Life of Agony
Encyclopedia
Formation and River Runs Red (1989-1993)
The band was formed in the summer of 19891989 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1989.-Events:*January 14 – Paul McCartney releases Снова в СССР exclusively in the USSR...
by singer Keith Caputo
Keith Caputo
Keith Mina Caputo is the lead singer and a founding member of the New York heavy metal band Life of Agony.-Career:Caputo started Life of Agony in 1989 with guitarist Joey Z and bassist Alan Robert. Drummer Sal Abruscato was recruited soon afterwards. After signing with Roadrunner Records, they...
, bassist Alan Robert
Alan Robert
Alan Robert is a singer/songwriter/artist, best known as the bassist in the New York-based band Life of Agony.- Life of Agony :...
and guitarist Joey Z. After playing with several drummers, they enlisted Type O Negative
Type O Negative
Type O Negative was a gothic metal band from Brooklyn, New York City. The band also incorporated elements of doom metal and thrash metal. Their dramatic lyrical emphasis on themes of romance, depression, and death resulted in the nickname "The Drab Four"...
drummer Sal Abruscato
Sal Abruscato
Sal Abruscato is a former drummer for Type O Negative. Currently playing in Life of Agony and Supermassiv. He is also the frontman for his own band called "A Pale Horse Named Death" which has released one album titled "And Hell Will Follow Me"...
before recording the debut album River Runs Red
River Runs Red (album)
River Runs Red is the first album released by Life of Agony in 1993 through Roadrunner Records . The album is considered a concept album...
(1993
1993 in music
This is a summary of significant events in music in 1993.-January–February:*January 8 – The U.S. Postal Service issues an Elvis Presley stamp. The design was voted on in February 1992....
) after they signed to Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records is an American record label that concentrates primarily on heavy metal bands. It is currently a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.-History:...
.
Ugly (1994-1996)
River Runs Red was followed by the more emotional UglyUgly (album)
Ugly is the second album released by Life of Agony in 1995 through Roadrunner Records .-Track listing:-Bonus tracks:A limited metal case edition of Ugly contains two additional tracks:...
(1995
1995 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1995.- January–February :*January 18 – Jerry Garcia crashes his rented BMW into a guard rail near Mill Valley, California, USA, but is not injured in the accident....
), but drummer Abruscato left Life of Agony after the accompanying tour. His successor was ex-Pro-Pain
Pro-Pain
Pro-Pain is a New York-based hardcore band formed in 1991 by vocalist and bass guitarist Gary Meskil and drummer Dan Richardson, both former members of Crumbsuckers. Debut album Foul Taste of Freedom was released in 1992, displaying hardcore punk and rap metal influences, after which the band...
& ex-Crumbsuckers
Crumbsuckers
Crumbsuckers was a 1980s crossover/thrash band that formed in 1982 on Long Island by bass player Gary Meskil in their home town of Baldwin.-History:...
skinsman Dan Richardson.
Caputo's departure and breakup (1997-1999)
Vocalist Caputo departed the band following the release of Soul Searching SunSoul Searching Sun
Soul Searching Sun is the third album released by Life of Agony in 1997 through Roadrunner Records .-Track listing:# "Hope" # "Weeds" # "Gently Sentimental" # "Tangerine"...
(1997
1997 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1997.-January:*January 9 – David Bowie performs his 50th Birthday Bash concert at Madison Square Garden, New York City, USA with guests Frank Black, The Foo Fighters, Sonic Youth, Robert Smith of The Cure, Lou Reed, and Billy...
). He claimed his heart was no longer in the type of music Life of Agony produced. The band then toured with ex-Ugly Kid Joe
Ugly Kid Joe
Ugly Kid Joe is an American hard rock band from Isla Vista, California. The band's name spoofs that of another band, Pretty Boy Floyd. Ugly Kid Joe's sound includes a range of styles, including rock, glam metal, hard rock and heavy metal....
singer Whitfield Crane
Whitfield Crane
William Whitfield Crane IV was born on January 19, 1968 in Palo Alto, California. Whit was a founding member and lead singer of the rock band Ugly Kid Joe, which formed in 1989 and disbanded in 1997...
and went back into the studio, kicked Whitfield Crane out of the band, contemplated moving Alan Robert to vocals and guitar, and former Stuck Mojo
Stuck Mojo
Stuck Mojo is an American heavy metal band from Atlanta, Georgia. Formed in 1989 by guitarist Rich Ward, Stuck Mojo is considered to be one of the pioneers of rap metal. Touring alongside bands such as Machine Head and Slapshot. Stuck Mojo's most successful album, Rising, peaked at #48 on the...
bassist Corey Lowery
Corey Lowery
Corey Lowery is a hard rock bassist and vocalist, previously of the bands Still Rain, Stuck Mojo, Switched and Stereomud. Lowery currently plays bass and provides backing vocals in the band Eye Empire. Eye Empire was previously known as Violent Plan. Before Violent Plan, Corey was playing with...
