58-579: 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 attempts suicide. The album features what Rolling Stone called "bleak odes to misanthropy , parental neglect , regret and killing yourself ". All music and arrangements are credited to Life of Agony collectively. All lyrics, melodies and musical concepts are credited to bassist Alan Robert. Robert also conceptualized
116-520: A Down , Linkin Park , Slipknot , Deftones and Staind . After the mid-2000s, nu metal's popularity began to decline, with many nu metal bands moving on to other genres. The genre is generally considered a fusion between alternative rock and heavy metal , although AllMusic states "alt-metal is a far-reaching term that has been used to describe everyone from Hammerlock to Neurosis to Ministry to Limp Bizkit ". They also remarked that alternative metal
174-504: A leading band in the alternative metal genre with the release of their 1993 debut album Undertow ; Tool's popularity in the mid-'90s helped kick off an era of bands with alt-metal tendencies also classified in other genres like industrial (Nine Inch Nails) and rap rock (Rage Against the Machine). Spin stated in August 1998 that "It was Helmet that spawned the idea of alternative metal with
232-537: A relic. But the brief, nebulous era of alternative metal in the late 80s and early 90s remains a snapshot of a vibrant time when a brash new generation of heavy-leaning bands threw everything against the wall to see what stuck." WSOU WSOU (89.5 FM ) is a non-commercial, student-run college radio station . The station broadcasts from the campus of Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey . WSOU began broadcasting on 89.5 FM on April 14, 1948, under
290-470: A touch of spooky grunge vaguely reminiscent of Alice in Chains . Anderson said "This Time" and "Underground" were the album's grungiest tracks, while "Method of Groove" was "reckless hardcore". River Runs Red is a concept album that focuses on suicide, while also exploring themes of abuse , alcoholism , and abandonment . The lyrics of the musical tracks on "River Runs Red" do not directly correlate with
348-445: A voicemail in which his girlfriend breaks up with him. The next musical song is the title track, "River Runs Red" which include lyrics about contemplating suicide, "I got the razor at my wrist". On "Thursday" the main character enters his home and is once again berated by his mother. The track ends with him being fired from his job and being notified that he is failing two classes and won't be able to graduate high school. Two tracks later,
406-484: Is "ironic, given alternative metal's vehement rejection of hair metal's attitude." Some nu metal bands managed to push musical boundaries while still remaining commercially viable, such as Mudvayne (who combined progressive elements) and Deftones , who have incorporated post-hardcore and dream pop influences. Korn's 1998 album Follow the Leader and 1999 album Issues sold 3.6 million and 3.2 million copies in
464-420: Is a genre of heavy metal music that combines heavy metal with influences from alternative rock and other genres not normally associated with metal. Alternative metal bands are often characterized by heavily downtuned , mid-paced guitar riffs , a mixture of accessible melodic vocals and harsh vocals and sometimes sounds that are unconventional within other heavy metal styles. The term has been in use since
522-484: The Dynamo Open Air Festival in 1995. The extended liner notes included an exclusive new interview with the band and producer/mixer, Josh Silver , on the making of the album. River Runs Red – The Top Shelf Edition remains the only CD release to feature the original album in remastered form. On October 7, 2009, it was announced that the band would perform the album in its entirety, for the first time ever, at
580-570: The Meadowlands Racetrack studio, as heard during their station identification messages. In 2021 DJ Valentino Petrarca made history by being the first staff member to interview 100 artists. When he left WSOU in 2022 he had ended with 136. WSOU has earned many honors and numerous awards over the years, including: WSOU has been a crucial part of the Seton Hall University community since its inception. In its current format, all of
638-647: The Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, New Jersey, on November 28, 2009. This would become the first date of a US tour, followed by a European tour on which the band would perform the complete album, top to bottom, at every show. The performance at the Ancienne Belgique in Brussels, Belgium on April 3, 2010, was filmed and recorded for a CD/DVD package entitled "20 Years Strong – River Runs Red: Live in Brussels", which
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#1732859236110696-674: The punk crutch of 1992's Meantime [and] bands such as Rage Against the Machine took the concept a crucial step further, integrating hip hop to connect with skate rat kids raised on Metallica and Run D.M.C. " Many established 1980s metal bands released albums in the 1990s that were described as alternative metal, including Anthrax , Metallica and Mötley Crüe . Bands like Life of Agony combined alternative metal with hardcore punk influences. Life of Agony's debut album River Runs Red combined alternative metal with influences of hardcore punk, with lyrics about depression and suicide. In
