Method Of Groove

Life of Agony. Spawned from the NYHC scene, LOA is a band that could never quite live up to the expectations generated by their debut album.

River Runs Red released in 1993 is quite probably the finest suicide note set to music ever. Almost all the songs deal with death and the sound bites deal largely with a troubled teenager who after getting the shaft from his teachers, boss and mother finally decides to end it all by taking a razor to his wrist. The media focused on frontman Keith Caputo as the new poster boy for the troubled teen. Unfortunately while Caputo was full of himself he was also just a little too dark and a little too morbid to appeal to your garden variety troubled teen. LOA played crushing heavy music. One part Black Sabbath with a dose of the New York hardcore sound and plenty of thrash. Guitarist Joey Z. had some mighty riffs and was backed up by Sal Abruscato on drums and Alan Robert on bass. A bottom heavy sound, riffs firmly in the heavyweight category, an incredibly tight rhythm section with Abruscato completely owning the drums and Caputo yelling, shouting and singing with all his heart means that River Runs Red is an album that won’t grow old. River Runs Red is very much an acquired taste. The constant barrage of hopelessness and despair gets to you. Everybody dies. Still, LOA caused a good deal of noise with their debut and looked poised to become Roadrunner’s premier band. On a side note, River Runs Red was produced by Type O Negative keyboard player Josh Silver.

The follow up to River Runs Red again on Roadrunner was Ugly. The name of the album was Ugly and unfortunately the music was quite Ugly too. Dark and morbid but the heavy riffs had been replaced by a softer more thought out approach. Almost alternative or modern rock even. The band’s original fanbase did not know what to make of this album and it came, it went and not too many people noticed. Released in 1995, Ugly has aged reasonably well, but is still my least favourite LOA album.

1997 saw LOA release their final album. Soul Searching Sun was a huge leap forward (or backward depending on your point of view). The heavy guitars were now completely gone. Caputo was singing and Joey Z. had melodies and catchy choruses. The band wrote some great songs again. The song Weeds even got some airplay on MTV. Unfortunately, time had passed them by. Interestingly, Sal Abruscato had been replaced by Dan Richardson who also played for Pro-Pain. Still the core of LOA, Caputo, Joey Z. and Robert remained for this album and found their groove again but it was all far too late.

Caputo left after Soul Searching Sun and was replaced by Whitfield Crane from Ugly Kid Joe. This switch didn’t see any studio time and the band folded up soon after. A couple of posthumous live albums/ compilations saw the light in 2000 but LOA was for all intents and purposes, dead.

In early 2003, LOA reunited for a bunch of shows and this led to the live River Runs Again. Signed to Epic with a new album due early 2005, LOA are back. With a major label this time. We’ll probably never get another River Runs Red again but I can hope.

“If tomorrow never shows
I want you all to know
That I loved you all, you’re beautiful
And I had myself a ball.”