Life of Agony

River Runs Red Again: Live 2003 DVD (SPV)
by Martin Popoff

Given this band’s brotherhood and groundedness and rock war survival, it isn’t much of a surprise that they’ve found each other again. Life of Agony have that special something, a universal hard rockness above trend that has turned the band into a minor cult legend, notwithstanding that they almost broke big with the River Runs Red debut, an album that mixed doom with alternative and operatics and tidal waves of emotion. This live DVD is anchored by the reunion show in New York, and is in a way, almost too perfect, the close, multiple-camera shots rendering the gig fragmented like a live-themed production video. But the sound is great, emphasizing the band’s groove, plus, Keith, who is both brilliant and enigmatic (with long hair and a scarf, he looks like a cross between Chris Robinson and John Frusciante) as well as often out of tune. Extras include classy, well-appointed discography and biography, plus an interview section with some pretty funny stories, lots of enthusiasm, and interspliced archival footage from both the stage and the studio. All told, this is an average DVD (not crap, not stuffed with goodies), heightened by the often magical quality of the material and the affable, entertaining nature of the interview segments.
(www.spvusa.com)