754-449: The "100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone noted that the tracks are "sung passionately in a unique baritone" and that they are set to "a pastiche of gloom metal and hardcore punk ". The magazine also said that the band used "interpolated, hip-hop-style theatrical skits" to tell the story of a man driven to suicide. Jason Anderson of AllMusic described the album as a "unique combination of New York hardcore , metal, and
812-401: The 1980s with bands like Faith No More , Living Colour , Soundgarden , and Jane's Addiction . The genre achieved success in the 1990s with the popularity of bands like Helmet , Tool , and Alice in Chains . In the late 1990s and early 2000s, nu metal achieved mainstream popularity with the mainstream success of bands like Korn , Limp Bizkit , P.O.D. , Papa Roach , Disturbed , System of
870-468: The 1980s, although it came into prominence in the 1990s. Other genres considered part of the alternative metal movement included rap metal and funk metal , both of which influenced another prominent subgenre, nu metal . Nu metal expands the alternative metal sound, combining its vocal stylings and downtuned riffs with elements of other genres, such as hip hop , funk , thrash metal , hardcore punk and industrial metal . Alternative metal began in
928-1048: The Jesus Lizard , Today Is the Day ), Seattle 's grunge scene ( Alice in Chains , Soundgarden ), stoner rock ( Clutch , Kyuss ), sludge metal ( Fudge Tunnel , Melvins ), gothic metal ( Type O Negative ), groove metal ( Pantera , White Zombie ) and industrial ( Godflesh , Nine Inch Nails , Ministry ). These bands never formed a distinct movement or scene; rather they were bound by their incorporation of traditional metal influences and openness to experimentation. Jane's Addiction borrowed from art rock and progressive rock , Quicksand blended post-hardcore and Living Colour injected funk into their sound, for example, while Primus were influenced by progressive rock, thrash metal and funk and Faith No More mixed progressive rock, R&B , funk and hip hop . Fudge Tunnel 's style of alternative metal included influences from both sludge metal and noise rock. The origins of
986-626: The United States, respectively, and the band's 2002 album Untouchables sold 1.4 million. Korn's eponymous debut (1994) and second album Life is Peachy (1996) sold 2.1 million and 1.8 million copies, respectively. Limp Bizkit's Significant Other (1999) and Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water (2000) sold over seven million and six million, respectively. Korn and Limp Bizkit were frequently featured on MTV , often hitting number 1 and having multiple retired videos on
1044-512: The aforementioned, "Plexiglass Gate", were taken from River Runs Red pre-production/writing sessions in August 1992. The bonus tracks were remixed in September 1999 by Alan Robert and Michael Marciano at Systems Two recording studios in Brooklyn , New York. Additionally, the set included a DVD featuring the music videos for "Through and Through" and "This Time", as well as two live performances from
1102-548: The album's cover art and designed the band's logo. The album was produced and mixed by Josh Silver (ex-producer/keyboardist of Type O Negative ) at Systems Two in Brooklyn , New York, and was mastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound, New York. River Runs Red was dedicated to Carl DeStefano. In May 2005, River Runs Red became the fourth album overall to be inducted into the Decibel Hall of Fame. In June 2017, Rolling Stone named River Runs Red number 58 on its list of
1160-517: The annual University Day homecoming weekend. The following Mission Statement concerning the nature of WSOU is taken from the WSOU-FM Task Force (August 1988): The Mission of WSOU-FM is: To provide students with an educational experience in a co-curricular activity which is both pedagogically sound and professionally realistic; To foster the image of Seton Hall University as a principled institution of higher education committed to teaching in
1218-450: The arty meanderings of Sabbath and Zeppelin themselves would be considered alternative metal." Houston Press has described the genre as being a "compromise for people for whom Nirvana was not heavy enough but Metallica was too heavy." The first wave of alternative metal bands emerged from many backgrounds, including hardcore punk ( Bad Brains , Rollins Band , Life of Agony , Corrosion of Conformity ), noise rock ( Helmet ,
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#17328592361101276-883: The band to a larger audience just prior to the release of River Runs Red . On April 29, 2008, Roadrunner Records issued a limited, two-disc CD/DVD titled River Runs Red – The Top Shelf Edition . This quad-fold, slipcase digipak featured a CD containing the original album remastered for the first time since its initial release over 15 years earlier. Ted Jensen remastered the album at Sterling Sound , New York City in June 2006. The remastered CD also included four previously released bonus tracks. The first two bonus tracks, "Here I Am, Here I Stay" and "Depression", were recorded in May 1991 and originally appeared on Life of Agony's fourth demo, The Stain Remains . The remaining two bonus tracks, "3 Companions" and
1334-551: The bathroom and screams in horror at what she sees. The album ends with the mother's screams fading as the sound of his blood dripping into water increases. In 1994, Roadrunner Records re-issued River Runs Red in a limited, 3-fold digipak. In addition to the standard album, this release included four bonus live tracks recorded at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park , New Jersey, on February 25, 1994. Three of these tracks are live renditions of songs featured on River Runs Red . However,
