Thirty Years Ago, Life of Agony Burst Onto the Scene with River Runs Red
Even before River Runs Red was released there was already a huge buzz about Brooklyn’s Life of Agony. The band had already put out three demos that were extremely well-received in the greater New York City area and by the time they put out their fourth demo cassette entitled The Stain Remains (recorded by Josh Silver of Type O Negative) the band was drawing significant crowds at their live shows. Personally I was lucky enough the catch the band at the famed World Stage in Spring Valley, NY opening for the better known (but still pre-major label debut) Biohazard and I was able to hear the early versions of many of the songs that would later take final shape on the River Runs Red.
Helping build the momentum of the band was the fact that The Stain Remains demo was featured in Metal Maniacs magazine. I was able to actually purchase the demo from the band via the address that was published in the magazine. Those, of course, were the days before file sharing as the internet was a tool that was really only used by the government. While two of the songs on the demo didn’t make it to River Runs Red, “Respect,” “The Stain Remains,” and “Words and Music” would all appear.
When River Runs Red was initially released it was actually a bit of a shock to me. The demo songs were re-recorded and these newer iterations were less hardcore and more melodic. Most significant was the change in voice and vocal delivery that was given by Mina Caputo. You can check out the demo version of “The Stain Remains” over on YouTube. If you have about $300 or so you can try and hunt down the original (good luck).
Caputo, who still hadn’t fully developed her vocal delivery style yet when the record was released, still delivers a performance that suits the tracks extremely well. Just listen to the ferocity in “This Time.” The reality is that there was no vocalist in all of metal or extreme music that sounded like Mina. Matched with Sal Abruscato’s drums (he left Type O Negative to join LOA) and the passion brought forth by Joey Z and Alan Robert on the strings, the band shocked many across America and Europe with their novel evolution of New York hardcore.
Speaking of New York Hardcore, “Through and Through” was a stronger nod to the scene and the video for the track really captures the energy of what we all were experiencing at the shows in the greater Five Boroughs.
A debut record that was also a concept album, Life of Agony threw out most of the rules. Josh Silver’s production that included vignettes about an individual engaging in suicide was a shock to many, but thirty years later the concept takes on even more importance.
River Runs Red had groove, it had swagger, it had sadness and aggression. The record was written with so much complexity in terms of emotion but had some many hooks and riffs that the band was able to convey the concept without making the overall record or the music too complicated.
The record would wind up being their best seller as the band followed up with the grungier, dirtier Ugly. Ugly was also brilliant but due to the band’s change in sound it simply wasn’t embraced by the masses in the same way their debut was. The band released a couple more records and went through various lineup changes but the importance of River Runs Red peaked again the new millennium when LOA released a critically-lauded sequel to the record entitled, The Sound of Scars. The successor is about as close to the debut that band has gotten to in terms of both sonics and lyrics.
This past spring, some 30+ years since River Runs Red first hit my CD player, I was able to experience the record again live. Thankfully after some tumultuous times, the quartet (with a new drummer) has taken the record on the road and fans – both new and old – can hear the songs in their entirely on stage. You should definitely check it out if you can.
