Converge

Converge website
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I remember when i first bought Jane Doe on cd in 2003. It was my first exposure to Converge's music and i remember hating it upon first listens. I hated it as much as i didn't "get" it. The chaotic music, the dog barking vocals, the odd time signatures were too much for me. However, just like most of my favorite albums, it grew on me. Big time. It ended up changing my view on what extreme music could possibly offer. Jane Doe still remains as one of my favorite albums until today.

Converge once described themselves as "hardcore kids with leftover Slayer riffs". And that gives you fairly an idea of what they sound like. Converge started in 1990, and their sound were greatly influenced by what was going on around that time. Nineties hardcore is known as an era when a lot of bands incorporates elements of metal into their sound. Besides being influenced by metal bands such as Slayer, Anthrax, Entombed and a lot of crossover bands (D.R.I, Suicidal Tendencies), Converge also taken cues from noisier bands such as Today Is The Day, Starkweather and who i believe to be their biggest influence, Rorschach.

Fast forward a few years, they have since released another two excellent studio records, You Fail Me (2004) and No Heroes (2006). They also put out Unloved and Weeded Out in 2003, which i believe is a compilation of demos and live tracks. It's about time they come out with a new album, which is pretty much the main point of this post because they just posted 2 videos of them playing a new song.

The first video is of them playing the new song in a studio. Its just intrumentals but my god it's good. The pull-off's riffs, the d-beat drumming, the crushing slow part at the end. What's not to like? The second video features a short interview with Nate (bass) and bits of them playing a recent show in Philly. It has parts of them playing "Plagues," "No Heroes" and of course the new song with vocals. I also put up my video of them playing "Concubine" in Brisbane 2 years ago just because.

CONVERGE New album out soon on Epitaph/Deathwish