THE SAME, BUT DIFFERENT: CONVERGE’S AXE TO FALL
Monday, October 19th, 2009 at 12:30pm by Sammy O'Hagar
An initial impression of Axe to Fall, Converge’s latest bruiser, is that it’s a little too simplistic: the vast majority of the album find the band rocking more balls out than they have since their early days. Even “Worms Will Feed” and “Damages,” two slower tracks, feel more like uneasy breathing room than the expansive, emotional dalliances of You Fail Me’s “In Her Shadow” or No Heroes’ “Grim Rose/Black Heart.” Even despite Axe to Fall’s two further-out-than-ever-before closing songs, the majority of the album feels slight, missing a key element of what had made the band as exceptional as they are up until now. With No Heroes finding the band at once at their grindiest and most experimental, something about Axe to Fall feels empty.
Of course, initial impressions don’t do a Converge album justice; if the band are known for anything, it’s marrying the deceptively simple and the brilliantly complex. Despite its tendency to be more gruff than any modern Converge release, Axe to Fall features some of the band’s tightest, most interesting songwriting, as well as providing one of the most satisfying repeat listens of any Converge album. Compact but alarmingly dense, the band have never been this comfortable putting their heads down and charging at you, with a relentlessness that’s almost militaristic in its approach. More than just a bunch of throw-aways before its wildly expansive ending, Axe to Fall stands eye level with their genre-defining full length debut (Petitioning the Empty Sky) or their genre-shattering masterpiece (Jane Doe). Though foolish and cynical to think otherwise, the band are still as good as they’ve ever been, with no signs of coasting despite having been around exponentially longer than most of the hardcore bands they came up with.
At its heaviest, Axe to Fall is disarming in its intensity: the title track’s unrelenting guitar noodling finds the band at its most technical, the Southern-fried mosh riff that closes out “Wishing Well” manages to top the pummeling hardcore that came before it, and “Dead Beat” and “Slave Driver” find the band as violent and devastating as ever. As stated before, most of the album feels like too much at first. But returning to it reveals that the songs, though interchangeable to some, have their own distinct personalities with a newfound furor and intensity (impressive for a band already very well known for their fury and intensity) absent in Converge’s most aggressive past work. The album’s busload of guest stars most likely add to Axe to Fall’s eccentricities and flourishes, but at its core, the album still belongs to Converge.
Of course, what most will mention when talking about this album is not the tightly constructed ragers, but the trips to the outer reaches of the bands sound. Though– honest to God– glockenspiel is employed subtly on “Dead Beat,” the band really lift off on the album’s two closing songs, the ragged “Cruel Bloom” and the bleak-but-beautiful “Wretched World.” The former is so reminiscent of Neurosis’ scorched earth country that Steve von Till actually sings on it; Kurt Ballou’s howling leads make it sound like a post-apocalyptic Bob Seger song. “Wretched World” takes things even further, sounding like it was performed in the wreckage of the havoc the album’s previous 12 songs had wrought. Featuring everyone from Genghis Tron– right down to Mookie Singerman providing wonderfully muted yet evocative vocals– the song bleakly closes out the album in a surprising fashion, both in where one initially though the album was headed and what Converge are still able to do.
Of course, Axe to Fall is, ultimately, an album of surprises: surprising the band can still be this savage but still provide new perspective, surprising that they can employ so many guest musicians but still ultimately coming out like sounding like themselves, and surprising that, after two decades at this, they still seemingly have a lot of new ground to cover. Though initial impressions may mar it into today’s point-and-click insta-culture, the album is one to grow on, finding new textures in its most brutal songs and marveling in its most expansive moments. It’s both a showcase of what the band are great at doing and what they’re still capable of getting done. For a band that had a notable career even before Jane Doe, Axe to Fall proves that they’re in it for the long haul, and that, in the wake of graying hair and growing paunches, the band will continue to impress the metal and hardcore communities until they choose to stop. May that time not be soon.
(4 ½ out of 5 horns)
-SO
just noise to me. i like something more in my metal than just playing at break neck speed with no grrove.
Then you’re not giving it enough of a chance. There’s way more going on than “break neck speed with no grove.” They’re not the kind of band you can listen to part of 1 song and make a judgment based on that.
this album is chock full of groove.
Yes.
My first impression of this record was how much “swagger” the riffs had. It feels an awful lot like the Southern sludge, stoner and power groove bands, played at 78rpm
GTFO.
YOU’RE FIRED, MOTHERFUCKER!
that is funny…you beat me to it.
you’re fired.
Sammy, you took the words right out of my mouth. Well, of course you spruced up the language a bit and removed any references to the boners that the album may cause, but in essence, I feel the same way. Axe to Fall is indeed a grower.
I like it! New to Converge, but from what i’ve heard on this album it’s pretty damn good, looking forward to buying the much-talked about Jane Doe.
Impressed the hell out of me!
This is my second favourite albums that they have put out, I’m getting it tomorrow
Totally agree. I felt very confused at first, with the exception of Dark Horse which kicked my ass from the start, but like it more with each listen. Infinite amount of respect for these guys and even if I didn’t care for this record, their previous albums are some of my favorites and I love them.
