Life Of Agony are not a band that you simply just like. They are a band that people love. Not everyone, of course, but to their devoted following, they are more than just music; they are a life force, a guide, and a band that some look to provide answers. They have the ability to make you want to break down in tears one moment, before wanting to spin kick your way around a dance floor the next. In some ways, you could consider them an alternative rock institution, transcending their early hardcore roots and becoming something much more.
That’s not to say they haven’t had their ups and downs. Vocalist Mina Caputo has had her demons, family issues and having to deal with transitioning from male to female. Life Of Agony was the output for Caputo to open up in a brutally honest way, yet following their 2005 album, ‘Broken Valley’, they disbanded, and the idea of them returning felt like a pipe dream for many. When they did begin a handful of reunion shows to universal acclaim, it was only a matter of time before new music followed, leading to the creation of ‘A Place Where There’s No More Pain’.
The thing with Life Of Agony, which is somewhat of an albatross around their collective necks, is their first two albums, ‘River Runs Red’ and ‘Ugly’ are so widely regarded as career defining, and everything in their wake has been measured against them. Some dislike the shift towards a more rock driven sound, feeling the band lost their edge. But that’s often a standard critique within hardcore, and will probably never change. So where does ‘A Place Where There’s No More Pain’ fit into their storied career?
Cutting straight to the chase, this is a Life Of Agony album. It’s what you want from them and what they deliver very well. Musically it veers towards that harder side of what Life Of Agony are about. ‘Meet My Maker’ and the title track specifically are very low-end riff driven, harking back to their sound of old. Joey Z can still go pound for pound with any modern guitarist, and has a playing style that has often been replicated but never bettered. The rhythm section of Alan Robert and Sal Abrusacato is as tight as they always have been, providing a solid backbone for ‘A New Low’ and ‘World Gone Mad’.
It is, somewhat unsurprisingly, Caputo’s lyrics and vocal delivery that makes ‘A Place Where There’s No More Pain’ as emotionally jarring as a Life Of Agony record should be. Caputo lays everything bare once again, detailing personal struggles, past addictions, and disappointment at the world at large. Every line is uttered with passion and sincerity, yet is perhaps not as self-deprecating as in the past. ‘A Place Where There’s No More Pain’ is more than just a title of the record for Caputo, but a cathartic world of escape where others who find solace in the record are welcome to join.
Across the album, it does little to veer from the path of solid guitar songs, that dip their toes into metallic hardcore and alternative rock. It’s direct and to the point, and some variation such as that display back on ‘Soul Searching Sun’ could have given the harder sounding songs more breathing space. The piano-led ballad that closes the album, ‘Little Spots Of You’, is a beautiful send off, and shows where Life Of Agony can take their sound when they want to.
While it would be a stretch to say that the album is perfect, by drawing from every aspect of their signature sound, this beloved band have done exactly what they do best. Time will tell if ‘A Place Where There’s No More Pain’ will be considered a classic Life Of Agony album, but for now, it is a solid come back that takes you exactly where you want to be.
GLEN BUSHELL