The Agony Scene - Tormentor (2018) [Hi-Res]

The Agony Scene hail from Tulsa, OK, where they formed at the start of the new millennium, broke up, made up, and eventually recorded a self-titled debut album, released by independent Solid State Records, in 2003. At this time, the band consisted of vocalist Michael Williams, guitarists Christopher Emmons and Johnny Lloyd, bassist Matthew Shannon, and drummer Brent Masters, and even though said album contained relatively run-of-the-mill metallic deathcore, the quintet still managed to score a deal with heavy metal powerhouse Roadrunner Records for its sophomore effort, The Darkest Red. Released in May 2005, following Lloyd and Shannon's departure and replacement by Steven Kaye (guitar) and Brian Hodges (bass), this album showed little creative growth over its predecessor, and met with only slightly less public indifference, despite the Agony Scene's high-profile tours in support of Danzig and Lamb of God later that year. Sure enough, the under-performing group was soon dropped by Roadrunner, but eventually resurfaced in 2007 (after welcoming new bassist Chris Rye and drummer Ryan Folden, plus Brian Hodges' move to second guitar) with a new album, Get Damned, released by Century Media. On a final note, the Agony Scene have always insisted that they are not in fact a Christian band, regardless of name and lyrics that suggest exactly this. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia