Converge

Converge: When Forever Comes Crashing [reissue]When Forever Comes Crashing [reissue] (2005)
Equal Vision Records

Reviewer Rating: 5

User Rating:

Contributed by: AnchorsAnchors
(others by this writer | submit your own)
Published on January 29th 2006There's those few seminal bands, and not many come around each decade, that really change the way you look at music. It's different for everyone, depending on the type of music you really enjoy, and how each individual album by a band impacts you. One of those such bands for me hails from Boston, Ma.

There's those few seminal bands, and not many come around each decade, that really change the way you look at music. It's different for everyone, depending on the type of music you really enjoy, and how each individual album by a band impacts you. One of those such bands for me hails from Boston, Massachusetts, and like them or not, there's absolutely no denying that they're one of the single most influential bands to ever step foot on stage. That band my friends, that band is Converge.

Metalcore wasn't a well known genre in 1998, but this foursome had already been at it for eight years at that point. Predating Harvest, Threadbare, 108, and other such bands that are often thought of as the originators of metalcore, Converge was making music far ahead of their time. And just when other bands gained some footing, and thought maybe they've caught up, the band dropped the landmark When Forever Comes Crashing.

There's a lot of debate as to whether this or Petitioning the Empty Sky was a better release, and when it comes down to it, neither is better. Both are perfect. That's right, perfect. WFCC is forty-one minutes of the most ear-splitting, punishing, and well crafted heavy releases of all time. It all starts with singer Jake Bannon. An absolute madman, he commands the perfect voice to rise above the jarring dissonance and intense start-and-stop riffing that made Converge such a household name. But it's not that they're loud, hell, anyone can be loud, it's their songwriting craft that makes them so special. The melodic intro to "The Lowest Common Denominator" lulls you into a false sense of security, but with each strum you can sense an impending burst of chaos, as the tone slowly darkens, until Bannon's maniacal shriek enters the fray, and the dissonant riffing slowly bludgeons you into submission. As I mentioned before though, Converge's songwriting has many facets, and without compromising their sound in the slightest, they're able to really work a variety of angles and make each song sound fresh and powerful at the very same time.

The uncompromising speed and power of "Conduit" makes itself known from the outset, with many quick, dramatic tempo shifts, and Bannon howling like a banshee above the frenetic guitar playing of the unflappable Kurt Ballou. During the "slower moments," the repeated riffing sounds like the wail of a siren, but this doesn't make any of the band more musically cautious, possibly even making them more volatile than before. The drumming has to be stunningly quick and spot-on to even comprehend, but it is, and it has to be, as the pace set in the bass driven "Letterbomb" and the reckless abandon of "The High Cost of Playing God" demands that kind of talent. Each member of this band has to be flawless for these songs to work, and I'll be damned, flawless is just what they are. "The High Cost" delivers and then some with spastic vocal delivery and breakneck musicianship. The band isn't all about speed or power for the sake of it though, as almost every song cuts in and out, weaving through tremendous time signature and tempo changes, Bannon fervently shrieking amidst all of this calamity. Most impossible to decipher, Bannon's lyrics, as his vocals, are several steps above any band playing a similar style. His words cut to the very core of emotion, and beneath all the swirling dissonance and noisy, layered textures, there really is a level of beauty.

There was nothing that I ever wanted more than for you to hold this deep within your heart / To lay beside me as my halo burns deep into a cinder, and to the wake me from my tired life / Give this ghost a home again, when you fall short and I fall short, this is where I pretend I'm as tall as the sky / Now there is no comfort in your apology, and no comfort in this shame / This is where I can duck for cover from the overwhelming, from the forever overhead / For the heart, for old times sake, I'll stay warm with this.

His eloquent wording makes his incredible screaming all the more heartfelt, without detracting a single thing from the ferocity of his delivery. Manic and disjointed, his every word rises and falls with the hellacious rhythms behind it. These songs aren't bits and pieces of greatness, but full and complete works that most bands could never even hope to aspire to.

Equal Vision did an amazing thing to remaster the album, as the newly improved production only lends itself to the weight and gravity of this release. The liner notes tell the band's story, and come with some full color pictures and brand new artwork, even better looking than before.

Until somebody steps up to the monumental task of dethronement, Converge is the be all end all of the metalcore scene. Make no mistake, most of the bands around today are just poor imitators. Converge is the true meaning of what happens when beauty meets a beast

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Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not respon sible for them in any way. Seriously.

AnarchoDeeDee (March 26, 2012)

Converge= God

Anonymous (February 4, 2006)

"Without a doubt (and any one who says different doesn't know FUCK ALL about music) Converge is one of the greatest XTREME music bands of all time."

welcome_to_this_neotokyo (February 1, 2006)

I'm assuming we've all forgotton about Botch.

dev (January 31, 2006)

When Will throws down, Will throws down.

jamespastepunk (January 30, 2006)

*could use a reference point

*bashes punknews android for not having an edit button*

jamespastepunk (January 30, 2006)

Here's the wiki on Rorschach. I don't know these guys eiether, but I figure those of us who don't claim have encyclopedic knowledge of hardcore could use reference point.

Want music to see if Will is talking out of his ass?

This page appears to have some.

Anonymous (January 30, 2006)

"Anyway, Rorshach may have "schooled" Converge, but did Rorshach ever come up with anything as beautiful/terrifying as the title track of 'Jane Doe'?"

Yeah... You're acting like I namedropped some random band, but Rorschach basically invented "metalcore" or whatever, except when they did it, they made it better.

-Will

Anonymous (January 30, 2006)

My friend was dating this one girl who liked to pretend she was into hardcore and whatever. She kept telling me that she was really into this band that I had never heard of. It was Rorschach, only she kept calling it "Rare-Chach". When I finally got done laughing, I gave her my copy of their "Needlepack" 7".

