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So I looked through the last few pages and didn't see anything on the latest release from one of the most highly acclaimed bands in the tech metalcore/mathcore genre.  Axe to Fall is one of Converge's more widely appealing efforts to date, encompassing elements from far-removed and sometimes opposite genres of music... But this is not to say that I'd recommend it to someone who listened to Neil Young or Tina Turner. Converge is that band that has all the intellect that Animosity lacks and the emotional maturity that Shai Hulud could only hope for. (Please note that I love Animosity and Shai Hulud and will continue to listen to them, despite the above comparisons.) OK, enough about me paying lip service to the band, how about the album? Axe to Fall is probably one of the most varied albums that I have purchased recently; Every Time I Die's New Junk Aesthetic is a masterpiece in it's own right, but when you boil it down there's no curveballs in it. Same thing goes for Set Your Goals' This Will Be The Death Of Us or The Black Dahlia Murder's Deflorate. Dark Horse, the first song on the album, is imbued with a thrashy, punk urgency that most bands in newer -core scenes strive for but few can maintain for more than a few bars; somewhat of a nod towards the bands current label, Epitaph, which was started by punk legend Brett Gurewitz of Bad Religion. On the other hand, Wretched World- the closer song- is an exercise in minimalist doom and shows the bands restraint by not filling ever measure with blast beats or chugging power cords. In between there are the likes of Steve Von Till lending a "Whisky and cigarettes" folk vibe to Cruel Bloom and there are more guests throughout the album than you would expect from a recent mathcore record. To be quite honest, I find the album to be both exhilarating and utterly depressing at the same time. I want to get up and take a swing at someone during the first 10 minutes of the album, but then when the atonal intro to Worms Will Feed/Rats Will Feast pours out of my headphones and all my aggression is sapped away in an instant. Now for some real reviews: Pitchfork.com (I know a lot of you hate these guys): 8.4 Pitchfork.com posted:Converge are this generation's Black Flag. Metal Injection: 4.5 lumberjack accidents out of 5 Metalinjection.com posted:Axe to Fall is not specifically punk or metal, although it's head, shoulders and knees above most punk and metal bands. Plus, the two closing tracks indicate that there's a wealth of potential for Converge in a full album of dirges and murder ballads. Not so fast, though–Converge may sound like they could make a killer MARK LANEGAN record, but as Axe to Fall proves, they're far too important in metal for anyone to think about shifting gears. Best album of Converge's career? Maybe the best of 2009. Sputnik Music : 4.0/5.0 (reviewer rating), 4.1/5.0 (user rating) sputnikmusic.com posted:Through everything that Converge bring to the table, there is a sense of order and meaning lingering in the background to each and every song, it just takes the right ear to be able to capture it. However, if you do, Axe To Fall is one of the, if not the, most enjoyable metal release in the past year or two. It is an infinitely rewarding album to listen to, all the while being an album which really doesn’t need to be listened to in its entirety every single time. Very manageable track lengths will allow you to dissect multiple songs within a short period of time, and when all is said and done, you are simply left smiling at what you have just heard. So, how did you guys feel about the album? EDIT:Just found some additional info on the album regarding personnel credits and track listing: Track Listing: 1. Dark Horse 2. Reap What You Sow 3. Axe to Fall 4. Effigy 5. Worms Will Feed 6. Wishing Well 7. Damages 8. Losing Battle 9. Dead Beat 10. Cutter 11. Slave Driver 12. Cruel Bloom 13. Wretched World Produced by: Kurt Ballou Converge is: Jacob Bannon – vocals Kurt Ballou – guitar/vocals Nate Newton – bass/vocals Ben Koller – drums Guest Musicians on Axe to Fall: Steve Brodsky (Cave In) Adam McGrath (Cave In) J.R. Connors (Cave In, Doomriders) Uffe Cederlund (Disfear) George Hirsch (Blacklisted) Brad Fickeisen (The Red Chord) Hamilton Jordan (Genghis Tron) Mookie Singerman (Genghis Tron) John Pettibone (Undertow, Himsa) Steve Von Till (Neurosis) IBurnStuffAlot fucked around with this message at Nov 06, 2009 around 00:26 |
| # ? Nov 05, 2009 23:26 |
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| # ? Nov 22, 2009 00:36 |
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It's pretty badass. I like how a lot of the songs seem to effortlessly switch genres/sounds any time they feel like it and yet it still sounds natural. This one may even be better than Jane Doe, but I'll need a lot more time with it before I could make that kind of statement.
