Life of Agony is an American alternative metal band from Brooklyn, New York City, formed in 1989 by singer Mina Caputo, bassist Alan Robert and guitarist Joey Z. The band has released six studio albums to date, most notably their 1993 debut River Runs Red, named by Rolling Stone as one of the Greatest Metal Albums of All Time.

Alternative 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 heavily downtuned, mid-paced guitar riffs, a mixture of accessible melodic vocals and harsh vocals and sometimes unconventional sounds within other heavy metal styles. The term has been in use since the 1980s, although it came into prominence in the 1990s.