Life of Agony & Biohazard / Rock City / Nottingham
The early 90’s was a vibrant time with some incredible bands on the scene, none more so that Brooklyn dup Life of Agony and Biohazard. I’ve seen both before, but the opportunity to catch them both on the same co-headline tour, was a chance I was not going to turn down.
First up in support we had our first experience of LYLVC (pronounced Lilac). A six piece band from Raleigh, North Carolina they are Alyse Zavala (vocals), Oscar Romero (vocals), Cameron Gillette (guitar & keyboards), Seth Morgan (Guitar), Kenneth Kaval (bass) and Ryan Powell (drums).
The short set is based around their debut EP “Perfect Drug” and I was glad I was early for this. They delivered a powerful set full of energy, mixing classic guitars with synth tones brilliantly. The vocal duties sit equally between Alyse (clean) and Oscar (growls and rap) and the mix works very well indeed, each bouncing off the other creating a great overall sound, and Oscar bounces round the stage, passing on the energy directly to the crowd.
A great performance to set the scene for what was to come.
Setlist
Barely Human
Undertow
Unstable
XXX
Crawl Space
Dangerous
Perfect Drug
Into Nothing
After a quick turn round on stage and a check of the guitar tuning it’s time for the first of tonight’s Brooklyn NY duo – Alt-metal band Life of Agony. Formed back in 1989 by singer Keith Caputo, bassist Alan Robert and guitarist Joey Zampella. To date the band have released six studio albums to date, from their astounding debut release in 1993 “River Runs Red”, named by Rolling Stone as one of the Greatest Metal Albums of All Time. Despite their rising reputation and success, Keith left the band shortly after the release of “Soul Searching Sun” in 1997.
Over the years there have been a number of reunions, and finally in 2014 Life of Agony reformed again releasing “A Place Where There's No More Pain” in 2017 and then “The Sound of Scars” in 2019, seen by many as the true follow up to their debut “River Runs Red”.
Joined by Veronica Bellino on drums, LoA have once again become a touring band, delivering some of the best, high energy shows around.
As Keith, Joey, Alan & Veronica rush out on to the stage, they are greeted by a wall of noise. Many of the audience have been fans for a long time and the love for the band is clear to see.
They open the set with the title song from their debut album River Runs Red a hard hitting and powerful track, rammed full of energy and emotion, and right from the start, the crowd are big into it, followed by the equally impressive This Time. What strieks you most about LoA is the energy they put into their live performances. With Keith on fire on vocals he’s ably supported by both Joey Z and Alan, who are moving around the stage with ease and putting out some crushing supporting vocals.
Joey Z in particular is taking every opportunity on the mic to amp up the already excited crowd.
Not that we need much amping up. Most of the set revolves around the classic “River Runs Red” album, and each track is greeted with enormous applause and cheers, each one better than the last My Eyes, Bad Seed and the incredible Respect.
Great to see Lost At 22 and I Regret from 1995’s “Ugly” live again, and of course the fan favourite Weedsfrom 1997’s “Soul Searching Sun.
The set flies by, a whirlwind of noise, and energy that has everyone present engrossed in, and before you know it, its time to wrap things up, and what better way than with a stella performance of the classic Underground again from “River Runs Red”. An incredible powerful track that has the whole place bouncing.
As they walk off huge cheers and shouts from the crowd show its been a bit hit, and the ear to ear grins show the feeling is mutual.
Setlist
River Runs Red
This Time
Method
My Eyes
Bad Seed
Respect
Lost at 22
Weeds
I Regret
Through
Underground
A short turn round and it’s time for Biohazard to hit the stage. A hardcore band formed in Brooklyn, New York City, in 1987, they were one of the earliest bands to cross over genres and fuse hardcore punk, with heavy metal and with elements of hip hop. They released their debut album, the self-titled “Biohazard” in 1995 and had released 8 albums by 2005. Somewhat like Life Of Agony, they’ve trodden a rough road over the years. Breaking up, they reformed in 2008, and they went on to release another album in 2012 with “Reborn in Defiance”.
Then followed a period of seven years of inactivity, before the classic lineup of Evan Seinfeld (vocals & bass), Billy Graziadei (vocals & guitar), Bobby Hambel (guitar) and Danny Schuler (drums) announced a reunited in 2022 and a series of shows in 2023.
Since then, Biohazard have quite clearly got the bug again, and have been loving the live experience again. We caught their high energy set at Download XXI last year were looking forward to tonight !
They launch right into the anthem-like Shades of Grey a powerhouse of a track mixing heavy beats with some incredible social commentary vocals that hit hard. Billy and Bobby on guitar are a wonder as they jump and bounce round the stage like they’re still 21 delivering incredible energy levels, which bounce right back off the crowd who are lovin’ it ! Evan on bass is delivering an iconic performance, his impressive tattoo covered physique and bandana headband create an impressive and aggressive persona, and he delivers in bucketloads with some outstanding rough vocals and deep heavy bass riffs.
The setlist is dripping with classic hits and anthems, including the likes of Urban Discipline from the 1992 album of the same name, Five Blocks to the Subway and Tales from the Hard Side, both from 1994’s “State of the World Address” saw the crowd shouting out the lyrics and punching the air in time with the beat, replicating the bands relentless energy levels.
At every opportunity Billy climbs down on to the barriers, strutting back and forth. He climbed on to the barrier at one point and once ready is let go as he stands on the hands of the crowd as he wrings out some crushing riffs from his guitar.
As the set draws to a close, we end on Punishment and Hold My Own from 1992’s “Urban Discipline”. Both are ferocious and deliver a crescendo of noise to the delight of the crowd.
The thing is, many bands reform and hit the road again. And to be honest, it feels like a nostalgia trip. Not so with Biohazard. Its absolutely clear, the guys are back doing this for one reason – they LOVE it ! And the best news from the night ? Speaking to Bobby Hambel there is a new Biohazard album coming out, later in this tour schedule.
What more could we ask for ?!
Brooklyn’s best, proved hands down…. They are just that – the best of the best. A stunning night
Setlist
Shades of Grey
Wrong Side of the Tracks
Urban Discipline
What Makes Us Tick
Five Blocks to the Subway
Tales From the Hard Side
Black and White and Red All Over
Victory
Love Denied
How It Is
We're Only Gonna Die (Bad Religion cover)
Punishment
Hold My Own