1392-443: The blind and a Haitian radio service starting in 1991 until he was fired by Seton Hall University in 2004 after the university conducted an audit of WSOU's finances. On July 12, 2006, Collazo pleaded guilty to embezzlement, with prosecutors seeking a five-year jail sentence. In 2021, members of a group calling themselves "Shut Down WSOU" began protesting outside Seton Hall University, claiming WSOU to be "Satanic" and demanding that
1450-436: The chance to share their thoughts about the game and/or the team. The show, which is hosted by student on-air talent, either in-studio or at the site of the game, has been on the air since the 1960s. Along with Hall Line , WSOU also offers two Sunday evening sports talk shows hosted by students, Empire Sports Talk (pro sports talk) and Pirate Primetime (Seton Hall athletics talk). On July 1, 2009, WSOU launched WSOU HD2,
1508-460: The direction of Monsignor Thomas J. Gillhooly, the station's first faculty director. It was the first college-owned FM station in New Jersey and one of the first FM stations in the United States. Given the assignment by then-Seton Hall University president Monsignor James Kelly to create a radio station, Monsignor Gillhooly got WSOU up and running in just three months and provided a steady hand during
1566-477: The earliest alternative metal acts, with all three of these bands emerging around the same time, and setting the template for the genre by mixing heavy metal music with a variety of different genres in the mid to late 1980s. During the 1980s, alternative metal appealed mainly to alternative rock fans, since virtually all 1980s alt-metal bands had their roots in the American independent rock scene. Living Colour
1624-494: The genre can be traced back to funk rock music of the early to mid-1980s, when alternative bands like Fishbone , Faith No More and the Red Hot Chili Peppers started mixing heavy metal with funk , creating the alternative metal subgenre funk metal . Other early bands in the genre also came from hardcore punk backgrounds. Bands such as Faith No More, Jane's Addiction and Soundgarden are recognized as some of
1682-462: The latter part of the 1990s, a second, more aggressive wave of alternative metal emerged; dubbed nu metal , it often relied on hardcore punk , groove / thrash metal , industrial and hip hop influences, as opposed to the influences of the first wave of alternative metal bands, with this style subsequently becoming more popular than regular alternative metal. It resulted in a more standardized sound among alternative metal bands, in contrast to
1740-476: The listener learns that the young man from River Runs Red has survived his suicide attempt. The story then jumps 26 years forward, with the man now married and attempting to cope with the "scars" of his past. Since its release, The Sound Of Scars has received a positive critical response. Dom Lawson of Blabbermouth.net said the sequel was "a welcome display of class and power from some perennially unsung champions." Jon Hadusek of Consequence of Sound praised
1798-430: The more eccentric and unclassifiable early alternative metal bands. Korn , a band formed in 1993, released their self-titled debut the following year, which is widely considered to be the first nu metal release. MTV stated that Korn "arrived in 1993 into the burgeoning alternative metal scene, which would morph into nü-metal the way college rock became alternative rock." Stereogum similarly claimed that nu metal
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1856-514: The move to stereo technology in the 1970s, the start of online streaming in the mid-1990s (among the first NJ stations to do so), and the move to digital HD radio technology in 2008. In the 2000s, WSOU underwent amendments to its music format. At the request of university officials citing the Catholic mission of Seton Hall, certain bands were eliminated from regular rotation, while others were relegated to overnight airplay only. The most notable band that
1914-629: The nu metal genre such as Helmet have also tried to distance themselves from the movement. In 2004, nu metal's popularity was declining, with bands like Korn, Limp Bizkit and P.O.D. having a decline in album sales. Instead, post-grunge bands like Nickelback were selling the most records and being promoted the most on radio. Additionally, many nu metal bands began to move away from the nu metal genre and moved on to other genres. In 2016, Jason Heller of Vice wrote "The term alternative metal still pops up from time to time, but it’s no more relevant or meaningful today than alternative rock. Instead, it’s
1972-639: The nu metal movement, such as Korn and Deftones , who have been described as having " bipolar vocals". Jonathan Gold of the Los Angeles Times wrote in 1990 "Just as rock has an alternative, [left] wing-bands like the Replacements and Dinosaur Jr. -so does metal. Alternative metal is alternative music that rocks. And alternative metal these days can reach 10 times the audience of other alternative rock. Jane's Addiction plays an intense brand of '70s-influenced arty metal; so does Soundgarden . In fact,
