Converge

Converge is an American hardcore band from Salem, Massachusetts formed in 1990. The group comprises vocalist Jacob Bannon, guitarist Kurt Ballou, bassist Nate Newton and drummer Ben Koller. All members are vegetarians. Playing a blend of hardcore punk and heavy metal, Converge has helped to define many of the elements of the metalcore genre.

According to Allmusic, Converge are "regarded as one of the most original and innovative bands to emerge from the punk underground".

History

Converge was formed in the winter of 1990 by Jacob Bannon and Kurt Ballou. They started by playing covers of hardcore punk, punk rock and heavy metal songs, being self-confessed "hardcore kids with left-over Slayer riffs". The band soon graduated to playing live performances in 1991, after recording some demos on a 4-track recorder and eventually releasing full lengths including When Forever Comes Crashing and splits with bands like Agoraphobic Nosebleed.

In recent years, Converge have enjoyed relatively high levels of popularity. Their popularity began to rise with the release of their breakthrough album, Jane Doe, the album that was named the number 1 album on Sputnikmusic's "Top 100 Albums of the Decade". During the recording of Jane Doe, long time member Aaron Dalbec who was also handling his then-side project Bane, was asked to leave the group. This resulted in a four man line-up that is still intact today. Aaron Burgess of Revolver locates Jane Doe as marking a break in the group's style: “ Converge fans generally fall into two camps: those who worship everything leading up to 2001's Jane Doe, and those who swear by that album and the two that followed. Indeed, Jane Doe marks the point at which Converge graduated from noisy, thrash-influenced hardcore kids to hardcore-influenced noise-thrash titans ... ” Converge performing in France, 2007

Their records have gradually become more expensively and extensively produced, having moved from the independent label Equal Vision Records to the much larger independent punk label Epitaph Records while handling special releases on Bannon's record label, Deathwish Inc. with their latest albums You Fail Me and No Heroes.

Converge released Axe to Fall on October 20, 2009. It was leaked on the internet prior to its planned release; Shaun Hand of Metal Sucks has been identified as the source of the leak, which occurred on October 4, 2009.

The album received several positive reviews prior to its release, including 10/10 from Decibel Magazine, and was hailed as the band's best work since Jane Doe. Pitchfork Media writer Cosmo Lee gave the album a rating of 8.5/10 and hailed Converge as "this generation's Black Flag."

Recently, Jane Doe was inducted into the Rock Sound's Hall of Fame. It has been confirmed via studio pictures and posts on Converge's official Twitter page that they have begun recording demos for their new release. The recording culminated in a split record with Dropdead.

On January 1, 2012, Converge announced that they had completed writing for their upcoming eighth studio album, tentatively titled All We Love We Leave Behind. The following day, Kurt Ballou announced plans via his Facebook page to begin recording with the band in January 2012. The album is completed, and set for release on September 11th, 2012.