BROKEN VALLEY
I’m going to be guilty of that “purist” mentality here, but I can’t seem to get into
Broken Valley as much as I did with
River Runs Red.
I know that bands evolve and change their sounds, but it would be nice
if you could still tell when it’s the same band. I know it’s not always
fair to compare a band to their debut, because obviously a lot will
change from that time until now, but
River Runs Red is my favorite LIFE OF AGONY album and I can’t let go of it as the model to which I compare their albums to.
Ugly was a good album, and
Soul Searching Sun was alright, but
Broken Valley was a bit of a let down after the long hiatus and the anticipation of a new album.
“Love to Let You Down” starts off the album, and it’s a great song and
a perfect choice for the first single, but it’s name is almost ironic
because parts of the album do exactly that, let you down. The
instrumental track at the end of the album is a complete waste of time,
as are songs like “No One Survives” which puts me to sleep, and “Junk
Sick” which does nothing but repeat the title over and over again and
embeds it into your brain so you are stuck humming the same 2 words
over and over again all day.
The songs aren’t ALL bad though, there are some real gems on here too.
Aside from the opener, songs like “Wicked Ways,” “The Day He Died,” and
the title track are very well written and very catchy. They might not
exactly be “Through and Through,” or “Underground” but they are really
good songs for this album. On a whole though, the album doesn’t really
sound like Life of Agony. In fact, it reminds me more of STONE TEMPLE
PILOTS or VELVET REVOLVER. This is in part because of the poppy-ness of
some of the songs, and partially because of Keith’s ever-changing voice
(whatever happened to that nice deep tone you used to have Keith?). The
best examples of this are “Last Cigarette” and “Don’t Bother,” which
are both great songs, but they just don’t sound like Life of Agony.
Another gripe with this album is that it doesn’t resemble older albums
in the sense that you could throw on
River Runs Red when you were depressed and wanted to vent, or
Soul Searching Sun when you were trying to feel a little more mellow.
Broken Valley
doesn’t really have a particular mood or feeling behind it, it almost
sounds generic. I have nothing against Life of Agony for doing this
album, they are nice guys and hard working musicians, I just have a few
reservations about the album, and it took way too many plays for me to
really get into it. Their live shows still rock, and I can’t wait to
see them this summer on
Gigantour.