only to realize they did not want to continue under the Life of Agony banner without Caputo. In 1999 they decided to split. Alan Robert started Among Thieves with former members of Biohazard
Biohazard (band)
Biohazard is a band originally based in Brooklyn, New York. They are acknowledged as one of the earliest bands to fuse hardcore punk and heavy metal with elements of hip hop. The original lineup consisted of Vocalist/Guitarist Billy Graziadei, bassist/vocalist Evan Seinfeld, guitarist Bobby Hambel,...
and the rest of the band starting Stereo Mud with Eric Roberts on vocals, both not straying from LOA's style. A live CD with LOA's unplugged performance at the Dutch Lowlands Festival
A Campingflight to Lowlands Paradise
A Campingflight to Lowlands Paradise, also known as simply Lowlands, is a music festival, held annually in the Netherlands in August. Lowlands has about 55,000 visitors, over 200 acts and more than ten stages every year which are named according to the NATO phonetic alphabet apart from the Grolsch...
from 1997 was released in 2000
2000 in music
See also:* 2000 in music Record labels established in 2000-Events:*January – Gary Glitter is released from jail, two months before his sentence for sexual offences ends.*January 1**John Tavener is knighted in the New Year's Honours List....
.
Reunion (2003-present)
On January 3 and 4 2003, the original line-up reunited for two sold-out shows at New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
's Irving Plaza
Irving Plaza
Irving Plaza is a 1,200-person ballroom-style music venue at 17 Irving Place and East 15th Street in the Union Square neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City...
. Both shows were recorded, and released on CD/DVD later that same year. The reunion resulted in several more shows and appearances on European festivals, as well as the recording of 2005's Broken Valley
Broken Valley
Broken Valley is the fourth album released by Life of Agony. It was released in 2005 through Epic Records .- Track listing :All songs by Alan Robert.# "Love to Let You Down" – 3:40# "Last Cigarette" – 2:56# "Wicked Ways" – 4:02...
, the band's first new material since 1997.
Life of Agony also toured with Megadeth
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist Greg Handevidt, following Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums, three live albums, two...
, Dream Theater
Dream Theater
Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung, and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of their studies to further concentrate on the band that would...
, and numerous other metal bands during 2005's Gigantour
Gigantour
Gigantour is the name of a sporadically organised traveling heavy metal music festival organized by Megadeth's Dave Mustaine. The tour was founded in 2005 with dates across North America, and the 2006 and 2007 line-ups also traveled to Australia...
. Three years after their tour in 2005, Life of Agony released a CD/DVD set for River Runs Red with bonus tracks and videos from their early career.
Keith Caputo is featured on the track "What Have You Done
What Have You Done
"What Have You Done" is the first single from Dutch symphonic metal/rock band Within Temptation's fourth studio album The Heart of Everything . The song features guest vocals from Life of Agony's lead singer Keith Caputo and it was released as the album's first single in early 2007 . It became...
", from the band Within Temptation
Within Temptation
Within Temptation is a Dutch symphonic gothic metal/rock band founded in 1996 by vocalist Sharon den Adel and guitarist Robert Westerholt. Their music is described as symphonic metal, although their earlier material, such as Enter, was gothic metal. In an interview, Den Adel said they fell into a...
. The song has been a minor hit all around the world.
In a recent MTV's Headbangers Ball, Life of Agony announced they were writing new material.
Sal stated in the interview that they were going to start with one song and see if there is a good enough spark to continue writing. This is something special for the fans for their patience.
As of summer 2011 the band attempted to write new material only to feel it was being forced and not natural. Keith stated that the band in an attempt not to become a novelty act was to go back in to hiatus or permanently disband. Sal created A Pale Horse Named Death
A Pale Horse Named Death
A Pale Horse Named Death is an American heavy metal band based out of Brooklyn, New York. It was created by Sal Abruscato and produced / engineered by Matt Brown of Seventh Void / Uranium 235...
, Joey is still running his New York based Method of Groove Studio, Alan is working on his second comic for IDW and a film of his first comic Wire hangers, and Keith will release three to four projects in the next year.
Music
According to the group members themselves, they were influenced by bands as diverse as RadioheadRadiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
, Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
, Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
, Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
, and Social Distortion
Social Distortion
Social Distortion is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Fullerton, California. The band currently consists of Mike Ness , Jonny Wickersham , Brent Harding and David Hidalgo, Jr...
.
Caputo and Robert write all of the songs, but they had never written songs together before Soul Searching Sun. Up until then, Robert wrote the majority of the music and lyrics and Caputo wrote select ballads, mostly about his parents and homelife, particularly his mother.
