© CPU – Stijn Verbruggen
The ‘golden old’ days when metal bands had blitz careers through Roadrunner Records belong to a shadowy past. The cross-pollination between hardcore punk and metal, on the other hand, has never really disappeared, so that Life of Agony could continue to thrive on past successes. Since the reunion of 2003, not a year goes by without the band from Brooklyn performing on a Belgian or Dutch stage somewhere. Thanks in part to frontman Keith Caputo’s gender transition to Mina, Life of Agony is experiencing its second youth. In the past, the late Keith struggled with depression and a tormented childhood.
Recent albums like The Sound of Scars are again of a high standard. However, it is true that the debut River Runs Red and service successor Ugly from 1995 are the two mainstays of the live shows. To thank fans for their undying support, Life of Agony is celebrating its 30th anniversary worldwide River Runs Red. As icing on the map of the integral performance, she crosses Europe with Prong’s contemporaries and the very young Tarah Who?.
© CPU – Stijn Verbruggen
‘Tarah who?, Tarah Who?’,… There you go, the lame pun of the evening is over. In front of an almost empty hall, the trio from Los Angeles got off to a cautious start. Front woman and inspirer of the group Tarah G. Carpenter was a bit timid at first. After a few sips of her whisky, she loosened up a bit and looked more confident. That the band knew what to do became immediately clear when the guitars were plugged in. The radio-friendly hard rock was strongly seasoned with pinches of metal and hardcore. The sound and the rock on content reached our ears quickly, but more than a great warm-up was Tarah Who? not necessarily. Drummer Christine Agozzino and bassist Ash Orphan, on the other hand, weren’t there for bacon and beans. Together with Carpenter, they thoroughly enjoyed this unique opportunity to tour with Prong and Life of Agony.
© CPU – Stijn Verbruggen
Without Tommy Victor’s innovative guitar playing in the late 1980s, Pantera might have been forever stuck with kitschy glam metal. Just to say that the man had a rich influence on the embryonic stages of groove and nu-metal. In addition to his work for Danzig and Ministry, among others, Victor is the figurehead of Prong. This industrial metal band already managed to get some people going and was the perfect opener for Life of Agony. “Test” and “Whose Fist Is This Anyway” were great hits for 45 minutes of grooving. The three musicians were well attuned to each other. Victor and bassist Jason Christopher did not lose the pedals at any time and explored every corner of the stage. Over time, the set became monotonous, but when the cult hit “Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck” started, we and the audience were back on track. So Prong more than did his job to get the room ready for Life of Agony’s jubilee show.
© CPU – Stijn Verbruggen
Frankly, we are a bit skeptical about the concept of playing an album in its entirety. Tonight, on the other hand, we had to thoroughly reconsider our opinion. After Pink Floyd’s “Hey You”, Life of Agony flew in full blast. From “This Time” to “Friday”, the band and the fans were two hands on one stomach. Even the technical defects hardly threw a spanner in the works. After touring the world for almost forty years, Life of Agony is used to a few things. Nevertheless, it was a unique evening, because the show in Antwerp was the first show of the tour where the sign ‘sold out’ could be stuck. That news made Caputo and her buddies put their best foot forward. They still mastered the art of the “Method of Groove”. She herself was not a cat to handle without gloves. Concertgoers who couldn’t resist throwing cups, for example, received a heartfelt ‘fuck you’.
In between, band and crew members were extensively thanked for their hard work, so that our respect for the group continued to grow. The integral implementation of River Runs Red carried a nostalgic feeling, as expected, but even with the lesser-known songs, the audience became wildly enthusiastic. The sporadic circlepits and sing-along moments turned it all into a frenzy. Without too much fuss, Life of Agony treated us afterwards to a wreath of hits that made this Saturday evening complete. It was a bit predictable which songs were played, but that did not spoil the fun in any way. After all, “Lost at 22” and “Weeds” remain jeweled hits that just couldn’t be missed. Life of Agony, and Caputo in particular, proved once again that following your dreams is always the right thing to do. No one thirty years ago could have predicted that the grumpy Caputo of those days would put a smile on her face any moment now. On the basis of this game and joie de vivre, it is therefore safe to add another thirty years.
The anniversary tour ends on February 1 the Milky Way, Amsterdam. After that, we’ll have to wait until summer to see Life of Agony play again. The band is programmed on Saturday 17 June Graspop Metal Meeting. This day is now sold out, but combi tickets are still available. The four-day metal festival is spearheaded by Ghost, Gojira, Slipknot, Parkway Drive, Def Leppard and Mötley Crüe. The organization will soon announce the last two headliners.
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Setlist:
This Time
Underground
River Runs Red
Through and Through
Words and Music
Bad Seed
My Eyes
Respect
Method of Groove
The Stain Remains
Other Side of the River
Scars
Let’s Pretend
Lost At 22
I Regret
Weeds
