Converge - Axe to Fall (2009) [Deathwish] // Grade: B

I grew up listening to Converge, seeing them perform in shitty-ass basements and crowded venues and leaving their shows with bruises, cut lips and black eyes. Jacob Bannon is one of the most energetic performers, commanding the crowd into a monstrous sea of waving fists, kicks and stage dives. With all of these experiences associated with this band, it’s hard to listen to them in their freshly polished and refined state.

Following No Heroes, You Fail Me and Jane Doe, Axe to Fall presents Converge as musicians. I despised No Heroes and it took me years to like Jane Doe. Converge has changed from their early days, which is to be expected. They’re refined and more talented musicians now. Still complete with pit-erupting breaks and psychotic growls, but in a shivering-clarity only found in major metal releases. Axe to Fall sounds great blasted in headphones and even compared to the re-issue of When Forever Comes Crashing is heads above the production quality of their other work.

“Dark Horse” and “Reap What You Sow” have the classic lead-in that you would find in their early releases. One trails off as the second picks up, bringing Ben Koller’s drums into a fury. “Effigy” brings in lead riffage from Kurt Ballou. “Worms Will Feed” is a classic slow and demented Converge track. Eventually you get lead into “Damages” and just like “Towing Jahova” off When Forever Comes Crashing, the drums and riffs set the pace that produce the intro for “Losing Battle.” This track is the most familiar sounds on the album. Iconic Converge; spastic vocals and blistering drums.

Axe to Fall ends its tyranny with “Cruel Boom” and “Wretched World” where the band proves its success as composers, not just a hardcore band from Salem, Massachusetts. These last two tracks remind me of when Cave-In would end their live shows in the late 1990’s with glimpses to their future-sound; spacey and melodic. Unlike Cave-In, Converge promises to be one of the better hardcore bands from the 90’s who continued to produce great hardcore into the 2000’s. Axe to Fall is a good album. It’s not their best work, but it is much better than the previous two albums, which says a lot. At first I was highly indifferent about their sound, but it’s growing on me.