Life of Agony – at The Rat – Review

Life of Agony

at The Rat
by Paul Lee

The bad seed has grown. The unwanted, the socially neglected have risen. Through words and music they shall have their way, hurting, but teaching about a different life… a cold world full of hate, suffering and suicide. This is Life of Agony.

No one can escape LOA’s sound. The gut-wrenching, guitar-heavy groove takes you into the streets where reality stares you down. You can ignore it, but sooner or later, it will catch up with you… like a lead pipe on the back of your skull. A recent show at The Rat showcased the band’s power, with vocalist Keith Caputo controlling the crowd like a giant puppeteer, pulling the strings at the right time to create a frenzy not felt since the old days of Biohazard. This Brooklyn-based quartet is riding an intense vibe, being accepted by hardcore fans as well as fans of metal, alternative and everything in between.

Life of Agony, like many of us, believe that frustration and anger control life. Fighting to get by in a world with fatherless families, suicide and death, LOA deals with these problems through music, but their message sometimes get misinterpreted. Their latest release, River Runs Red (Roadrunner), can be considered a concept album which focuses on suicide. “We’re not telling anyone to commit suicide,” states Caputo in a recent interview. “We’re just sick of the problems of life and would like to use our frustration as a way to show our fans they are not alone, and to help them cope with their problems.” The album follows a week in the day-to-day existence of a kid whose life is crumbling around him. I dare anyone not to cringe as razor rides skin during the final spoken word cut, “Friday.” Life is hard. Life is pain. Life is not for the weak.