ the lyrics are intensely depressing, but the fact that the band continues with such energy makes the track feel like a testament to the human spirit’s ability to continue on despite such a massive psychological battering. Added to that is the vocal style that lends itself fully to the lyrics, the emotions sounding like genuine pain to match the despair of the words. This darkness is reinforced by including samples from the album; not from the playing, which is obviously live from the less than perfect but better for it intensity, but with tapes from the intros between the songs. The bland phone message of a bored school administrator, sounding as if they were reading from a script to send to truants added to the triumph of will against institutionalised routine.
This is not an album of happy listening, rather it is a challenging fist in the face of an unthinking bland society, typified by the likes of Big Brother and Jeremy Kyle, and the mass media fed mediocrity they inspire. This is not an album to instil happiness, rather it is an album of the starkness of life to rebel against, and thus inspire striving towards joy.
After several listens, I wondered why the CD sounded so much worse than on the DVD; after all, I played them through the same speakers. After a couple of plays, I realised the difference; the visuals. They don’t add to the sound, but the reaction of the crowd and the passion of the band on stage give that extra level to the DVD that the live CD can’t match, even if it is note for note the same audio experience. Life Of Agony, L.O.A, is a band that plays so much better live then they sound even on such a professionally produced release. I can only hope they’ll be bringing their crushingly heavy wall of sound to the UK soon.
http://www.myspace.com/lifeofagony
http://www.lilfeofagony.com
