Customer Reviews

1989-99

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is an essential for any Life of Agony fan, or maybe even for a newcomer since it spans their whole career from their remastered demos to their more mellowed stuff in the later part of their career. Hearing the demos remastered like this is awesome, i just with they would have released a whole cd of their remastered demos! Songs like "Here I am, Here I Stay" and "Drowning" make me wonder why they never made it to River Runs Red. "Coffee Break" is an awesome B-side. A most excellent cover of the Zepplin tune "Tangerine", and with some live Ugly songs to top it off. It's really horrible that they had to break up but at least they left us with this.

For either old fans or new fans, this is a must have. Yeah, you can get most of these songs on other releases, but do you want to blow 50 bucks on ebay for "The Stain Remains" demo or even attempt at tracking down a copy of "East Coast Assault" for "Plexiglass Gate"? It's all here! That being said, their cover of "Redemption Song" is phenomenal and it's given me a new way to introduce LOA to people who would never have listened to them. I really can't say enough about this band and what they've meant to me over the past 10 years. I was saddened when they left and even happier when they returned (even tho it looks like I won't be there). As always, the stain remains . . .

Yes I know, it's useless to say that this is their second best, because it's not a real album. Anyway, most of the songs aren't on their official records so who cares? I must say that I never got too deep into their "Ugly" and "SOS" albums, something just didn't make me too enthusiastic about them, but they had both great songs too. I think their debut was in my opinion one of the best HC/METAL/ROCK albums of the nineties. I wasn't really interested when I heard that this album was put out, and it took me a damm long time to try a listen and yes... this is great! It has something for everyone, for everybody that ever had it's reasons to listen to Life of Agony. My personal favorites are... hmm well, every song exept for "Coffee Break" ( just not that great ) , "Colourblind" and "Step Aside" ( both of them Hardcore the way you think of it ). But overall, this album delivers. I think it's a must have for every LOA-fan and for everybody else who just liked the band ( like me ). I'm thinking about purchasing "Unplugged" too, although it seems that Roadrunner tries everything to make money out of LOA. As long as the music is great... and it is in case of 1989-1999.

Some new sounds from this band.Highlights include:Plexiglass Gate,Redemption Song,and the live stuff.Good guitar work from Joey Z.These guys are all doing new things now.Check out Stereomud,among thieves,and Dead Flowers all featuring ex-members of LOA.The growth showed on parts of this record and "Soul" are heard in the new projects.This is a must have for the true LOA fan.

A life of agony you never heard before.Coffee break is just one of the high lights of the album. You got to have it if your a true fan.I love LOA even if they wrote piano music I still love'em. To sum it up its heavy and raw the way it should be.

A great retrospective tracing LOA's early days as a struggling NYC hardcore band right up to a few recent b-sides and live recordings. I always felt their early work was their best (River Runs Red was a milestone for me, Ugly had it's moments, and Soul Searching Sun I found to be unlistenable), and this disc gives some insight into their roots. Even if you're not a die-hard fan, the songs are strong enough to hold up to a casual listen. If you ARE a die-hard fan, then this'll take you back to when LOA really WAS the best hardcore band on the planet. Their take on Led Zeppelin's "Tangerine" is a gem.

this is great early LOA songs that you could have only gotten from the early demo's BUT there are two or three times as many songs they had done on demos but why not release them?I saw LOA in 89 and theyu were a long way from the LOA most love today but what the hell they are demos they should have released them all these songs are the cream of the crop their personal fav's to play live and the rare songs are great to here SOD cover and coffee break are excellent too.

Life of agony at it's best. Demo's to "River Runs Red". Hear what led to the greatest album on earth.

This is an awesome collection of pre-RRR stuff from LOA. I would only buy this if you are a hardcore LOA fan, if you're not, you might be in for a dissapointment.

Here I Am, Here I Stay-This is an awesome song, I think they should have polished it a little and released it on Ugly. It starts out very quiet and then goes into the heavy chorus, which in my opinion, has an uncessesary lack of lyrics. I think they could've made a better chorus, but the rest of the song is awesome.

Depression-Wow! If you're used to LOA, then you'll be amazed by this song. Don't get me wrong, the music is really really good, actually, better than some stuff on Ugly or SSS, but Keith manages to mess it up. He doesn't use his voice correctly, in my opinion, or to his ability. The lyrics are really bad too. And the chorus is agonizing to listen to. And Keith's little introduction to the lead "Skinny Joey Z, give it to me" is really annoying. I was amazed to hear Kieth actually mess something up, seeing as he is my favorite vocalist, next to John Davis. Oh yeah, this song may be the most negative song they've ever done.

Plexiglass Gate-Like alot of songs on 89-99, you'll notice a long intro before the lyrics come in. This is no different, although it's starts with a little bit of lyrics, Keith doesn't come back in 'till 2:31. But, this song is really good. Keith has a very raw sound to his vice, and it's really good. Riffs are heavy and it's all good.

3 Companions-Although this song is very positive, you can tell it didn't take much thought to come up with. The entire song is nothing but ringing out guitar and very slow drums, then there are the annoying build ups that lead to absolutely nothing. It's a really boring song. But, Keith's haunting, chilling voice makes the song listenable to.

Drowning-One of my favorite songs on 89-99. Although I'm not sure what the little intro is about, this song is incredible. This is just a really good song. It starts out really soft, nothing but an acoustic guitar, then the bass and drums softly come in. Then it goes to a ring-out kind of thing, then back to the soft stuff, then back to the ring-out thing. Joey then does his lead and the song gets fast and then drops out. Although that might sound bad, it's really good.

Dancing With the Devil-This another great song. It fades in with the bass and drums and then Joey kicks in. This song also shows the origin of the lyric now used in "Other Side of the River" "My World Would Be Over". This is a really upbeat song that talks about the loss of a lover.

Step Aside-This shows an early hardcore/punk status of LOA. This song is pretty repetitive and it shows Keith as being a tough guy and it just doesn't work out.

Colorblind-This is really good. It's an anti-prejudice song, which is really cool. I really like the lyric "We are all the same in the dark". Although at times the songs seems a little unmelodic, it's overall quality is good.

March of the S.O.D/Sgt "d" and the S.O.D-This song makes Depression look like a freaking blessing. This song is so terrible. It's completely "sung" by Joey. It's thoughtless and retarted, a complete waste of good riffs. "Ruthless, vicious, he'll stomp on your face. Deadly, malicious, stay out of his base. He'll rip your eye's out, don't look the wrong way"

Coffee Break-This is my favorite song on this CD. It's acoustic in the beginning and then goes into the electric guitar. It's just about being an outcast. I don't know, this song just really gets me. I'd download this song anyway, if you can find it, just to check it out. It's upbeat and slower, it's really well balanced.

Redemption Song-This song is great. It's a Bob Marley cover, which is funny 'cause Keith imitates Bob's voice, which is awesome. This is a really good feel-good song.

How It Would Be '97-This remix is odd. It's prominently palm muted, but when the guitar is played unmuted, it sounds like the guitar in Angry Tree. It's still great, I love this song.

Tangerine (Re-Zep)-This song isn't that great, in my opinion. I don't know, it's just not LOA to me.

Lost at 22 (live)-This shows the talent of LOA live, and how close they sound to their records live.

I Regret (live)-same thing as Lost at 22. The only thing that dissapoints me about this is Keith doesn't put the emphasis on "Gonna shed my skin and start again" like his does on the album, oh well.

This CD is really good for the hardcore LOA fan. This shows LOA before they were known, and you can see how they have evolved, it's quite awesome.

Finally some new Agony. This disc contains nothing with the singer from Ugly Kid Joe(Thank God). Kieth on all vocals. This cd is a must have for any LOA fan. If you like River Runs Red this Cd is for you. It has some early stuff that is really raw and heavy. Joey Z's guitar playing is noticable on this disc. There are some demos that never made cds because the songs are not the best. There are also a few live tracks. Its a shame these guys broke up, I definately seeing them getting back together.