Source: Graham Berry
Camden’s Electric Ballroom is serving more cans of Guinness than we’ve ever seen before – it must be St Patrick’s day. It’s a strange mix of subcultures in attendance (even by Camden’s eclectic standards) but they’re united with a single purpose – to bear witness to Life Of Agony.
But first, it’s up to Switzerland’s Second Function, who play to a noticeably sparse crowd for most of their set. They seem like an odd pick; their hooky, uplifting alt-rock fare puts them somewhere between A Perfect Circle, Audioslave and The Foo Fighters. Despite a spirited drum performance and bags of energy from the trio, nobody seems particularly impressed. They rouse little more than polite applause and the occasional ‘woop’, which is a shame because judging from their between-song banter they are incredibly nice chaps and seem totally thankful to be there. It’s just a shame that their overly generic sound and nice-guy vibes remind you too much of begrudgingly going to watch your co-workers band play a covers set in your local chain pub.
Life Of Agony come onstage to an incredibly loud heroes welcome – part boisterous excitement, part grateful respect. They tear into a mean rendition of ‘River Runs Red’, the riffs all chugging muscle, hopping the fence between hardcore intensity and metal swagger. Right from the word go, Mina Caputo is awe inspiring – her soaring vocals bolstered by thrusting the microphone into the crowd and letting overjoyed fans sing along. Caputo is absolutely commanding, holding the crowd’s attention effortlessly, grateful of it without chasing it.
Source: Graham Berry
There’s a definite air of seduction to Life Of Agony’s music – sleazy riffs and a focus on drum grooves will have you banging your head and shaking those hips. ‘Bad Seed’ is absolutely massive, a slowly uncoiling riff that drops into an undeniable swing. There’s a focus on the tracks from their 1993 debut, River Runs Red, and the crowds go absolutely apeshit for each and every one of the old classics. Running the gamut from industrial to alt metal to hardcore, it’s clear the band are road-hardened and super tight, LOA prove that licks they wrote over 20 years ago still sound vital today. With all this said, as good as they are, there’s a slight sense of exclusion for those who aren’t true adherents to the LOA credo – absolutely not coming from the band themselves, who are gracious and inclusive all night long, but from the crowd – reveling in such potent nostalgia leaves those who weren’t there first (or even second) time round a little cold.
No matter. Life Of Agony put on one hell of a show.