-Ken

Anonymous (January 30, 2006)

i cannot stand steve austin's production on this album. i like today is the day and all, but i hate how he tries to make every band he produces sound like TITD. it never works. he totally saps the power from this album. give me petitioning or jane doe over this any day.

Anonymous (January 30, 2006)

"shai hulud is better, more melody, easier to listen to"

if you want music that is "easy to listen to", perhaps you are barking up the wrong tree.

Anonymous (January 30, 2006)

Without a doubt (and any one who says different doesn't know FUCK ALL about music) Converge is one of the greatest extreme music bands of all time.

Anonymous (January 30, 2006)

I think you're forgetting a little band named Rorschach who completely schooled these dudes and released some of the sickest hardcore of the 90's.

-Will

Yeah, and you know what else? The best Beach Boys album by miles is all the recordings of SMiLE made by Brian Wilson when he was eating a ham sandwich and sitting on the toilet taking a gigantic shit.

Stop namedropping to make your dick look big, and start just appreciating good music.

Anyway, Rorshach may have "schooled" Converge, but did Rorshach ever come up with anything as beautiful/terrifying as the title track of 'Jane Doe'?

Anonymous (January 30, 2006)

shai hulud is better, more melody, easier to listen to

Anchors (January 29, 2006)

Don't get me wrong, I fucking love Shai Hulud, they were one of the two bands to get me into hardcore, but Converge has been around for 15 years now, Shai Hulud only 7 or so, and in those years, they only recorded two albums. "Hearts Once Nourished..'' was flawless, but as a whole they haven't done as much for music as Converge has.

Anonymous (January 29, 2006)

DEP are grind/math metal... Definitely not metalcore.

-Will

jamespastepunk (January 29, 2006)

Chalk up another vote for Shai Hulud over here.

discofucker (January 29, 2006)

Shai Hulud.

skaboom (January 29, 2006)

I would disagree and say Dillinger Escape Plan are the kings of metalcore, but Converge are a close second.

swank (January 29, 2006)

score being 10.
my bad.
duh.

swank (January 29, 2006)

Score is for Forever Comes Crashing, the band.

If you like this album, you'll probably hate them, but if you like
Refreshing pop-punk/post hardcore from Toronto, you might dig.

Anonymous (January 29, 2006)

i hate this shit

mysillyname (January 29, 2006)

1) classifying bands is for pussies.
2) converge is better than your mom.
3) at first i wasnt too into the cover art.. and now.. theres a soft spot in my vagina for it.

ElVaquero (January 29, 2006)

I prefer Petitioning the Empty Sky, but both that and this are completely perfect and undeniable. The remasters are so fucking awesome.

musical-monkey (January 29, 2006)

the double vinyl of this is absolutely gorgeous

Anonymous (January 29, 2006)

oh and the new album is gonna be sick

Anonymous (January 29, 2006)

this band is really hard to classify..i think thats what makes them awesome. they dont give a shit and do whatever they feel like doing. the last album rules. way more intense than the others

OverDefined (January 29, 2006)

Also, Deathwish released a double vinyl containing both Petitioning and When Forever. I love that label.

Benjasauruss (January 29, 2006)

Converge describe themselves as "metallic hardcore". They have real hardcore breakdowns and it's stuff you can dance to, but it's really complicated and much more heavy than most hardcore. Hardcore kids are who are predominantly found at converge shows.

Order of Converge albums from Best to Worst:
1. Jane Doe
2. Petitioning the Empty Sky
3. Caring and Killing
4. When Forever Comes Crashing
5. You Fail Me

benz (January 29, 2006)

Score's for the review. Great review, Anchors. Converge is easily the best "heavy" band out right now, but that's not to say that they haven't always been. Here's to Converge.

-benz

rkl (January 29, 2006)

hi.
converge is a metal band.
theres nothing hardcore about them.
i know its not cool to admit you listen to metal, but, suffice to say, you do.
it doesnt mean you have to like pantera, but stop with the "core" bullshit.
thanks,
management

Anonymous (January 29, 2006)

Score is for Converge's live show.

TheOneTrueBill (January 29, 2006)

I don't really like this album. The only Converge I really like has been the last two albums.

danperrone (January 29, 2006)

the beginning of "my unsaid everything" is like the second best intro to an album ever

behind "after the eulogy" of course

Mixhail (January 29, 2006)

I always thought this to be the weakest of all the converge cds because i thought it was too frantic for its own good. But i attribute that mostly to the shitty production by Steve Austin on the OG version of the album. Kurt's demos that were featured on Unloved and Weeded Out sound a thousand times better than the shit Steve Austin fucked up. Still, This cd will always be the transitional cd for the band, where Converge learned to play even more franticly (as they first showed on Petitioning (im not counting Caring and Killing)) but then learned to perfectly structure their songs as on their masterpiece Jane Doe.
I am suprised the reviewer did not mention the two best songs on this cd IMO ... towing jehovah (with its massive buildup halfway through) and love as arson (i like the "alternate" version better, but this one is still brutal). The cd is alright, but does not compare to the new stuff this band has made.

fallingupwards84 (January 29, 2006)

great review

this album is awesome... but Jane Doe is still my favorite Converge album

Anonymous (January 29, 2006)

nice reissue.

crazytoledo (January 29, 2006)

Convere =/= Metalcore

crazytoledo (January 29, 2006)

Horray Converge.

Anonymous (January 29, 2006)

I think you're forgetting a little band named Rorschach who completely schooled these dudes and released some of the sickest hardcore of the 90's.

-Will

Anonymous (January 29, 2006)

converge blows dick