Soul Searching Sun

Soul Searching Sun

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
At one time, Life of Agony was a bleak, Goth metal band comparable to Type O Negative, but the only thing headbangers will find agonizing about Life of Agony is having to sit through the band's Soul Searching Sun. While the bandmembers still have a penchant for beefy guitars and surging wah-wah solos, it sounds like they've been listening to way too many Pearl Jam records lately. Gone is the hostility and grim claustrophobia of their earlier days, replaced with artificial vulnerability and trite melodies from the Grunge 101 textbook. Top it off with obligatory song titles like "Heroin Dreams" and "Angry Tree," and you're left with a disappointing, uninspired effort. --Jon Wiederhorn

Soul Searching Sun,Life of Agony,Roadrunner Records,Alternative Metal,Heavy Metal,Pop,Post-Grunge,Rock

Average customer rating:

Hey Gloria

AMAZON REVIEWER SHOULD GO BACK TO LISTENING TO BLINK-182!

Response to "Hey Gloria" from "A Kid's Review"

Not as bad as its made out to be

Actually 1/2 Star

Soul Searching Sun
Life of Agony
Manufacturer: Roadrunner
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Alternative Metal | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
Post Grunge | American Alternative | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
Metal | Hard Rock & Metal | Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Ugly

River Runs Red

Broken Valley

1989-1999

Unplugged at the Lowlands Festival 1997

ASIN: B000024U2H
Release Date: 2000-06-23

Tracks:

Hope
Weeds
Gently Sentimental
Tangerine
My Mind Is Dangerous
Neg
Led You Astray
Heroin Dreams
None
Angry Tree
Hemophiliac in Me
Desire
Whispers
River Runs Red
Let's Pretend
Tangerine

Amazon.com

At one time, Life of Agony was a bleak, Goth metal band comparable to Type O Negative, but the only thing headbangers will find agonizing about Life of Agony is having to sit through the band's Soul Searching Sun. While the bandmembers still have a penchant for beefy guitars and surging wah-wah solos, it sounds like they've been listening to way too many Pearl Jam records lately. Gone is the hostility and grim claustrophobia of their earlier days, replaced with artificial vulnerability and trite melodies from the Grunge 101 textbook. Top it off with obligatory song titles like "Heroin Dreams" and "Angry Tree," and you're left with a disappointing, uninspired effort. --Jon Wiederhorn

Customer Reviews:

Hey Gloria.......2006-07-07

This is that said kid from the earlier review. I don't care that Type O and LOA have connections, I just cannot stand Type O in any way shape or form.

I looked at your profile and see that you are praising christianity and christian metal. I won't bother assailing you since it seems you do a good enough job embarrassing yourself.

Go worship Jesus, loser

AMAZON REVIEWER SHOULD GO BACK TO LISTENING TO BLINK-182!.......2006-04-27

So you throw around words like "artificial" , "trite" and "uninspired" and, wow, automatically, you're a Reviewer (that's WITH a capital R - as in, for Retard, but that's an insult to the retarded...)
Emotional - that's how I'd categorize Life Of Agony. Heartfelt and honest, hurtful and haunting. Their music and songwriting are a revelation. Either you get it, or you don't. Their greatest strength, at least to me, was how they reinvented themselves with each album, refusing to regurgitate themselves into a formula. In this respect, they're like Suicidal Tendencies. Refusing steadfastly to cowtow to industry expectations, they took their loyal fans on a ride (never "for a ride") through uncharted territory and those who "got it" were forever grateful and blessed.
Soul Searching Sun is among their finest achievements, proving LOA to be a mature and sublime force to be reckoned with. Anyone who thinks that this album is "commercial" are missing out on something. This album is like a great painting, incorporating both broad strokes and smaller, subtle strokes to create a true masterpiece of genuine artistry.
To those of you who "get it" , you know what I mean.
To those who don't, and choose to merely brush off LOA with flippant, smug and faux intellectual posturing, well, I truly am sorry for your loss. You're missing something in your soul.
And, to make my point a little clearer, I consider all of LOA's albums -from River Runs Red to Broken Valley- to be all 5 star efforts.

Response to "Hey Gloria" from "A Kid's Review".......2006-01-07

First of all, if you'll notice I didn't attack you. I just disagreed with you, that's all. You on the other hand felt the need to call me a loser for simply having a difference of opinion. Yes, I said you were an idiot and I'm sorry, but I had a good reason. Think about it...what I'm getting at is that Life of Agony's sound has been heavily influenced by Type O's sound. So to be a huge LOA fan and hate TON seems kind of odd to me when TON's keyboardist and producer also produced several LOA albums. Also, as stated earlier, my name is not Gloria, it's Paul. This is my mom's account. So to say "Hey Gloria" shows me that maybe I was justified in calling you an idiot. I apologize for the name calling, especially online. That's not my style. And yes, I like some Christian music. So freaking what!!! Music is music and if it's good, it's good. My tastes are extremely varied and I pretty much like a little bit of everything. I don't stick to one type of genre. And for people who are Christians but want heavy music. I was just giving a review that they might be interested in, since I discovered that Christian metal band from an ad in a metal magazine. I'm sorry if I offended you, but what else am I supposed to think? I'm a huge fan of both LOA and TON myself and am proud to see have seen them both live on several occasions. They put on some great shows. Take it easy. No hard feelings. Later.

Not as bad as its made out to be.......2005-07-29

First of all, the Amazon reviewer is an idiot. LOA where never a "Gothic metal band comparable to Type O Negative(whom I hate)". There has never been anything remotely gothic about these guys. When they started they where originally part of the NYC hardcore scene. Their first album, River Runs Red is a masterpiece which was tapping from the same sources as Northwest bands like Soundgarden and Alice in Chains where at the time. LOA where never copying grunge. Heavy riffs and anguished lyrics contrasting with beautiful melodies and traditional songwriting has always been a part of their sound.

Soul Searching Sun is much better than Ugly and showcases some of the band's best ballads such as My Mind is Dangerous. Highly recommended

Actually 1/2 Star.......2005-06-17

This album is awful. This was LOA's most blatant attempt at commercialism, but it does not work whatsoever. By this time in their career, Keith was disinterested and distraught and you heard it in his lack of effort. The album is jumbled with different styles generally not done well. Aside from the excellent Lead You Astray, this album is a poor attempt at too many styles of music.