''Broken Valley'' is the fourth studio album by American

alternative metal Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) 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 ...

band

Life of Agony Life of Agony is an American alternative metal band from Brooklyn, New York City, formed in 1989 by singer Keith Caputo, bassist Alan Robert and guitarist Joey Z. The band has released six studio albums to date, most notably their 1993 debut '' ...

. The album was released in the US on June 14, 2005, through

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

and in the UK on October 17, 2005, through Hassel Records. It is the band's first album in eight years, following 1997's '' Soul Searching Sun'', and first with the band's classic, original line-up since '' Ugly'' in 1995. Epic Records elected not to issue ''Broken Valley'' in the United Kingdom upon initial release. However, the album was eventually released in the UK on October 17, 2005 through

Sony BMG Music Entertainment Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout ...

under exclusive UK license to Hassel Records. This Hassle Records limited edition included a special bonus DVD along with a previously unreleased exclusive bonus track from the Broken Valley recording sessions titled "DNR."

Commercial performance

''Broken Valley'' debuted at number 147 on the ''Billboard'' 200, selling 7,689 copies in its first week. However, the album quickly fell off the charts, and by December 2005 it had only sold 28,000 copies in the US. The album's sales in the US were also damaged by the

Sony BMG copy protection rootkit scandal In 2005, it was revealed that the implementation of copy protection measures on about 22 million CDs distributed by Sony BMG installed one of two pieces of software that provided a form of digital rights management (DRM) by modifying the operat ...

, and was one of the affected albums selected for recall from retailers in November 2005."Are You Affected By Sony-BMG's Rootkit?"

Electronic Frontier Foundation The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is an American international non-profit digital rights group based in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1990 to promote Internet civil liberties. It provides funds for legal defense in court, ...

web site. Retrieved September 6, 2010.

Track listing

Bonus DVD

Several versions of the album were accompanied by a DVD, in which the band discussed their break-up and why they got back together. The DVD includes several

easter egg Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian holiday of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are commonly used during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The ...

s such as a studio rehearsal of "Junk Sick" and backstage footage.

Personnel

;Life of Agony *

Keith Caputo Keith Caputo (born December 4, 1973) is an American singer who is lead vocalist and a founding member of New York City alternative metal band Life of Agony. Formed in 1989, Life of Agony has released six studio albums, the latest of which, ''T ...

– lead vocals * Joey Z. – guitar, backing vocals * Alan Robert – bass, backing vocals, cover design *

Sal Abruscato Sal Abruscato (born July 18, 1970) is an American drummer, guitarist and singer, best known as the original drummer for Brooklyn metal bands Type O Negative and Life of Agony.Hart, Josh (2011)Interview: Sal Abruscato and Matt Brown of A Pale Ho ...

– drums ;Additional *

Greg Fidelman Greg Fidelman (born September 4, 1965) is an American record mixer, engineer and record producer. He is a frequent collaborator of producer Rick Rubin, and has worked with many bands in various genres, including Metallica, Black Sabbath, Slipkno ...

– producer * Tony Zeller – engineer * Johnny Fairfax – engineer * Kevin Dean – engineer * Ted Jensen – mastering * Myriam Santos-Kayda – photography

Footnotes

{{Authority control Life of Agony albums 2005 albums Epic Records albums Albums produced by Greg Fidelman