By Cathy A. Campagna

Coming from the streets of New York City in the '90s, Life Of Agony instantaneously built a devoted following with their debut The River Runs Red, a record tapping the hardcore vein with an angst and sludgy needle. But singer Keith Caputo, guitarist and cousin Joey Z, bassist Alan Robert and drummer Sal Abruscato moved into a more melodious although just as intense ocean with Ugly. Sal left the band, and was replaced by Dan Richardson [ex-Pro-Pain], and Life Of Agony went on to even plusher soundscapes by releasing the introspective Soul Searching Sun, then OZZfest came calling. Unfortunately the crooning frontman, Caputo, departed but the band soldiered on with former Ugly Kid Joe and later Medication vocalist Whitfield Crane. Sadly, a force that appealed to so many on a personal level and garnished tours with such heavy-hitters Ozzy Osbourne and Korn ceased to exist.

Joey Z did re-emerge with Stereomud, Alan with Among Thieves, Keith with his solo career and Sal, one time Type O Negative stickman, had Super Massive. Then in early 2004, the thirsty masses once again drank from a lost, but always revered nectar. Life Of Agony with its original line-up surfaced back on to the touring circuit. Once again in victorious fashion the foursome loaded their gear and traversed the US and Europe complete with a spot on the prestigious Download Festival in the UK. Today Broken Valley, their new release on Epic Records, houses the best of what their catalog has to offer. Keith's voice brews rich melancholy with a white hot delivery, Joey's guitar is a juggernaut of skill and spirit, Alan's earth splitting rhythms and Sal's engrossing drumming. Broken Valley brims with a texture as vast as New York's character and ultimately, the record's artistry filling even supersedes the void that Stone Temple Pilots' breakup left behind. These veterans in their own right have once again revamped the face of a bloated, copycat rock scene.

Keith Caputo • vocals
Sal Abruscato • drums
Joey Z • guitar
Alan Robert • bass

Shoutweb: What was it like touring last year after all that time apart?

Joey Z: Well, the tours were amazing! It was pretty much everything we were hoping for. The crowds were there to see us. They all went nuts. You can tell they were all waiting for a long time to see the band again. They were all very anxious and excited, and so were we. So far it has been such a great ride since we have been back. It can’t be any better than it’s been. We were doing it all on our own without any support. We have to give ourselves a lot of credit for that.

Alan: Without a label really.

Shoutweb: That has to give you a lot of confidence, to be able to tour across country and Europe all on your own steam. It had to have been profitable or you couldn't have pulled it off financially.

Joey Z: Right, it’s definitely rewarding doing this again. You know, giving it another chance, another try and it’s going good so far.

Alan: Yeah, we are pretty lucky.

Shoutweb: You took some time off, and wrote Broken Valley, but you had begun that process while on that tour, correct?

Joey Z: We started writing on that tour…pretty much when we got out on the road, we started writing. We wrote "Love To Let You Down." That was the first song we wrote when we got back together. Then a few songs came in after that like "The Day He Died", "Justified", and "The Calm That Disturbs You." That is basically what we brought in when it was time to write the record. We went into our studio in Jerse and those were the first songs that we started with. Then there was just a slew of ideas, other riffs, and song ideas.

Shoutweb: How was the balance of the songwriting constructed. Alan was the chief songwriter in the beginning.

Alan: We definitely got our hands dirty with this one, everyone really stepped up and poured so many ideas…It just really came together, everyone had a lot of input, a lot of ideas. I think since we haven’t recorded or written together in so many years, everyone had grown so much as musicians and as songwriters all on our own, to put all four of us in a room, it’s like ideas are bouncing off the walls. It was great, because we took ideas that started so small, and evolved into these big, deep emotional songs.

Shoutweb: It does get very adventurous. Each song is different from the other. There is a very expressive and eclectic vibe, was that intentional or it was because you have come out the other end of all these different experiences.

Alan: I think it's because we treat each song as if it was it’s own album in a way. It has a certain meaning, a certain vibe, a certain groove and it gives off a certain message. Or it has it’s own approach to what it is, it’s almost like it is it's own animal. They are so different and somehow it all works together at the same time. I think that if you treat each song that way, then you know what songs are going to last and which songs aren't going to last. We threw out like five or six songs that just weren't up to par with the rest. I think you learn a lot about what makes a good songs and what makes a timeless song, and I think we learned a lot making this record, because of the standards that we set for ourselves and the goals that we set for ourselves.

Shoutweb: Then was this the hardest record that you had to make?

