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More_Divebombs wrote:

goroth wrote:I loved Axe to fall.

How did it compare to You Fail me and All The Love for you?

I didn't mind it, but in comparison to what came before and after it, I thought it was a bit lacklustre (though personally I really like All The Love). But it's definitely not a bad album by any means, and everything Converge has done is still better than 95% of all hardcore anyway.

Honestly the other bands that hold up are early Ceremony and Blacklisted

axe to fall was my first introduction to converge and kinda killed 'em for me. that overly technical riff and dramatic vocals were just "meh." and so i turned off and started listening to ghostlimb instead.

More_Divebombs wrote:They probably are past their peak, but only because When Forever Comes Crashing > Jane Doe > You Fail Me is an incredible progression of recordings and impossible to top. I'm a big fan of All The Love, and it's significantly better than the two albums that came before it. Very much a return to form after two records I thought were a bit meh.

Single is good though. Looking forward to hearing it in the context of a new LP.

I have a similar opinion on the albums... but, shit I've been listening to them for half my life at this point and they still deliver.

No Heroes seemed a bit by the numbers at the time and Axe to Fall was all over the place with the guests etc. But there were some monster tracks there too. My favourite album is usually the last one they've put out, how often can you say that about a band?

edit: double post.

More_Divebombs wrote:

goroth wrote:I loved Axe to fall.

How did it compare to You Fail me and All The Love for you?

I didn't mind it, but in comparison to what came before and after it, I thought it was a bit lacklustre (though personally I really like All The Love). But it's definitely not a bad album by any means, and everything Converge has done is still better than 95% of all hardcore anyway.

It is not great, in the way that some of their albums are legitimately great. But I think it's a rad album that i come back to fairly often. It's a bit more metal than their other stuff - perhaps that's why I like it, because I've always come at hardcore from the metal side and "worked backwards" rather than coming at it from a love of punk. Axe is tighter and more brutal in a metal way.

Axe To Fall has about three good songs, the rest is either entirely forgettable or just downright bad. Basically imagine if Swans were still doing the same riffs and style as all the Cop era stuff, but for 25 years. That's how it feels, and that's why bands like Swans are still good, or if nothing else, progressing personally and trying new things.

so far this has been really insightful but i think i'll just go see dangers next week, see some real hardcore with a more interesting playing style, and just not worry about converge's perpetual wanking.

Compared to Goroth I've come at hardcore from the punk side of things. I really like Axe To Fall though. At the moment I think Jane Doe is my fave Converge album but think Axe To Fall is one of the easier listens out of their stuff. AWLWLB is perhaps easy to in a sense but a bit more up and down I think. Axe is cool cause it keeps that energy well imo.

I know I did in the grind/hardcore thread a while back but I'm gonna push for my friends in God Mother here. If you dig the Converge-ish or similar chaotic noisy hardcore it should be up your alley, thought they may fall into the "perpetual wanking" category at times. They've been supporting Dillinger this summer in Europe and have another leg with them in August, so go see em if you can. Really good live band and super nice guys.

waltdogg wrote:so far this has been really insightful but i think i'll just go see dangers next week, see some real hardcore with a more interesting playing style, and just not worry about converge's perpetual wanking.

Dangers are one of the few hardcore bands I listened to when I was 16 that I can still listen to now and not think they're shit.

This(the single) is probably the best thing they've put out.

Olin wrote:

waltdogg wrote:so far this has been really insightful but i think i'll just go see dangers next week, see some real hardcore with a more interesting playing style, and just not worry about converge's perpetual wanking.

Dangers are one of the few hardcore bands I listened to when I was 16 that I can still listen to now and not think they're shit.

agreed man. i got into justin smith's bands (dangers, ghostilimb, etc.) when i was about 16 or 17 and im 25 this year. their music actually holds up.

lol d.o.s.

Discovered them right after Jane Doe came out. I just came across a Converge ticket I'd saved from 2003. I remember talking to Kurt Ballou after their set and he was pleasant. Seen 'em more times than I can count since then, though sadly not last Friday in Chicago with Neurosis. I forgot to buy a ticket, and it sold out.

Jane Doe is one that I go back to frequently. Tossed around the idea of going to the Netherlands to see them play it at Roadburn and still kind of wish I had. I'm actually a big fan of The Poacher Diaries material.

I don't like everything they've done but even on the records I spin infrequently there are some gems.

HAVN wrote:Discovered them right after Jane Doe came out. I just came across a Converge ticket I'd saved from 2003. I remember talking to Kurt Ballou after their set and he was pleasant. Seen 'em more times than I can count since then, though sadly not last Friday in Chicago with Neurosis. I forgot to buy a ticket, and it sold out.

Jane Doe is one that I go back to frequently. Tossed around the idea of going to the Netherlands to see them play it at Roadburn and still kind of wish I had. I'm actually a big fan of The Poacher Diaries material.

I don't like everything they've done but even on the records I spin infrequently there are some gems.

The live Jane set was not super rad, and I was with some massive fans.

That's sort of surprising, because the recording and mix sound pretty good to my ears. I thought they pulled it off pretty well.

D.o.S. wrote: The live Jane set was not super rad, and I was with some massive fans.

There was an American guy next to me who was getting fidgety and started yelling that it "wasn't loud enough".