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| # ? Nov 05, 2009 23:48 |
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quote:Converge are this generation's Black Flag. Should I laugh or cry?
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| # ? Nov 05, 2009 23:50 |
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Dickeye posted:Should I laugh or cry? I understand the sentiment completely, that was my initial reaction...But if you read the review's and follow his train of thought, he does draw some noteworthy parallels between the energy and drive behind the two bands. No one's going to come out and say that Converge has much similarity to Black Flag musically.
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| # ? Nov 06, 2009 00:22 |
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IBurnStuffAlot posted:OK, enough about me paying lip service to the band, how about the album? Axe to Fall is probably one of the most varied albums that I have purchased recently; Every Time I Die's New Junk Aesthetic is a masterpiece in it's own right, but when you boil it down there's no curveballs in it. Same thing goes for Set Your Goals' This Will Be The Death Of Us or The Black Dahlia Murder's Deflorate. I really don't unerstand this. Why would you name drop these bands? Did you really call an every time I die album a masterpiece? What does set your goals have to do with any of this? This is the weirdest review I've seen on this forum. The album is good but with time I'll probably stop listening to it, unlike jane doe.
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| # ? Nov 06, 2009 01:13 |
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Pantalones! posted:I really don't unerstand this. Why would you name drop these bands? Did you really call an every time I die album a masterpiece? What does set your goals have to do with any of this? My comparisons between the albums have nothing to do with the styles of music or "Name Dropping" any particular band. The point I was trying to make is that all of the albums that I have bought recently are super one-dimensional. Sure there are fast songs and slow songs but they are still within a very narrow spectrum. I'm so musically retarded that I would actually compare set your goals to converge in terms of genre, in the same vein you can't compare sci-fi to horror but you can say that Heinlein has the same penchant for colloquialism that King does. Make sense? Also, Converge has two songs from the album on their myspace. http://www.myspace.com/converge
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| # ? Nov 06, 2009 01:37 |
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Pantalones! posted:I really don't unerstand this. Why would you name drop these bands? Did you really call an every time I die album a masterpiece? What does set your goals have to do with any of this? To the OP's credit the new Every Time I Die is rather loving rad.
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| # ? Nov 06, 2009 01:56 |
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On a the first few listens, I was still in my Converge fanboy mode, but after some more, I realized that it's really not at all up to par with PTES, WFCC, or (duh) Jane Doe. Hell, probably the only Converge album that I think it beats is You Fail Me, and it's close. This Sputnikmusic review really sums up some of my feelings on it, though I guess in a much harsher degree, since I still think it's pretty sick.
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| # ? Nov 06, 2009 02:12 |
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ManifoldCuriosity posted:This Sputnikmusic review really sums up some of my feelings on it, though I guess in a much harsher degree, since I still think it's pretty sick. That review is honestly just bad. I could be biased because I like converge, but wow, I really can't relate to any of the points written there. It reads like one of my friends who barely listen to music trying to write a review.
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| # ? Nov 06, 2009 03:22 |
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BUTTERWORBS posted:That review is honestly just bad. I could be biased because I like converge, but wow, I really can't relate to any of the points written there. It reads like one of my friends who barely listen to music trying to write a review. I think he listens to plenty of music, he just has an unpopular opinion. But I understand where he's coming from, as it's easy to be disappointed by new material when it doesn't immediately measure up to previous albums that you've invested a lot of time listening to.
