River Runs Again: Live 2003

Love it and love the music...\m/ L.O.A

... LIFE OF AGONY were, and judging from this release, still are one of the greatest heavy bands to ever come out of New York City. ... I can only tell you that the music of this band touched me in a way that only few bands can. Everything I loved about heavy music was in their sound: the catchy riffs, cool bass lines that were "riffs" on their own, and most importantly for LOA, the soulful and heartfelt vocals of Keith Caputo. When that man sang, you could FEEL his pain! ... the original lineup of this legendary band reunited for 2 sold-out concerts in their hometown of New York City. The results are what you hear on this CD, and it's like time never skipped a beat! This is, simply put, a perfect example of LOA in concert. While some may diss the recording quality as somewhat "bootleggish", I feel it captures the essence of what this band are all about live. The crowd is mixed loud, but they are absolutely like the fifth member of the band, on-point and singing along with every word. Keith's vocals are somewhat different than on the recorded versions of these songs (he does the old "I'll sing it in a different register so I don't have to hit the high notes" thing popularized by Ozzy back in the BLACK SABBATH days). The vocals are still very strong though. Keith is still extremely emotional with his "peace and love" stage-patter, and just as in the old days, he seems very out of place in a hardcore band...but he has THAT VOICE! It all gels so magically and any longtime fan of the band can back me up on that. ...there are 3 tracks from Alan, Keith, and Sal's bands included after the live material on CD 2. Good stuff... This is a great CD for anyone who wants a primer on what this band meant to the music scene of today. The accompanying DVD (in the digi-pack version only) is worth taking a look at as well, although if you don't have 16:9 widescreen TV, the song titles and a lot of action at the sides of the picture are cut off. This is the first time I have ever experienced this limitation on a DVD. Not sure if the band meant it that way or not. It's like watching a whole show in super-closeup. All in all though it is a fantastic return from a vastly underrated band. After hearing the hooks in these songs, some people may be shocked that this band was never HUGE. They should have been. Buy this CD and you will know why.

Recorded with a sold out crowd in tow in New York City, "River Runs Again: Live 2003" marks the return of Life of Agony. This is the classic lineup back together: Keith, Alan, Sal, and Joey sound tighter than ever, and Keith's heartfelt and agonizing (no pun intended) vocals and lyrics have never sounded more heart wrenching. Everything you'd expect on a LOA live album is here and then some; including "River Runs Red", "This Time", "Seasons", "Method of Groove", "Bad Seed", "Lost at 22", "Underground", and "Through and Through" are here, along with three bonus tracks from current projects by Keith, Alan, and Sal. The sound quality may be a but raw for some, but it adds to the atmosphere of LOA's music so much that it's hardly noticible. This double disc package is an absolute must own for Life of Agony fans, all of which can now rejoice because LOA is back from the dead.

totally awesome sound quality! no damage very happy

sehr schnelle Lieferung, alles super, vielen Dank, gerne wieder

Sounds really great. Could have done with a better mix of tunes perhaps but overall very good.