2030-463: The popular MTV show Total Request Live , competing on the show with boy bands like N'Sync and Backstreet Boys . Papa Roach 's album Infest (2000) went triple platinum and was supported by the hit single " Last Resort ". Bands like P.O.D. and Linkin Park also had widespread popularity. Joel McIver believes that the band Tool is important to the development of this genre; he wrote in his book Unleashed: The Story of Tool , "By 1996 and '97
2088-406: The real world; and To provide the university and the immediate community of northern New Jersey's metropolitan area with public service in broadcasting that meets the public's interests, convenience and needs. Since WSOU's inception, station management has frequently clashed with Seton Hall University's president and board of trustees over its heavy metal programming. Monsignor Robert Sheeran, who
2146-407: The song "My Eyes", includes lyrics about giving up on life completely, "Just give me one good reason to live, I'll give you three to die". The album closes with the track "Friday". The main character comes home and endures the worst insults yet from his mother. She then instigates a fight with the father, who engages her in a screaming match. As the teen heads upstairs, the parents continue to argue and
2204-417: The sound of plates shattering is heard in the distance. The main character locks himself in the bathroom and breaks the fourth wall by turning on a radio that begins playing River Runs Red . The mother yells at the teenager through the door as he begins running bath water. The young man's breath becomes shaky as he slits his wrist. The sound of blood can be heard dripping into the water. The mother breaks into
2262-546: The station be shut down. In response, a Seton Hall University spokesperson stated that "WSOU's advisory board comprised of WSOU students and alumni along with Seton Hall University clergy and administrators, meets regularly to review the station's content and operating policies and standards." The station currently broadcasts a modern active rock format, featuring heavy metal , punk , emo , hardcore and post-hardcore as well as other types of rock-based music. Student disc jockeys play music from this regular rotation during
2320-800: The station stays live on the air 24/7, 365 days a year. Since its inception, WSOU has always been a student-run radio station and, to this day, Seton Hall University owns the station's FM license. Although a noncommercial station, WSOU's management and staff structure is modeled on commercial radio, which provides students with enriching career-oriented educational experiences. Opportunities for student staff members include on-air hosting (DJing), production, promotions, newscasting, sportscasting, programming, sales and marketing, and engineering. WSOU draws students from all university colleges and programs, including communications, business, biology, education, nursing, sports management and diplomacy. The WSOU student staff also participate with many university events, such as
2378-542: The station was moved to a state-of-the-art facility inside a new addition to the recreation center. It operates there to this day, complete with three recording studios, a newsroom, the main on-air studio, the James Malespina Master Control Room, offices for student and station management, a classroom and the Dino and Diane Tortu Student Lounge. Due to a sponsorship arrangement, WSOU has renamed their studios
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2436-409: The station's DJs, newscasters, sportscasters and engineers are enrolled students at the university (with the exception of weekend community programmers, many of which are Seton Hall alumni). Additionally, students are elected to one-year management terms to head the station – specifically the programming, music, promotions, news and sports departments. Through the students and the community programmers,
2494-465: The station's early days. Assisting Monsignor Gillhooly in building WSOU was the station's longtime chief engineer Tom Parnham, who helped construct the station and then remained with WSOU. Parnham worked at WSOU from 1948 until his death in 1994. WSOU began taking the shape of its current format in 1969, the first year it began to air rock and roll music. It embraced a hard rock and metal format starting on September 4, 1986. Other station milestones include
2552-416: The station's heavy metal programming continue. Catholic programming was later made available on WSOU's HD-2 sub-digital channel. On June 1, 2006, Michael Collazo, a Seton Hall University professor and faculty advisor at WSOU, was arrested and charged with money laundering and embezzlement of over half a million dollars from illegal leasing of the station's subcarrier to EIES of New Jersey, an audio service for
2610-400: The story but do touch on personal issues facing various band members and at the same time they provide a feel in-line with the story being told in the theatrical tracks. For example, the album's first theatrical track, "Monday", establishes that the main character's mother (possibly step-mother) is verbally abusive and neglects her infant child. The track ends with the main character listening to
2668-470: The storyline and called the album, "a worthy successor to River Runs Red ." In 2017, Rolling Stone named River Runs Red the 58th-greatest metal album of all time. In May 2005, River Runs Red was inducted into the Decibel Magazine Hall of Fame, being the fourth album overall to be featured there. Jason Anderson of AllMusic gave River Runs Red a highly positive review, saying the album
