An exciting evening was planned as two classic New York Hardcore bands that helped create and establish the genre were in town to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Life of Agony‘s classic 1993 album “River Runs Red.” As a reviewer, this was a strange evening; the band I was most familiar with was our opening local band. I had heard Sick Of It All and Life of Agony previously, but I was not intimately familiar with their music. I was excited to see how these classic and legendary bands would fit in today’s modern hardcore scene.
To open this old-school evening of moshing and mayhem, local favourites Deadbolt were selected to warm up the crowd. They were also celebrating their 1-year anniversary as a band, so it fit the theme of the evening perfectly. They took the stage, and the gathered crowd of MTLHC faithful welcomed them with a wave of cheers. Deadbolt played a short and powerful set as vocalist Jay screamed out her vocals over the thunderous mosh riffs and wild guitar solos. They mainly played material from their 2022 Demo that is available for free (but you should pay for it) on Bandcamp. If you have not checked out Deadbolt yet, you better do so. They are currently one of the pillars of our bustling local hardcore scene.
Classic NYHC band Sick Of It All took the stage by storm, their energy and excitement to play Montreal after such a long time was obvious. Guitarist Pete Keller was a whirlwind on stage, jumping and spinning around to entertain the crowd as vocalist Lou belted out their classic anthemic lyrics. They have a very classic hardcore sound which the older fans enjoyed, but the younger crowd was not as enthused by this more punk-influenced classic hardcore. They played a setlist spanning their whole career and included fan favourites such as Scratch the Surface, Step Down, It’s Clobberin Time. Sick of it all gave an energetic performance and poured their heart out on stage.
The excitement was palpable in the room as the passionate fans of Life of Agony were ready to start celebrating their classic album River Runs Red with the band. From the moment the band took the stage, the energy in the room was electric. Frontwoman Mina Caputo commanded the audience’s attention with her powerful and unique voice. The crowd grew wild and sang along to every word and climbed on stage to dive in the crowd.
Despite their classic album being 30 years old (older than some of the people in the crowd), it still sounds so modern, fresh, and unique. The live versions of these songs were fantastic, even better than the old recordings. I don’t remember Life of Agony sounding so heavy and I was blown away by their sound. The heavy breakdowns pleased the crowd as they danced, moshed and pushed each other in the pit.
Life of Agony delivered a phenomenal performance celebrating their classic album and breathing new life into it with their live performance. The band’s passion and energy were contagious, and they proved that despite all these years, they still have a place in the modern hardcore scene. I came out of the show excited to revisit this classic album and I have become a fan of this classic NYHC band.
Review – Jason Maher
Photos – Ema Riot
