LIFE OF AGONY — Broken Valley (review)

LIFE OF AGONY — Broken Valley album cover Album · 2005 · Alternative Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
UMUR
"Broken Valley" is the 4th full-length studio album by US alternative rock/metal act Life of Agony. The album was released through Epic Records in May 2005. It´s the band´s first album release since "Soul Searching Sun (1997)". Life of Agony split-up in 1999 after both drummer Sal Abruscato and lead vocalist Keith Caputo had left the band in the previous years (Abruscato already left in 1996), but reunited in 2002 in their original lineup (Completed by guitarist Joey Z. and bassist Alan Roberts).

Compared to "Soul Searching Sun (1997)" which featured a predominantly more laidback and sedated rock style, "Broken Valley" is generally more upbeat and fresh sounding. The break seems to have rejuvenated the band, and their performances sound inspired, and the songwriting more catchy and hard rocking, then the case was on the generally uninspired sounding predecessor. A slightly more hard rocking Stone Temple Pilots isn´t the worst comparison in the world. There´s of course not a trace of the ultra depressive hardcore sound of "River Runs Red (1993)" left in the music, and the music on "Broken Valley" generally don´t sound much like "Ugly (1995)" either, it´s actually the fourth consecutive album release featuring a new musical direction, but which somehow still sounds unmistakably like Life of Agony.

The material on the 12 track, 43:39 minutes long album are generally well written and hook laden vers/chorus structured hard rock songs, featuring lyrics predominantly dealing with personal issues. The quality of the material is pretty high throughout, but there are of course some tracks which stand out a bit more than others. Some of the highlights include "Love to Let You Down", "Last Cigarette", and "Strung Out". The album features a warm and powerful sounding production, and as always the musicianship is strong and the playing organic. Keith Caputo isn´t as distinct sounding as he was on the first couple of releases by the band, but his performance here is still strong and he has a suiting semi-raw delivery.

"Broken Valley" is not a hard rock revelation or anything like that, but it´s a solid release by Life of Agony and definitely a step up from the rather tedious and unremarkable "Soul Searching Sun (1997)". It´s not always comeback albums end up being an artistic (or a commercial) success, but I´ll say "Broken Valley" pretty much fits that description and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved. It´s not necessarily an album which will blow you away upon initial listen, but it grows given more spins and some of the melody lines just won´t leave your head again...
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