Estatísticas
Biografia
Vocalist Jacob Bannon and guitarist Kurt Ballou formed the group in Salem, Massachusetts, US in 1990. They shared a common interest in hardcore punk and heavy metal, sighting influences such as American Punk bands like Black Flag, Dischord alumni such as Minor Threat and Nation of Ulysses, an array of metal bands ranging from thrash lords Slayer to sludge rock originators Black Sabbath. The group even incorporated sounds from less obvious inspirations like The Cure and Depeche Mode. Despite the huge list of influences Converge manage to construct a sound entirely their own and have been cited a countless number of times as one of the defining factors of the metalcore genre as well as one of the most innovative bands to come out of the underground punk movement.
Converge started as a band whose sound was strongly rooted in hardcore punk and Slayer theme riffs. They were quick to hone their focus and by 1991 they were cutting demos on a 4-track recorder and playing live concerts. The group released a total of four demos before putting out their first feature length album “Halo in a Haystack”. This release came out in 1994 through the label Earthmaker and was funded by Jacob Bannon’s job as an assistant at a nursing home. The band put out the EP “Unloved and Weeded Out” and the compilation album “Caring and Killing” the following year. In 1996 they put out their sophomore release “Petitioning the Sky” through Ferret records. Although this record is often categorized as a feature length album, the band views this as a compilation album, considering many of the tracks were recorded at different times with a few of them being live recordings.
Converge switched labels for their next two feature lengths 1998’s “When Forever Comes” and 2001’s “Jane Doe” both released through Equal Vision. Though neither of the two albums managed to chart, they were regarded as classics of their genre and were met with instant critical acclaim. “Jane Doe” in particular was seen as a breakthrough in the band’s career launching them outside of their niche bubble into a larger cult following. The album artwork that lead singer Bannon designed for the album was met with unanimous praise and became somewhat of an iconic image for the band. This release was the first to feature the line up of the four sole members Jacob Bannon, Kurt Ballou, Nate Newton, and Ben Koller. This line up has continued to persist throughout the band’s following recordings. Around this time the band played nearly 600 gigs, building a strong reputation for themselves in the punk community worldwide.
Converge seemed to be on a role after the release of “Jane Doe”. They never lost touch with their favor from the critics and with each succeeding album they were able to chart commercially. The band later signed on to Epitaph Records and released their 2004 album “You Fail Me” through the label. They also put out their 2006 release “No Heroes”, their 2009 release “Axe to Fall”, and their 2012 release “All We Love We Leave Behind” through this label. The album “No Heroes” was one of their most commercially successful releases peaking at No. 1 on the US Heatseekers Chart and No. 151 on the US charts. Though “All We Love We Leave Behind” did not make it on the Heatseekers charts, it did make it to No. 70 on the US Billboard 200 Chart. The album also has the extremely high score of 88 on “metacritic”, indicating universal acclaim.
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Converge are the single most aggressive band I have witnessed live. The US hardcore veterans were more frantic and downright heavy than any death metal, thrash metal or metalcore band I have ever seen. Although they’re credited with spawning the metalcore scene, Converge’s racket is much nearer hardcore punk than the chugging, thrashy sound that is considered metalcore these days. In fact, they are probably one of the most important and most innovative hardcore bands of all time. The noise-makers have been going since 1990, releasing eight albums in that time, including the seminal Jane Doe –the benchmark for all experimental hardcore albums – and the recent masterpiece, All We Love We Leave Behind. I had the pleasure, if you can call it that, of seeing their demented live show in support of this last album in Belgium (of all places!) last year and they proved just why they’re considered one of the best live extreme rock bands ever; certainly the best of this era.
Frontman Jacob Bannon dominated the stage, prowling from side to side like a maniac, barking his near incomprehensible lyrics during the fast-paced punk moments, and growling in a death metal roar during the breakdowns or groovier, riff-laden sections. The guitar, bass and drums were intricate and intelligent, and I wouldn’t have expected anything less. The couple of cuts from Jane Doe were the ones that went down the best, with the crowd erupting into circle pits and the like. Incredible stuff! Long may they reign…
Although metalcore is at the heart of what Massachusetts band Converge does, they also incorporate hardcore punk and heavy metal influences into their extreme sound. Considered to be one of the most innovative bands to emerge from the underground scene, they have a cult following that is growing all the time thanks to the high reputation of their live performance. With over twenty years experience, they are unmatched in musicianship even though the whole evening is pretty manic.
They have a huge selection of albums to curate tonight's setlist from and with a range of fans spanning back to their very beginnings to the ones who will have discovered Converge in recent years, making sure everybody is satisfied is no easy task. It would seem that it is not so much the tracks chosen but the manner in which they perform as the energetic crowd are behind them all night, head banging along, thrashing out to the instrumentals and of course moshing. Despite them being sweaty, bruised and tired by 'Jane Doe' they still cheer and stamp for an encore which the group obliges to with 'Bitter and Then Some' and 'Last Light'.