Soul Searching Sun is the third album released by Life of Agony in 1997 through Roadrunner Records. The album was co-produced and co-mixed by Life of Agony and Phil Nicolo of the Butcher Brothers at Studio 4 Recording in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. This was the band's only recording with new drummer Dan Richardson and featured what was another stylistic change for the band, incorporating psychedelic elements into their sound and featured their first true ballad in "My Mind Is Dangerous".

Soul Searching Sun
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 9, 1997
RecordedStudio 4 Recordings, Conshohocken, PA
Genre
Length53:08
LabelRoadrunner
ProducerPhil Nicolo and Life of Agony
Life of Agony chronology
Ugly
(1995)
Soul Searching Sun
(1997)
Broken Valley
(2005)
Singles from Soul Searching Sun
  1. "Weeds"
    Released: 1997[1]
  2. "Desire"
    Released: 1997
  3. "Tangerine"
    Released: 1998
  4. "My Mind is Dangerous"
    Released: 1998
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic link
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal5/10[2]

Upon release in North America, the album was issued with three hidden tracks: "River Runs Red" (Re-Zamped) which was a re-recording of one of the band's most enduring songs from their debut album of the same name, "Let's Pretend (Trippin')" which was a psychedelic styled remake of a song off of their second album Ugly, and "Weeds (Unplugged)" which was an alternate, acoustic version of the album's first single. These bonus tracks were not listed on the packaging or in the album's liner notes. Shortly after the initial release of the album, Roadrunner Records released a digipak reissue of the album in Europe, which included the first two bonus tracks from the North American limited edition along with "Tangerine (Re-Zep)", a Led Zeppelin cover song, which featured, fellow NYC band, Anthrax's Charile Benante on 6-string acoustic guitar and 12-string acoustic guitar. All four of these bonus tracks were recorded separately from the proper album, in June 1997 at Andy Kravitz's "The Amazing Barn" in Conshohocken, with Kravitz co-producing and co-mixing. A fifth track, another re-recording entitled "How It Would Be '97", was also recorded at these sessions and was released as a b-side on the "Weeds" slimline CD single.[3] Shortly after the album's release, lead singer Mina Caputo would leave the band to launch a solo career, citing her heart no longer being into the music. Life Of Agony recruited former Ugly Kid Joe singer Whitfield Crane to step in to fulfill touring obligations in support of "Soul Searching Sun". However the band disbanded shortly thereafter. Life Of Agony's original lineup would reunite for the first time in 2003 to perform two sold out shows at NYC's Irving Plaza. Several tracks from "Soul Searching Sun" including "My Mind Is Dangerous" were performed at these shows.[4]

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Hope"Alan Robert4:03
2."Weeds"Robert4:07
3."Gently Sentimental"Robert, Mina Caputo3:20
4."Tangerine"Robert, Caputo4:09
5."My Mind Is Dangerous"Caputo4:05
6."Neg"Caputo3:47
7."Lead You Astray"Robert3:59
8."Heroin Dreams"Caputo5:45
9."None"Robert, Caputo3:44
10."Angry Tree"Caputo3:57
11."Hemophiliac in Me"Caputo3:37
12."Desire"Robert3:12
13."Whispers"Robert5:15
Total length:53:08
European Digipak Edition Bonus Tracks[5]
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
14."River Runs Red (Re-Zamped)"Robert 3:28
15."Let's Pretend (Trippin')"Caputo 4:39
16."Tangerine (Re-Zep)"Jimmy PageJimmy Page3:28
Total length:1:04:43
American Limited Edition Hidden (unlisted) Bonus Tracks[6]
No.TitleLyricsLength
14."River Runs Red (Re-Zamped)"Robert3:16
15."Let's Pretend (Trippin')"Caputo4:42
16."Weeds" (Unplugged)Robert4:36
Total length:1:05:42

Personnel

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Life of Agony

Additional musicians

Technical personnel

References

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  1. ^ "Weeds" (single). Life of Agony. Roadrunner Records. 1997. RR PROMO 291.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. ^ Popoff, Martin (2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 244. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
  3. ^ Weeds" (single). Life of Agony. Roadrunner Records. 1997. RR PROMO 291. Soul Searching Sun, catalog number RR.8816-5, barcode 016861881658 Soul Searching Sun, catalog number RR.8816-2, barcode 016861881627
  4. ^ Weeds" (single). Life of Agony. Roadrunner Records. 1997. RR PROMO 291. Soul Searching Sun, catalog number RR.8816-5, barcode 016861881658 Soul Searching Sun, catalog number RR.8816-2, barcode 016861881627
  5. ^ Soul Searching Sun, catalog number RR.8816-5, barcode 016861881658
  6. ^ Soul Searching Sun, catalog number RR.8816-2, barcode 016861881627