Sal: For me, it was the best and the hardest recording experience I ever had out of any record I ever did. There is so much detail within the details, within the details. From the writing aspects with the arrangements and within the arrangements, then all the patterns and notes that everyone had to do differently. I think we all got tested and pushed and we learned a lot from it, and we became even better musicians.

Shoutweb: What was the biggest impression that this writing and recording session left on you? It had to be pretty monumental having been your first creative endeavor together in so long.

Joey Z: Learning that leaving yourself open is so important, and you come out with such a better product, and better results if you don’t put limitations on yourself. Putting limitations on yourself, you are putting limitations on the guy standing next to you, because it's a team. So I have learned…don't think you know it all, don't think you know how to get the sound, leave yourself open to new ideas, new sounds, new equipment, new pedals. Just new everything, just leave yourself open, and you will basically come out learning a lot more and you will come out a better player, and that is what I took away from this personally. I also know that going into the whole record, you can get really nervous, so I also learned that you shouldn’t stress yourself out as much. Everything is going to be alright. We got brothers here. We have each other. Sometimes you look so much inside yourself, you got to really realize that there are other people around you, and you can’t do everything yourself all the time. That is pretty much what I am taking away from this whole album.

Shoutweb: The big question now, do you think you guys will be doing this for another ten albums?

Joey Z: [laughing] Hopefully, sometimes it doesn’t depend on us, it depends on the universe around us.

Sal: If people buy our records and keep us alive, yeah.

Alan: Or you will see us playing at the corner of Roseland, playing for a buck next year.

Shoutweb: How have the shows been now that you have re-emerged from the studio, have a new record deal with Epic, and you are a full-fledged band again?

Sal: Been feeling really good, been feeling challenged. Been feeling that we are playing in front of a group of new kids. They are going to have their opinions and just roll with the punches and by the end of the night, if you feel that you have won one or one thousand kids over, that's the payback. It has been really good. I am not gong to lie to you, it has been a little tough. It's a new audience that doesn't have a clue about us… but by the end of the night, they are doing pre-orders on the record, and they are lining up for merch and walking out saying, "That band wasn't bad."

Shoutweb: You bring up a good point, because I always felt that you guys would have made another record after Soul Searching Sun, you would have had the same magnitude of like a System Of A Down. What are your thoughts on that?

Joey Z: I think that everything is meant to be… I don't know if we would have made it that far, I don't know if we would have made it through another record.

Shoutweb: So the breakup was like a necessary evil?

Joey Z: Oh, totally!

Alan: I think we would have fizzled out, fizzled away, and not even have had a shot of coming back with the original line-up.

Joey Z: We weren't on the right path. We didn't have our heads or our hearts at the right place at that time. On this record, this feels right! The timing feels right, the music, the vibe within each other, the camaraderie feels right.

Shoutweb: Where do you see yourself fitting into the scene now?

Joey Z: We are a heavy rock band. We are like a really deep heavy rock band, and whoever you stick us with…I can see us fitting with anyone from Metallica to Queens Of The Stone Age to Velvet Revolver to Audioslave, that whole vibe. You know, I don’t think we could go on tour with Slipknot, I don't think we could go on tour with Kreator.

Alan: At least not in America. We played with Slipknot overseas and it was great.

Joey Z: So I think that we fit in that heavy rock scene, you know someone said it yesterday in an interview. They said, "You guys are almost bringing back that grungy sound on this record." Like the Alice In Chains, the Pearl Jam and the Nirvana and stuff, and I think that's a huge compliment. That was such a great era, you know Soundgarden, STP, all that was such a great scene, and that is a huge compliment. We were big fans of that era that was when we grew up. We were in our 20s and that is important time in your life. It was a great era to be involved in music.

Shoutweb: After this round with Mudvayne, what do you have going on as far as touring plans?

Sal: We go to Europe for a couple of weeks, Rock In Ring, Rock In Park, so it’s basically to promote the release of the record over in Europe. We will be there for three weeks, and then come back to the States.

Shoutweb: When you get back, will you be headlining or do you know who will be playing with you?

Joey Z: It's TBA.

Shoutweb: You are playing the Roseland tonight, how does that make you feel?

Joey Z: A little nervous, Keith is under the weather, Alan is a bit sick as well. Keith is the voice and his throat hasn’t been feeling so good, so I can say that I am not nervous for myself, but nervous for us. I hope that we pull it off for the label and for the New York crowd. It's very nerve-wracking right now, there is a little knot in my stomach. And we are playing a lot of new songs now.

Shoutweb: Was it hard picking the set list?