Converge - Jane Doe
Band Origin: Salem, Massachusetts, USA
Genre: Mathcore / Metalcore
Label: Epitaph
Running Time: 42 minutes
Release Date: September 4, 2001
Best Part: The title track - it carries the emotional weight of the entire record.
Favorite Tracks: Hell to Pay, Jane Doe, Phoenix in Flight, and Thaw
Grade: 4.5
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Jane Doe in 20 words or less:
As discordant and aggressive as this record is, its abrasiveness and feeling is what will leave you wanting.
The Band:
Converge is a four member outfit out of the witch fearing town of Salem with a long history in the hardcore and metalcore genres. Taking influence from bands across a wide spectrum of genres, including Black Flag, Black Sabbath, Slayer, Entombed and Starkweather, this band has managed to create a blend of the best that hardcore, mathcore and heavy metal have to offer - and are recognized as one of the players to define key elements in metalcore. Converge relies on many different playing styles to create their sound, which keeps hardcore as its base, and frequently uses the complexity and varying time signatures if mathcore to create songs which can range from near grindcore, to songs with a slower tempo and more doom-like drawn out feel. Over the years Converge's music has become more accessible, while still remaining as raucous as ever.
Converge's other releases include: Halo in a Haystack (1994), Petitioning the Empty Sky (1996), When Forever Comes Crashing (1998), You Fail Me (2004), No Heroes (2006), and Axe to Fall (2009)
Jay's Take on Jane Doe:
The staff at Sputnik Music probably summed it up best when they named o their album of the decade stating that "for all her technical achievement in bringing together metalcore and grind, o is grotesque, o is vile, o is miserable, and let’s get to the crux of it here, raucously inaccessible". All of these points are true, which is funny to say considering what most would consider very negative comments, are actually the reasons for the albums praise. The bit about inaccessibility is spot on considering the nature of this album. Whether during its most frenetic moments or its more slowed down semi-melodic moments, it is harsh, discordant, bleak and hard to swallow. Vocalist Jacob Bannon's vocals are best described as a cacophony of screams and shrieks, the guitar work of Kurt Ballou, now departed rhythm guitarist Aaron Dalbec and bassist Nate Newton are dissonant, aggressive and complex, and the drumming of Ben Koller adds its own touch, with the use of polyrhythmic drumming which is one of the staples of the band. Converge has always sought to out-do themselves with each new record by creating a new listening experience by pushing forward technically and trying not to repeat themselves. Jane Doe is the album that marked the step forward for Converge to become one of the more noisy and interesting hardcore punk and metal hybrid bands out there. Both its dissonant aggression and subdued beauty can be emphasized on the title track, swaying equally between both extremes to end this record on a true high.
Despite the fact this album can be considered one of their least accessible, it really serves as the launching pad that catapulted them towards the release of their next three records, You Fail Me, No Heroes and Axe to Fall, which are equally as well acclaimed. Axe to Fall, their most recent release is more accessible in comparison and features collaborations with artists who are both close to the band and also served as their inspiration, making it also very worthy of a listen.
Sample of the Day:
- J
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