Converge - Axe to Fall
 |
No band defines modern hardcore punk more than Converge. Creatively combining the style’s best elements (instrumental precision, brute force, sweaty live shows), the band has been revered for nearly two decades. The Massachusetts institution evolved from the Slayer-worship thrash of its early ’90s material to the grisly ferocity of 2001’s Jane Doe. More cohesive than that watershed’s follow-ups (You Fail Me and No Heroes), Axe to Fall (Epitaph, 2009) seethes with a rage only a band this seasoned could summon.
What separates Converge from other hardcore bands is the Ballou/Bannon/Koller/Newton axis. Their chemistry creates explosive performances throughout Axe to Fall. The band delivers tightly wound bursts, swinging sludge, and unexpected experimental excursions. The ripping “Dark Horse” rubs elbows with the smoldering, Tom Waits-like “Cruel Bloom.” Converge shrewdly balances what its audience wants to hear with what it probably believes is better than that. Though Converge has never been afraid to take risks, it has never done so this succinctly and satisfyingly. As expected, Axe to Fall is fearsome, technical, and lyrically grim. Unexpectedly, it also feels excitingly new.
Buy:
Amazon (CD)
Amazon (MP3)
Interpunk (CD)
Deathwish, Inc. (CD, LP)
