Even though the band had only been around for some ten years when they split up in 1999, Life Of Agony managed to become a household name in metal/hardcore scenes worlwide. The band’s fate had already been sealed when singer Keith Caputo left the band in 1997, and after the remaining members realized that the world wasn’t waiting for Whitfield Crane the group disbanded a few years later. The band intended to do a single reunion show in the original line-up, early January this year in New York, the band’s homebase. The show sold out in 20 minutes, so a second show was added and the band decided to have the whole thing recorded for posterity, the result of which is called River Runs Again, Live 2003. This double-album contains no less than 18 songs, which were recorded during both of the shows the band played.

The songs offered here are a balanced reflection of the three albums LOA put out, but the band wisely put the emphasis on Ugly and their killer debut, River Runs Red. The sound quality of the recording is good, the band plays as tight as if they never called it quits, and Caputo is in good shape as well.

He even manages to finish his lines, something he had his fair share of problems with in the past. His voice sounds a bit nasal in “I Regret” and “Lost At 22”, but that’s about all I can really complain about. The first CD starts off with the title song of that album, followed by “This Time” and they immediately remind me of how fucking great their first album actually was. Other highlights included here are old songs like “Underground” and “Bad Seed”, and newer ones like “Weeds” and the acoustic version of “Let’s Pretend”. The second disc ends with three bonus tracks from solo or side projects from several band members, but they can’t compete with the quality of Life Of Agony.

There will always be people who don’t like live albums, but I say: to hell with them. This is simply a great album by a great band; they’ll be touring Europe later this year, so make sure you get your tickets as long as they’re available. By the way: the album will be out as a double CD, DVD and even as a DVD+CD limited edition, so decide which version you want BEFORE you run to the store.