Life of Agony - A Place Where There's No More Pain (2017)

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Life of Agony - A Place Where There's No More Pain (2017)

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It has been 12 years since New York metal act Life of Agony released its last album, 2005’s Broken Valley. That’s a lifetime in the music industry, although in the timeline of Life of Agony, that’s pretty much on schedule. After all, eight years passed between when it released 1997’s Soul Searching Sun and Broken Valley, but nonetheless, fans have wondered if the quartet of singer Mina Caputo, bassist Alan Robert, guitarist Joey Z and drummer Sal Abruscato would ever return to the studio.

They are getting their wish: Life of Agony’s fifth album, A Place Where There's No More Pain, will be arriving April 28 on Napalm Records.

“What made Life of Agony reunite [now] was the power of music and the power of love – the love we have for each other and each other's families,” says Caputo. “Not only were the die-hard fans waiting for a new record for a long time now, but I think the individual members in the band were also excited and keen on making a new album as well. The band is notorious for disappearing for quite some time and then reappearing to open up some more wounds: lyrically, melodically and musically speaking.

“We really don’t have a formula to our timeline. We act on impulse and spontaneity,” she adds. “Now more than ever seems to be a perfect time to release a new collection of Life of Agony songs. I think society needs more work and more healing. More hard rock. More authentic music and artists. I also think we needed to heal as a band. I think we've achieved just that with A Place Where There's No More Pain."

Caputo says it feels empowering to have the backing of the band’s label and fans supporting the group, but it also feels “like we've been in labor for years,” she says with a laugh. “To finally pop this baby out is the greatest and most rewarding of all the LOA releases for me. It's a huge jump in creativity for this band. It sounds like a montage of the very best bits of our life's work. I'm excited for the world to grasp its claws into it.”

“We all really pushed ourselves on this one to make it the best it could possibly be, without compromising. That's why I think it took us a bit longer than we anticipated,” explains Robert. “We didn’t want to settle, and we didn't want to rush it. Hell, we waited 12 years since the last album, what was an extra couple of months!” he jokes. “It was really important to us to get it right. Not just the songs, but sonically. It needed to sound bigger than anything we've done before.”

Robert describes the new album as having “the big guitar riffs and grooves reminiscent of our older records, coupled with really intense vocal hooks. It feels like this is the sound we've been chasing all of these years and we finally captured it. Lyrically, it's very dark and definitely touches a nerve. Lots of familiar themes that we've explored throughout our career: loneliness, desperation, alienation and loss. But we also touch on new themes as well.”

Caputo believes that all LOA records have the “overall classic sound” that fans have come to know, but A Place Where There's No More Pain also has “a new energy” that didn’t exist before. “We are stronger, more confident, more thought-provoking and more colorful and touching,” observes Caputo. “There are elements and ghosts on this album that could never ever be mimicked or copied. I also believe that new ghosts have visited us for this special recording.”