Yeah, i love Dark Horse, but the rest of the record kindof blended together until the last two tracks, but after listening to it more I am liking it more. I still LOVE Jane Doe more than their other records for some reason, but i love this band and I am really getting into this more and more.
It seems like there is a progression of themes since Jane Doe until now and i Love it.
Jane Doe = Love>Broken-Hearted>Release – Their most beautiful record.
You Fail Me = Brokenness>Emptiness>Loathsome
No Heroes = Pissed Off>Vengeful>Rising Back Up
Axe To Fall = Fuck You>Take It Back>Punishing>Remorseful
YOU CERTAINLY ARE CLEVER.
HERE, HAVE A PhD.
by the way, at the Dethklok/Mastodon show here in Kansas City, Converge’s vocalist told everyone to download Axe to Fall if they liked what they heard, and to try and buy it if they liked it then.
So no harm no foul?
That’s pretty cool. That’s probably the smartest thing a small-to-mid-level band playing support on one of those big metal package tours could do, besides blowing the fans away with their live performance.
I know about 500 people who’d kill you where you stand for calling Converge a “small to mid level band”. Converge are one of the few bands to stand two decades, and are some of the few elder statesmen of hardcore. Granted, they may not have the exposure that Deathklok does, but the bulk of their (Converge’s) fans are as rabid as the fans in Metalocalypse.
This one gets album of the year for me. I was never the biggest Converge fan (though, I can admit that Jane Doe was their best effort until now), but Axe To Fall just won me over. I wrote a review for it the other day, but even that doesn’t give it justice.
10/10
I agree. Their previous albums were growers for me, while this one instantly won me over.
this is definitely the cd to get if you’re new to this band. very accessible.
Agreed. I gave Jane Doe a try a few months ago and I just couldn’t get through it. This I can’t stop listening to, and it makes me want to listen to more.
I just got into this band, I’ve found them very rewarding. I used to ignore them based on a naive judgement of the hardcore element in their sound. I’m really happy I was a moron, their music is actually great. This album slays, “Cutter” might just be the most furious song I’ve ever heard.
BUY this record when it comes out. Trust me it’s amazing, and I got my preorder copy this past Saturday. Definetly looking at an album of the year nomination here.
I can’t get into this band at all. Maybe it’s the vocals, maybe it’s the complete lack of structure, but I simply can’t get into it.
I was at the Mastodon/Dethklok show in Mpls, MN on Friday, and Converge opened for them. Personally, I thought they put on a terrible show. Their instruments were so distorted that I couldn’t even tell if they were in tune, and the lead singer was basically just barking into the microphone. The crowd boo’d them as they left the stage, and while I waited in line to go to the bathroom between sets, all everyone was talking about was how terrible of a performance it was. There were some people up front that were apparently digging it, but the majority definitely wasn’t.
To each their own I guess. There must be something there that I just don’t see.
That’s because Dethklok fans are idiots
You’re a fucking idiot if you think they “lack structure”. Maybe it’s just too complex for your simple mind to understand. You do understand that extreme metal contains complex structures do you not? I take it you’re not a fan of complex death metal either?
its not unlike someone who doesn’t “get” Obituary after going their whole lives thinking Motley Crue was the heaviest thing in existence. it takes time to appreciate. no different with Converge. a understanding of hardcore music could help. start with Black Flag. ready for the next step? try some Cro-Mags. wanna hear where Converge borrowed their sound from? get some Rorschach. gone too far? maybe this isn’t your thing.
To have someone on this website saying “just noise to me” is absolutely hilarious. This is a metal site isn’t it? I mean, that might just be the most eye rolling comment you could make here.
Personally this album blew my mind straight away, and only continues to do so even more with every listen. Fighting it out with Crack The Skye for album of the year.
Jane Doe > Axe To Fall > No Heroes > When Forever Comes Crashing > Caring And Killing > Petitioning The Empty Sky > You Fail Me
lol.
some fans can be so pissy. how dare you not like this band arrrrrrghhhh.
there is no groove. and if you call going four min + straight without changing direction , and awful screaming than dosnet change one time through out the whole song structure, than this band is full of it.
the head line for this thread is the same but difrrent….
i checked on youtube and listend to 5 songs. just so i wasnt going by their new video. and yeah. its all the same. zzzzzzz…..
“there is no groove. and if you call going four min + straight without changing direction…”
COMPLETE BULLSHIT.
HA
Yeah, you’re right, converge are terrible. Despite the fact that you know, just about every album they’ve put out is considered a classic.
But no, you’re right, they lack any groove or variety. You alone are correct, and everyone else in the metal community is wrong.
Get the fuck over yourself.
Go listen to the new song Cutter and come back and tell me there’s no groove
converge can be very inaccessible to new ears. you have to give it a chance. there is a reason they’ve been around this long. open your ears and mind.
As much as Ive always loved to get my nuts kicked in by Converge, this album didnt really hit me to that effect. Im sure one day soon it will and ill probably jam it for a couple weeks. But I gave it a few spins and im still just not getting into it. Maybe ive heard enough of Converge’s anthemic hardcore holocaust. Or maybe their new stuff just isnt doin it for me. Either way, they still kill shit but Axe To Fall is sounding kinda weak.