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| # ? Nov 06, 2009 06:09 |
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-Atom- posted:To the OP's credit the new Every Time I Die is rather loving rad. I'm derailing a bit here, but I had the same reaction as the thread title on my first listen of this album. "Hey this song is pretty gooHOLY poo poo THE IT'S THE DUDE FROM THE BRONX!" But back to converge, this album is awesome but I'm getting a bit over it after a few weeks. I still whip out Jane Doe once or twice a week. I literally had to check that my ipod didn't shuffle by accident the first time Cruel Bloom came on. Way out of left field but a great ending to the album.
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| # ? Nov 06, 2009 06:34 |
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This album loving slays from start to finish, even when it slows down.
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| # ? Nov 06, 2009 10:01 |
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ManifoldCuriosity posted:On a the first few listens, I was still in my Converge fanboy mode, but after some more, I realized that it's really not at all up to par with PTES, WFCC, or (duh) Jane Doe. Hell, probably the only Converge album that I think it beats is You Fail Me, and it's close. This is pretty much how I feel. After the first listen, none of the tracks really stand out to me that much. The title track is pretty decent, but I honestly liked it a lot more when I heard it on the teaser without the vocals and such.
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| # ? Nov 06, 2009 12:19 |
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IBurnStuffAlot posted:No one's going to come out and say that Converge has much similarity to Black Flag musically. Although I'd like to point out, on the tribute album Black on Black, Converge did a loving awesome cover of Annihilate This Week. Anyway, I think this album is pretty awesome. About on par with No Heroes, and the gimmick of all the guest artists is pretty fun. I'd say it's easily the most 'metal' album they've recorded since When Forever Comes Crashing; maybe ever. However, I really hope all this hype doesn't overshadow Doomriders' (Nate Newton's side project) new album Darkness Come Alive, which is easily my pick for album of the year.
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| # ? Nov 06, 2009 13:48 |
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LtKenFrankenstein posted:I'd say it's easily the most 'metal' album they've recorded since When Forever Comes Crashing; maybe ever. Definitely this. Listening to the last few tracks it's hard to believe this is the same "solid wall-of-sound" band that made Jane Doe. Not that that's a bad thing. On the contrary, after one listen I'm thinking this has potential to be my favorite Converge album yet. It's still punishing and calculated sounding but it feels like Converge are really branching out and experimenting with what they can do with their sound.
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| # ? Nov 06, 2009 19:56 |
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Yeahhh... Just saw them live, literally tonight, in Myrtle Beach with Dethklok and Mastodon. The lead singer just loving "rawr'd" and ran around being an idiot. His set was a waste of my time.
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| # ? Nov 07, 2009 06:00 |
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spouse posted:Yeahhh... Just saw them live, literally tonight, in Myrtle Beach with Dethklok and Mastodon. The lead singer just loving "rawr'd" and ran around being an idiot. His set was a waste of my time. Thanks for this informative post! It sounds like you were one of the goony legions on this tour who shelled out $35 with the sole intention of watching a cartoon death metal band play. Anyway, the new album is absolutely fantastic. I liked it a hell of a lot more than No Heroes and the slew of guest artists was a pretty neat move. I popped a pretty significant boner when I found out that some of the guys from Genghis Tron would be collaborating on this.
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| # ? Nov 07, 2009 06:11 |
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spouse posted:Yeahhh... Just saw them live, literally tonight, in Myrtle Beach with Dethklok and Mastodon. The lead singer just loving "rawr'd" and ran around being an idiot. His set was a waste of my time. I know right? I saw them in boston and the singer was totally incomprehensible. I don't know why the good bands insist on bringing these clingers with them. Maybe we could get cheaper tickets, since I KNOW everyone in that room was there to hear brendon small.
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| # ? Nov 07, 2009 06:15 |
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katzinator posted:Thanks for this informative post! It sounds like you were one of the goony legions on this tour who shelled out $35 with the sole intention of watching a cartoon death metal band play. spouse fucked around with this message at Nov 07, 2009 around 06:32 |
| # ? Nov 07, 2009 06:15 |
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spouse posted:The lead singer just loving "rawr'd" and ran around being an idiot. Grandpa?
