Converge (band)

Converge is a four-piece band based out of Salem, Massachusetts. Playing a blend of extreme metal and hardcore punk since 1990, this pioneer metal/punk outfit helped define a lot of the rudiments of the fast-burgeoning metalcore and mathcore genres.

Description

Converge's lyrics tend to deal almost exclusively with romantic relationships gone awry, based on a male's perspective. However, as it is fast become the norm in this genre, Converge's lyrics must be read from the corresponding album's booklet or from a lyric sheet in order to interpret them correctly.

The extreme nature of their music, particularly the atonal vocals and complex structure, is not entirely accesible to some listeners. Many dispute the classification of Converge into a specific genre and also consider the band to be an aquired taste. Converge themselves simply define themselves as "aggressive music," eschewing choosing between the two broad genres, hardcore and metal, into which they are usually lumped.

History

Converge began as its initial inception in the winter of 1990. They first started by playing covers of hardcore, punk and heavy metal songs, being self-confessed "hardcore kids with leftover Slayer riffs". The band soon graduated to playing live performances in 1991 after recording some demos on a 4-track recorder.

In recent years, Converge have enjoyed relatively high levels of popularity despite the esoteric feel of their music and the lack of media attention they receive. Their records have gradually become more expensively and extensively produced, having moved from the independent label Equal Vision Records to the much larger and more mainstream independent punk label Epitaph Records.

Side projects

Aside from their primary focus with Converge, Jacob Bannon and Kurt Ballou compose stark, ambient music under the moniker Supermachiner, with Daltonic drummer, Seth Bannon. Bannon also has a solo side-project entitled Dear Lover and continues to run the record label he founded, Deathwish Inc., with his longtime friend and business associate, Tré McCarthy.

In addition to keeping himself busy with recording bands in his studio, GodCity, guitarist Kurt Ballou has participated in an array of other lesser-known bands, such as Blue/Green Heart with fellow Converge alumnus Ben Koller. Koller performed in this band with Ballou well before he joined Converge. Ballou also played guitar for the band Kid Kilowatt.

In late 2005, Ben resumed the drum chores for Cave In, replacing previous drummer, Jean-Robert Connors.

Alongside Converge, bassist Nate Newton is also a constituent of the bands Old Man Gloom and Doomriders. He plays guitar in both bands.

Members

Current

Jacob Bannon - Vocals, Lyrics, Visuals
Kurt Ballou - Guitar, Vocals, Bass, Keyboards, Percussion, Theremin
Nate Newton - Bass, Vocals
Ben Koller - Drums, Percussion

Former

Aaron Dalbec - Guitar (1994-2001)
Jon DiGiorgio - Drums (1999)
Damon Bellorado - Drums (1991-1999)
Stephen Brodsky - Bass (1997-1998)
Jeff Feinburg - Guitar, Bass (1991-1997)
Erik Ralston - Bass (1993)
Ryan Beitz - Lights / Tech (1995-1998)

Discography

Demos

Gravel (4-song demo, independently released, 1991)
Self-titled (FAR/Exchange Records, 1991)
Where All the Flowers Have Gone (independently released, 1992)
Dog Days (Demo, independently released, 1993)

Full lengths

Halo in a Haystack, (Earthmaker/Stolnacke, 1994)
Caring & Killing (Hydra Head Records, 1996)
Petitioning the Empty Sky (Equal Vision Records, 1997)
When Forever Comes Crashing (Equal Vision Records, 1998)
Jane Doe (Equal Vision Records, 2001)
You Fail Me (Epitaph Records, 2004)
No Heroes (Epitaph Records, 2006)

Reissues

Unloved and Weeded Out (re-issue, includes the 3 tracks from the original release and additional demos and unreleased material) (Deathwish Inc., 2003)
Petitioning the Empty Sky (remixed and remastered) (Equal Vision Records, 2005)
When Forever Comes Crashing (remixed and remastered) (Equal Vision Records, 2005)
Petitioning Forever 2xLP (Deathwish Inc., 2005)

EPs

Unloved and Weeded Out 7" (Orionquest/Heliotrope, 1995)
Petitioning the Empty Sky 7" (Ferret Records, 1996) (note: this record was released before Equal Vision's 'full-length' version of PTES; Equal Vision's release includes additional studio songs and live tracks)

Splits

Among the Dead We Pray for Light Split 7" with Coalesce (Edison Recordings/Life Records, 1997)
The Poacher Diaries Split with Agoraphobic Nosebleed (Relapse Records, 1999)
Deeper The Wound (split album with Hellchild) (Deathwish Inc., 2001)
In These Black Days: Volume 2 Split 7" with Brutal Truth (Hydra Head Records, 1997) (Black Sabbath tribute)

DVDs

The Long Road Home (Deathwish Inc., 2003)

Trivia

Drummer Ben Koller's former band is Force Fed Glass, a grind outfit.

Original drummer Damon Bellorado now works for a retailer who solicits men's suits.

Bassist Nate Newton's previous band was Jesuit, which also featured Dillinger Escape Plan guitarist, Brian Benoit.

Former guitarist Aaron Dalbec now plays guitar full-time in what was originally his side-project band, Bane.

Former bassist Stephen Brodsky is an original member of Cave In.

External links

Кънвърдж | Converge | Converge | コンヴァージ | Converge

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