#converge
VANS HOUSE PARTIES | CONVERGE
Formed in 1990 by vocalist Jacob Bannon and guitarist Kurt BallouinMassachusetts, Converge has become one of the most iconic hardcore bands to date. Last night the House of Vans Chicago felt their dominant energy and intensity.
Coverage has celebrated almost 30 years as a band, but it was their 2001 breakthrough album, Jane Doe that put Converge on the map. The experimental album solidified their influence on the genre and ability to create a dynamic album. Jane Doe garnered a cult following, and in 2017 a live version of the album was released.
Recently, Converge released In The Dusk With Us. The LP earned rave reviews from outlets like Pitchfork saying, “The ninth album from the metalcore architects is sharp and urgent. The band’s songwriting shines as they turn their back on interpersonal torment to face something bigger and more existential.” The album also found a place on several 2017 end-of-year lists including Rolling Stones 20 Best Metal Albums of 2017.
You can stream In The Dusk With Us here.
Photos: Daniel Boczarski
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Killer Be Killed-Reluctant Hero
The, possibly, most high-profile metal supergroup, Killer Be Killed, are back after a lengthy break following their self-titled 2014 debut with a rather similarly well-rounded sophomore effort. Sepultura founder and current Soulfly leader Max Cavalera, dynamic frontman of the late Dillinger Escape Plan and The Black Queen Greg Puciato (who just put out a fantastic solo album a month ago), Troy Sanders of Mastodon, and Converge drummer Ben Koller make for a rather promising and lineup.
Though it takes some time to break into its shoes, a few songs in to build some momentum, Reluctant Hero is a pretty boisterous display from the star-studded alliance, who really have no excuse to fail with their combined pedigrees in the album’s thorough combination of relatively straightforward thrash, groove metal, and sludge metal.
The multi-vocal attack serves some of the more dynamic trade-offs well, but with three of them singing, I think they could have gone a little harder on layered vocal harmonies and dizzying trade-offs.
Indeed, the album’s greatest weakness is perhaps how unambitious it feels for a project made by the joining of four metal giants, especially in comparison to their works with their respective main bands.
Despite feeling largely like a less-proggy, safe version of an early Mastodon album, Reluctant Hero delivers the no-nonsense thrashers and groovy bangers it needs to, and any complaints about it are mild and largely overshadowed by the exciting dynamic exchanged among the four superstars here.
7/10
Only Crime
Life Was Fair
Great video, great song
Watch: Members of Converge, Dillinger Escape Plan, Kiss It Goodbye and More Cover Botch
Watch: Members of Converge, Dillinger Escape Plan, Kiss It Goodbye and More Cover Botch
This is ’90s metalcore heaven: popular metal-themed webshow Two Minutes to Late Night recently recruited Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou, original The Dillinger Escape Plan vocalist Dimitri Minakakis, ex-Kiss It Goodbye drummer Andrew Gormley and Helms Alee bassist Ben Verellen to cover the Botch classic “To Our Friends in the Great White North.”
Unsurprisingly, the cover absolutely rules. It was…