Perhaps the most striking difference between the River Runs Red and Ugly albums of the mid-90s and 2005's Broken Valley is the change in Keith Caputo's vocal style, which gradually changed from a Danzig
Glenn Danzig
Glenn Danzig Glenn Danzig Glenn Danzig (born Glenn Allen Anzalone; June 23, 1955 is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, entrepreneur, and a progenitor of the horror punk subgenre of music. He is a founder of bands the Misfits, Samhain, and Danzig...
-esque baritone to a lighter, more conventional rock style later in the band's career.
The band continues to perform and make music together as well as pursuing individual projects. Caputo recorded several solo records with European musicians and has toured overseas to support those albums. The band is currently putting the finishing touches on a new DVD from their 2007 European tour.
Robert, Life of Agony's primary songwriter, started Spoiler NYC in 2006. The group recorded an album called Grease Fire in Hell's Kitchen. Many reviewers praised the old-school approach to their street punk
Street punk
Street punk is a working class-based genre of punk rock which took shape in the early 1980s, partly as a rebellion against the perceived artistic pretensions of the first wave of British punk. Street punk emerged from the Oi! style, performed by bands such as Sham 69, Angelic Upstarts, Cockney...
sound. Member Joey Z. had currently performed in Peter Steele
Peter Steele
Peter Thomas Ratajczyk , better known by his stage name Peter Steele, was the lead singer, bassist, and composer for the gothic metal band Type O Negative...
's reunited New York group Carnivore
Carnivore (band)
Carnivore was an American crossover thrash band formed in Brooklyn, New York by Peter Steele , and was formed out of the ruins of the Brooklyn hard rock group Fallout in 1982.-History:...
, until Steele's untimely death on april 14th, 2010.
"River Runs Red" was used in "Initiation
Initiation (The Office episode)
"Initiation" is the fifth episode of the third season of the American comedy television series The Office—the show's 33rd overall. Written by B. J...
", a 2006 episode of The Office
The Office (US TV series)
The Office is an American comedy television series broadcast by NBC. An adaptation of the original BBC series of the same name, it depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company...
.
Lawsuit
While touring in 1995 in support of their album, Ugly, a fan died after falling from the stage while apparently trying to stage-dive. A security guard and, to a lesser extent, the band were implicated in a lawsuit which was eventually dropped with no charges filed. At subsequent concerts the band were mindful of the potential for fans to injure themselves, often trying to cool down the mosh pit between songs if things were rough. An example of this can be seen on the River Runs Again DVD, in which, Keith Caputo is heard saying "Everybody watch over each other out in the pit, we already lost a life." and "No lives lost, right?"Present
At present, it appears that there is nothing new on the horizon for LOA. Although the group recently finished a European tour, there is no new material in the works. However, each of the four original members of LOA are currently working on solo projects of their own. Keith recently released a solo album entitled A Fondness for Hometown Scars which hit #88 on the Dutch Top 100 Albums Chart. Bassist Alan Robert started a punk band called Spoiler NYC. Joey Z opened the Method of Groove Studio in Brooklyn New York. Finally, drummer Sal Abruscato put together a new band called A Pale Horse Named Death.Discography
| Year | Album Title | Type |
| 1993 | River Runs Red River Runs Red (album) River Runs Red is the first album released by Life of Agony in 1993 through Roadrunner Records . The album is considered a concept album... |
Studio album |
| 1995 | Ugly Ugly (album) Ugly is the second album released by Life of Agony in 1995 through Roadrunner Records .-Track listing:-Bonus tracks:A limited metal case edition of Ugly contains two additional tracks:... |
Studio album |
| 1997 | Soul Searching Sun Soul Searching Sun Soul Searching Sun is the third album released by Life of Agony in 1997 through Roadrunner Records .-Track listing:# "Hope" # "Weeds" # "Gently Sentimental" # "Tangerine"... |
Studio album |
| 1999 | 1989–1999 | Compilation album |
| 2000 | Unplugged at the Lowlands Festival '97 Unplugged at the Lowlands Festival '97 Unplugged at the Lowlands Festival '97 is a live album released by Life of Agony in 2000 through Roadrunner Records .Only the first 8 tracks were recorded live at the Lowlands Festival on August 23, 1997. Track 10 was recorded live on August 24, 1997 in Cologne, Germany... |
Live album |
| 2003 | River Runs Again: Live 2003 | Live album/DVD |
| 2005 | Broken Valley Broken Valley Broken Valley is the fourth album released by Life of Agony. It was released in 2005 through Epic Records .- Track listing :All songs by Alan Robert.# "Love to Let You Down" – 3:40# "Last Cigarette" – 2:56# "Wicked Ways" – 4:02... |
Studio album |
| 2010 | 20 Years Strong - River Runs Red: Live In Brussels | Live album/DVD |