2726-413: The studio version of "Plexi Intro" is not found on the album. The original version, entitled "Plexiglass Gate", was recorded during pre-production of River Runs Red in August 1992. The track was later released on the 1993 compilation album, East Coast Assault released by Too Damn Hype Records. The song received significant airplay on popular, NYC area, college radio station, WSOU , which helped introduce
2784-444: The vast majority of the week – with the exception of specialty shows and community programming (see below). WSOU's sports department broadcasts all home and away games for both men's and women's basketball, the school's flagship sports. Also aired throughout the year are select games for men's and women's soccer, baseball and softball. Following each men's basketball game is Hall Line , a post game call-in show that allows Pirate fans
2842-426: The wave of alternative metal spearheaded by Tool in the wake of grunge was beginning to evolve into nu-metal". However, Tool's vocalist Maynard James Keenan was quick to separate himself from this movement saying "I'm sick of that whole attitude. The one that puts Tool in with [nu] metal bands. The press... can't seem to distinguish between alternative and metal." Other alternative metal bands considered influential to
2900-459: The whole metal thing by accident, we always hated it when people mentioned metal in conjunction with us." Helmet's Meantime (1992) album became one of the most influential heavy metal albums of the 1990s. Saby Reyes-Kulkarni of Pitchfork Media stated "bands like Faith No More, Soundgarden, Primus , Helmet, the Rollins Band , and dozens more were initially marketed as quasi-metal acts. This
2958-539: Was "passionate, serious, and heavy" and that it was "one of the early '90s' better metal debuts." However, Anderson said Caputo's vocals were underdeveloped, but also said the delivery was unique and passionate. In 2013, the vinyl edition of the album peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Vinyl Albums chart. All lyrics are written by Alan Robert ; all music is composed by Life of Agony Alternative metal Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal )
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#17328592361103016-469: Was a "weird outgrowth of the Lollapalooza-era alt-metal scene". During the late 1990s and early 2000s, nu metal was prevalent in the mainstream, with bands such as Korn , Limp Bizkit , Linkin Park , Slipknot and Staind all attaining success. AllMusic has compared nu and alternative metal's commercial success during this period to the rise of the glam metal phenomenon in the 1980s, stating that it
3074-442: Was another alternative metal band that combined the genre with funk metal. The emergence of grunge as a popular style of rock music in the early 1990s helped make alternative metal more acceptable to a mainstream audience, with alternative metal soon becoming the most popular metal style of the 1990s. Several bands associated with the genre denied their status as metal bands. Helmet drummer John Stanier said "We fell into
3132-555: Was at the time president of Seton Hall, felt it was inappropriate for a Roman Catholic educational and religious institution to air programming counter to the Roman Catholic belief. Sheeran and the university's board of trustees made veiled threats to shut the station down and sell the FCC license if programming was not more aligned to the Catholic faith. The university, realizing the large listener and community support, backed down and let
3190-459: Was eliminated from rotation was heavy metal act Slayer . It is estimated that over 120,000 people listen to the station each week. Its 2,400-watt signal from the Seton Hall campus reaches all five boroughs of New York City and much of northern and central New Jersey. WSOU's studios were originally located first floor of the university's recreation center, part of its South Orange campus. In 1998,
3248-497: Was only possible in a climate where record labels, journalists, and college radio DJs understood that the metal audience could embrace new, albeit arty variations on the form." The alternative music festival Lollapalooza conceived by Jane's Addiction singer Perry Farrell , helped bands associated with the movement such as Tool , Rage Against the Machine , Primus , Nine Inch Nails , Soundgarden , and Alice in Chains gain exposure. The progressive rock -influenced band Tool became
3306-669: Was originally "a style united by its nonconformist sensibility rather than any immediately classifiable sound." One of the main characteristics of alternative metal and its subgenres are heavily downtuned, mid-paced "chug"-like guitar riffs. However, funk metal bands often use a more conventional riffing style influenced by 1980s thrash metal. Alternative metal features clean and melodic vocals, influenced by those of alternative rock, in contrast to other heavy metal subgenres. Later bands frequently incorporated vocal styles that alternated between clean singing, growls and screaming . Examples include alternative metal bands associated with
3364-472: Was published later that same year. October 11, 2019, almost exactly 26 years after the release of River Runs Red , Life of Agony released the sequel, The Sound of Scars , on Napalm Records . It was Life of Agony's second concept album and the only sequel to the story told on River Runs Red . The album starts off with the theatrical track, "Prelude", the track begins with the same sound of blood dripping into water that closed River Runs Red . In "Prelude",
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