ACHTUNG: AUSZUG ALTE BIO! NEUE FOLGT IN KÜRZE!
Line Up:
- Nate Newton: Bass, Vocals
- Ben Koller: Drums, Percussion
- Jacob Bannon: Vocals, Lyrics, Visuals
- Kurt Ballou: Guitar, Vocals, Bass, Keyboards, Percussion
When one thinks of aggressive, innovative and inspiring bands that have
defined and driven hardcore in the `80s/early `90s, one thinks of
legendary acts such as the Cro-Mags, Agnostic Front, Black Flag and Sick
of It All. However, when one contemplates the bands that have driven,
defined and revitalised metallic hardcore in the last 12 years, one
cannot help but point to the achievements of Converge` a near-legendary
act that has transcended the peaks, lulls, trends and
ever-shifting attitudes in the underground to emerge as one of its
precious few trendsetters.
Formed in the winter of 1990 in Boston, MA, by core members/founders
Jake Bannon (vocals/design terrorism) and Kurt Ballou (guitar) during
the initial height and subsequent collapse of the Boston hardcore scene,
and currently rounded out by bassist Nate Newton and drummer Ben Koller,
Converge`s musical legacy has been indelibly etched in the aggressive
music annals by its cannon of constantly progressing, innovative,
influential and intelligent albums, all of
which hold true to Converge`s unwritten mandate of musical honesty,
brutality, beauty, emotion and artistry. A commitment that has made them
constants, flag-bearers and leaders during a prolific period of
longevity virtually unheard of in the hardcore underground, with a very
few exceptions.
With their first full-length CD, Caring and Killing (HydraHead, 1996),
after a substantial string of seven-inches and compilation appearances,
Converge demonstrated considerable glimpses of the musical mayhem and
innovation that was to come. However, it was with the release of
Petitioning The Empty Sky (Equal Vision, 1997) that Converge s mix of
metallic thrash staples, hardcore/punk-influenced structures and
anthemic emotional explorations, coupled with an
artistic presentation and unmistakable blackened vocals, truly began to
blossom. With Petitioning, Converge foreshadowed and defined a synthesis
of metal and hardcore that continues to thrive in popularity to this
day, creating the blueprint for countless others to find success with
years later.
Continually staying ahead of the throngs of metallic hardcore acts
emerging in their wake, Converge recorded When Forever Comes Crashing
(Equal Vision, 1998) with Steve Austin, of Today is the Day infamy. With
Forever, Converge pushed their artistic limits to new levels of anguish,
while musically evolving a noisier, more atmospheric and emotionally
rending brand of metallic hardcore that was spurned on by complex
playing, increasingly vicious vocals and poetically shattered lyrics.
Forever kept Converge ahead of a hardcore scene now dominated by
uninspired mosh-metal while perfectly reflecting hardcore`s upcoming
twists and turns, in the process dictating a number of them. The
technically ruthless slant explored on Converge`s split CD with
Agoraphobic Nosebleed, The Poacher Diaries (Relapse, 1999), was an
aggressive kill-crazy rampage that took Converge`s technical mayhem to
its utmost extremes just as
the complicated-core/tech sub-genre of hardcore was finding its footing.
But it was with 2001`s release of Jane Doe (Equal Vision) that Converge
offered their most challenging, ambitious and successful work of art to
date...
www.convergecult.com
www.epitaph.com
