| Converge Petitioning The Empty Sky |
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 | Tracklist:
1. The Saddest Day
2. Forsaken
3. Albatross
4. Dead
5. Shingles
6. Buried But Breathing
7. Farewell Note To This City
8. Color Me Blood Red
9. For You*
10. Antithesis*
11. Homesong*
| Ranking: #26 for 1998 | |
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On 51 Lists
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5 of 5 thought this review was well written
Regarded by many to be the pioneers of metalcore, Converge are a band like none other. They blend metal and hardcore with technical riffage to make the definitive sound they will always be known for. Their second true full-length release, Petitioning The Empty Sky, defined metalcore and heavy music to come way back in 1996, and is thought by some to be their best release to this day.
Petitioning begins with "The Saddest Day", which is appropriately the best song on the album and arguably the greatest song Converge have ever done. If you must listen to a Converge song, listen to this one, because they don't come any better. Amazing breakdown, awesome vocals, killer riffs. What a way to start an album. Listen. Now.
The tracks that follow "The Saddest Day" may not overtake the afore-mentioned juggernaut, but they sure as hell try. "Forsaken" almost feels like a reprise of "Saddest" at points, and that's certainly not a bad thing. Jake's vocals have already broken in the album by the second track, and man are they killer. His screeches are unyieldingly powerful, and his "singing" is... debatable. When Jake sings, usually there are backing vocals shadowing the same notes, and of course they are out of tune. It sounds intentional to me and I would suggest that it is, because it certainly is creepy as opposed to beautiful, which is fitting following his screeching.
Not mentioning the guitars that are tearing across these tracks would be a misstep as well. They shift seamlessly from pounding palm-muting to high technical lines. I especially like them on "Shingles" as the album goes on, though it's often not considered a signature Converge track. "Farewell Note To This City" and "Color Me Blood Red" close out the original tracks and are a fantastic end to the record. Hey, "Farewell Note" is actually pretty! Of course, "Color Me Blood Red" shreds that to pieces with the intro riff, but it's not hard to see that coming.
Onto the extra live tracks (in a radio studio, of course). "For You" is a letdown to me. It's just too friggin' long and tedious. Pretty rare for a Converge track to do that as far as I'm concerned. But aw man, "Antithesis" is a killer. And at the huge pause before the heaviest section of "Homesong", there's a big break so one of the guitarists can change a broken string, with some discussion about Jake hitting his head on the mic stand and "bleeding like a siv". Then of course, they blast into the heavy section. Hilarious and great, definitely a good track to close on.
So all in all, if you enjoy Converge, this is a must-have. If you haven't heard enough Converge, buy this record. This is the best place to start and arguably the best album Converge have made so far.
Recommended Tracks: "The Saddest Day", "Forsaken", "Farewell Note To This City", "Color Me Blood Red", "Antithesis", "Homesong"
Rating: 4.5/5
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Good work dude, I love this band.
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Classic album, great band. "The Saddest Day", "Color Me Blood Red", "Farewell Note to This City", and "Shingles" are my favorites. Hey, I even like "For You".
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Yer there a great band, loved them for years
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I've only heard The Saddest Day and Albatross and I plan to buy this soon. Great review.
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AMG actually loved all the Converge Albums except for this one. They sent it's still a must have for any fan just because of "The Saddest Day," which I have yet to hear. Anyway, great review.
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That was a da[I][/I]mn good review. I have listened to "Homewrecker" and "Distance And Meaning" a lot lately and definitely plan on picking up one of their records.
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Those are both from Jane Doe, their best album in my opinion. Get that.
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Jane Doe's great, too, it's really hard to pick a best Converge album.
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They all are great, but Jane Doe is just a masterpiece. Everything just works on that CD. It might be the best CD I own.
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Jane Doe is better as a whole, but I think the earlier ones are better as a culmination of individual songs. I mean if I were watching Converge live, I'd be more excited by the opening to "Color Me Blood Red" or "Conduit" then I would say "Heaven in Her Arms" or "Homewrecker". Not that I don't love those songs, I just think when taken out of the context of the entire album, they lose some of their power. You Fail Me's been growing on me a lot lately too, and I think it has a little bit of both of those traits going on.
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I totally agree. I mean one of the biggest, if not the biggest factor, of Jane Doe is how the whole thing flows together. It's truly an album to be listened to as a whole instead of being rememebered for individual songs.
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Quit talking about Jane Doe and talk about how much this album owns.
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I'm not much on metalcore. I friend of mine who really likes this band kept trying to convince me to listen to them, saying they are basically a metal band with breakdowns. Good review either way.
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[QUOTE=Death to Pop-Punk]I'm not much on metalcore. I friend of mine who really likes this band kept trying to convince me to listen to them, saying they are basically a metal band with breakdowns. Good review either way.[/QUOTE]
Says the guy with a Shadows Fall avatar :lol:
You listen to tons of metalcore, I have no idea what you're on about.
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I don't consider Shadows Fall metalcore at all, and I'd rather not argue about it here.
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*backs Pop-Punk against his arch nemesis*
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Hahahah...thanks, its nice to have support.
*prepares for extreme genre battle in another thread*
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[QUOTE=LordDargon]Says the guy with a Shadows Fall avatar :lol:
You listen to tons of metalcore, I have no idea what you're on about.[/QUOTE]
Actaully you have no idea what you're talking about.
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[QUOTE=SubtleDagger]it's really hard to pick a best Converge album.[/QUOTE]
Nice review. Sometime this is my favorite Converge album, it just depends. This is the album that really got me into Converge.
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[QUOTE=LordDargon]Says the guy with a Shadows Fall avatar :lol:
You listen to tons of metalcore, I have no idea what you're on about.[/QUOTE]
Shadows Fall =/= Metalcore
They're just metal.
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