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Converge are a four-piece band based out of Salem, Massachusetts. Playing a blend of hardcore punk and extreme metal since 1990, this outfit helped define many of the rudiments of the metalcore genre.

Description

Converge's influences range from hardcore punk bands, such as Black Flag, Negative Approach, The Accused and Born Against; metal bands like Black Sabbath, Godflesh, Slayer, and Entombed; and proto-metalcore bands Starkweather and Rorschach. The group's musical style consists of complex guitar work and off-time polyrhythmic drumming, which leads some to classify them as mathcore, which is best exemplified on their album Jane Doe.

There is much debate over where exactly Converge fall, genre-wise, due to their wide musical range, breaking of conventional boundaries, and willingness to try and push in new directions. Converge themselves eschew classification into hardcore or metal, the genres they are closest to, and simply define their music as "aggressive music".

History

Converge formed in the winter of 1990. They first started by playing covers of hardcore punk, punk rock and heavy metal songs, being self-confessed "hardcore kids with leftover Slayer riffs". The band soon graduated to playing live performances in 1991, after recording some demos on a 4-track recorder.

In recent years, Converge have enjoyed relatively high levels of popularity, despite the esoteric feel of their music and the lack of media attention they receive. Their popularity began to rise with the release of their breakthrough album, Jane Doe, which is considered by many their best work to date. Their records have gradually become more expensively and extensively produced, having moved from the independent label Equal Vision Records to the much larger and more mainstream (yet still independent) punk label, Epitaph Records.

Their much anticipated new album, No Heroes, was released on October 24, 2006.

Side projects

Aside from their primary focus with Converge, Jacob Bannon and Kurt Ballou compose stark, ambient music under the moniker Supermachiner, with Daltonic drummer, Seth Bannon. Bannon also has a solo side-project entitled Dear Lover and continues to run the record label he founded, Deathwish Inc., with his longtime friend and business associate, Tré McCarthy.

In addition to keeping himself busy with recording bands in his studio, GodCity, guitarist Kurt Ballou has participated in an array of other lesser-known bands, such as Blue/Green Heart with fellow Converge alumnus Ben Koller (Koller performed in this band with Ballou well before he joined Converge.) Ballou also played guitar for the bands Kid Kilowatt, Seven Percent Solution, and The Huguenots.

In late 2005, Ben briefly assumed the drum chores for Cave In, replacing previous drummer, John-Robert Connors.

Alongside Converge, bassist Nate Newton is also a constituent of the bands Old Man Gloom and Doomriders. He plays guitar in both bands. Newton also played guitar in the band Jesuit, and was a member of the Virginia Beach, VA bands Lift and Channel.

Members

Current

• Jacob Bannon - vocals, lyrics, visuals
• Kurt Ballou - guitar, vocals, bass guitar, keyboards, percussion, theremin
• Nate Newton - bass guitar, vocals
• Ben Koller - drums, percussion

Former

• Aaron Dalbec - guitar (1994-2001)
• John DiGiorgio - drums (1999)
• Damon Bellorado - drums (1991-1999)
• Stephen Brodsky - bass (1997-1998)
• Jeff Feinburg - guitar, bass (1991-1997)
• Erik Ralston - bass (1993)

Discography

Demos

• Gravel (4-song demo, independently released, 1991)
• Self-titled (FAR/Exchange Records, 1991)
• Where Have All the Flowers Gone (independently released, 1992)
• Dog Days (Demo, independently released, 1993)
• Unloved & Weeded Out (Collection of Demos and unreleased songs, Deathwish Inc, 2002)

Full lengths

• Halo in a Haystack, (Earthmaker/Stolnacke, 1994)
• Caring And Killing, (Hydra Head Records, 1997)
• Petitioning the Empty Sky (Equal Vision Records, 1997)
• When Forever Comes Crashing (Equal Vision Records, 1998)
• Jane Doe (Equal Vision Records, 2001)
• You Fail Me (Epitaph Records, 2004)
• No Heroes (Epitaph Records, 2006)

Vinyl

• Unloved & Weeded Out 7" EP (Heliotrope Records, 1995)
• Downpour/Serial Killer 5" record (limited edition of 1000) (Ellington Records, 1997)

DVDs

• The Long Road Home (Deathwish Inc., 2003)

Trivia

• Drummer Ben Koller's former band is Force Fed Glass, a grind outfit.

• Drummer Ben Koller is also in Cave In.

• Original drummer Damon Bellorado now works for a retailer who solicits mens' suits.

• Bassist Nate Newton's previous band was Jesuit, which also featured Dillinger Escape Plan guitarist Brian Benoit.

• Former guitarist Aaron Dalbec now plays guitar full-time in what was originally his side-project, Bane.

• Former bassist Stephen Brodsky is an original member of Cave In.

• Some members identify with straight edge culture, but the group itself is not a straight edge band.

• Singer Jacob Bannon, bassist Nate Newton, and drummer Ben Koller are vegetarian while guitarist Kurt Ballou is vegan.

• Singer Jacob Bannon own and operates Deathwish Inc, an established hardcore record label.

• Singer Jacob Bannon is a respected visual artist in the underground art world.

• Guitarist Kurt Ballou owns and operates GodCity Studios.

• The New Jersey post-hardcore outfit, Trophy Scars, are often mistakenly believed to be connected to the song by the same name on No Heroes released in 2006. It was a mere matter of coincidence.

• Every single album features a member of Cave In either in the band or performing on the record.

References

1. Converge FAQ. Convergecult.com. Retrieved on 23 August, 2007.

External links

• Official website
• Official MySpace profile
• Converge's E-store
• Deathwish Inc. (Jacob Bannon's record label) website
• Interview w/ Jacob Bannon

• Epitaph Records artists
• American musical groups
• Metalcore musical groups
• 1990s music groups
• Massachusetts musical groups
• Massachusetts heavy metal musical groups