''The Sound of Scars'' is the sixth studio album by American

alternative metal Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With r ...

band

Life of Agony Life of Agony is an American alternative metal band from Brooklyn, New York City, formed in 1989 by singer Mina Caputo (then known as Keith Caputo), bassist Alan Robert and guitarist Joey Z. The band has released six studio albums to date, most ...

. It was released on October 11, 2019, through

Napalm Records Napalm Records is an Austrian independent record label focused on heavy metal and hard rock. Originally, Napalm focused on black metal bands, such as Abigor and Summoning, and folk metal bands, such as Falkenbach and Vintersorg. The label later ...

and is the band's first release with drummer Veronica Bellino. ''The Sound of Scars'' is a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

dealing with issues related to trauma recovery and healing. It is a sequel to the story told on the band's debut album, ''

River Runs Red ''River Runs Red'' is the debut studio album by American alternative metal band Life of Agony, released on October 12, 1993 by Roadrunner Records. It is a concept album, telling the story of a teenager, from a troubled household, who ultimately ...

''.

Releases

On November 29, 2009, a special, red/black splatter vinyl edition of ''The Sound of Scars'' was released. This

Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...

"Black Friday" release was limited to 500 pieces worldwide and featured exclusive, alternate cover artwork by bassist Alan Robert.

Documentary

A documentary film, also titled ''The Sound of Scars'', was released April 16, 2021. The film was directed by Leigh Brooks and includes interviews with the band members and their families. The film also includes archival footage, photographs, lost interviews, and goes over various points of the band's history, particularly

Mina Caputo Mina Caputo (born Keith Caputo; December 4, 1973) is an American singer best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of New York City alternative metal band Life of Agony. Caputo came out as transgender in 2011 and transitioned to fem ...

's gender transition.

Track listing

Reception

''The Sound of Scars'' has received positive critical reviews since its release. Dom Lawson of

Blabbermouth.net Blabbermouth.net is a website dedicated to heavy metal and hard rock news, as well as album and music DVD reviews. Blabbermouth.net was founded and is run by Borivoj Krgin. The first version of the website was launched in March 2001; in October ...

praised Caputo's vocals, saying "Caputo sings every last word as if teetering on the edge of desperation, a remorseless blaze of passion and charisma that carries these songs far beyond their initial potential." Lawson also praised the band's musicianship and said the album "is a welcome display of class and power from some perennially unsung champions." Jon Hadusek of ''

Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook ...

'' praised the album's story line, Caputo's vocals, and mixing of genres, but said the more straightforward hardcore parts were the album's weakest moments. Hadusek said the album is a worthy successor to ''River Runs Red''.

Personnel

;Life of Agony *

– lead vocals *Joey Z – guitar, backing vocals, engineer, producer *

Alan Robert Alan Robert (born 1971) is an American musician and comic book creator, known as the bassist for the alternative metal band Life of Agony, his work on his graphic novels ''Wire Hangers'', '' Crawl to Me'' and ''Killogy'', as well as his horror-t ...

– bass, backing vocals, creative director *Veronica Bellino – drums ;Additional musicians *Morgan O. Shaughnessey – strings ;Production *

Sylvia Massy Sylvia Lenore Massy is an American record producer, mixer, engineer, instructor and author. Massy is renowned for her multifaceted production/mixing and engineering skills, with her first major breakthrough occurring with 1993's '' Undertow'', th ...

– mixing, producer *

Howie Weinberg Howie Weinberg is an American audio mastering engineer with over 2,257 mastering credits, three TEC Awards, 21 Grammy Awards, two Juno Awards, and one Mercury Prize. Career Weinberg mastered Herbie Hancock's 1983 album ''Future Shock''. Other m ...

– mastering *Gino Depinto – photography ;Voices *Toni Caputo *Nelson Faro Decastro *Giana Goldstein *Brian Hyland *Elias Mansourati *Kyle Nichols *Dori Ann Scagnelli *Frank Sileo *Christine Zagami *Mia Zampella *Sofia Zampella

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sound of Scars 2019 albums Life of Agony albums Napalm Records albums Concept albums