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| # ? Nov 07, 2009 19:14 |
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To be fair, I think converge was a strange band to put on tour with mastodon and dethklok. On one hand you've got Converge's atonal, visceral barn-burners and then you have two bands who's best works were animated jingles (Duncan Hills Coffee theme and that intro song for the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie).
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| # ? Nov 07, 2009 20:21 |
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IBurnStuffAlot posted:(Duncan Hills Coffee theme and that intro song for the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie). what? mastodon are really good. More like dethlok or whatever is the band that doesn't fit.
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| # ? Nov 07, 2009 20:24 |
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Pantalones! posted:what? mastodon are really good. More like dethlok or whatever is the band that doesn't fit. Converge is no where near as goony as dethklok or mastodon. 
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| # ? Nov 07, 2009 20:28 |
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IBurnStuffAlot posted:Converge is no where near as goony as dethklok or mastodon. But mastodon isn't really goony at all is what I'm saying.
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| # ? Nov 07, 2009 20:33 |
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IBurnStuffAlot posted:To be fair, I think converge was a strange band to put on tour with mastodon and dethklok. On one hand you've got Converge's
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| # ? Nov 07, 2009 22:00 |
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Thanks for proving my above point.
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| # ? Nov 07, 2009 22:02 |
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Mastodon is currently goonkind's favorite non-fictional metal band. When their last cd came out, the rock band thread was all about it. Literally every other post was "CRACK THE SKYE FULL ALBUM DLC!!". Converge is the band that doesn't fit because they are the only good band.
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| # ? Nov 07, 2009 22:24 |
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ShimaTetsuo posted:Mastodon is currently goonkind's favorite non-fictional metal band. When their last cd came out, the rock band thread was all about it. Literally every other post was "CRACK THE SKYE FULL ALBUM DLC!!". Yea they might be the goon metal band of the moment but despite that they've still been releasing solid music from the start.
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| # ? Nov 07, 2009 22:29 |
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Pantalones! posted:Yea they might be the goon metal band of the moment but despite that they've still been releasing solid music from the start. Mastodon is pretty fun in a cheesy kind of way but really converge is a completely different brand of awesome.
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| # ? Nov 07, 2009 23:25 |
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BUTTERWORBS posted:Mastodon is pretty fun in a cheesy kind of way but really converge is a completely different brand of awesome. I don't disagree. Puting mastodon on the same level as dethlok is dumb as hell though.
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| # ? Nov 08, 2009 02:48 |
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Dickeye posted:Should I laugh or cry? Explain how this is a bad comparison.
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| # ? Nov 08, 2009 04:59 |
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Jesus, who cares? Converge and Mastodon are completely different types of bands that appeal to completely different moods/sensibilities. There's room for both without picking sides.
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| # ? Nov 08, 2009 05:33 |
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I hate that Converge has been touring with Mastodon since 2006. I saw them with Mastodon in 07, a couple months after seeing Converge in a 200 person venue, and was really excited about the whole thing. Mastodon completely let me down. Converge promised to "be back in a few months, some place small where you can kick the poo poo out of each other." This has yet to happen. I love everything Converge has done and Axe to Fall is no exception. Deathwish needs to get their poo poo together in regards to the Jane Doe reissue. They announced it almost 2 years ago and I've wanted it on vinyl since the first time I heard it. drat ebay prices.
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| # ? Nov 08, 2009 07:32 |
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Kevar posted:Deathwish needs to get their poo poo together in regards to the Jane Doe reissue. They announced it almost 2 years ago and I've wanted it on vinyl since the first time I heard it. drat ebay prices. My roommate, who is a pretty huge Converge/vinyl enthusiast, assures me that the Jane Doe reissue is pretty much the equivalent of Duke Nukem Forever for vinyl collectors. The sleeves have even already been printed for this reissue, yet no word as to when the actual vinyl will be pressed. gently caress.
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| # ? Nov 08, 2009 08:16 |
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