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User
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Last Active 02-07-15 9:34 pm
Joined 02-07-15
Review Comments 2,683
| Converge Albums RANKED
I have listened to Converge for years but I deleted most of my ratings for this band because honestly I had no idea what to rate them at that point.
So here's my honest take upon revisiting all of their albums once again: | | 1 |  | Converge
All We Love We Leave Behind
This one is perfectly produced and virtually every single song has something special. The flow is perfect, the riffs are brutal and Jacob sounds far more focused and controlled vocally. It's one of their most accessible albums but it also retains everything that makes this band special. 4.9/5 | | 2 |  | Converge
Jane Doe
IMO once it gets to "Homewrecker" onward this album skyrockets like no other thing I've ever listened to. It's super heavy and chaotic, and it took me literally years to get into it. It's definitely its own thing and a different beast than any of their other albums. Poacher Diaries is the only other release that sounds even remotely close to this in terms of vocal work and mayhem. What Nate Newton and Ben Koller brought into this band cannot be overstated. 4.7/5 | | 3 |  | Converge
Axe to Fall
Honestly, I'm conflicted for third place between this and You Fail Me. The only reason I'll favor this is because the version I love of You Fail Me is a remix/remaster and because it has a bonus track added into the track list that elevates it. The original release feels... incomplete now. And even though I don't think Axe to Fall is as focused as the other mentioned album, I do believe this has more replay value just because it's more aggressive and faster, and thus more urgent overall. 4.6/5 | | 4 |  | Converge
You Fail Me Redux
Again, this could easily be placed in the number 3 spot on some days. The album overall is not as heavy or chaotic as all three albums above it, but the riffs are very memorable and the songs differentiate much easier one from the next on the first few listens when compared to the other albums. It is a more somber album, though, and in some ways darker which I'm not always in the mood for. 4.6/5 | | 5 |  | Converge
No Heroes
To think this is a massive drop from all the albums above it is silly. Sure, songs 2-4 feel tacked in and the album could work better by trimming those, but everything else is still Converge done masterfully. This album kinda deviates a bit from the gloomy and sludgy You Fail Me in turn for a more, dare I day, punkier and post-hardcore-ish sound? But it's very, very subtle and not a sudden overturn for what makes this band special. In context of their discography, it is actually the perfect bridge for the two subsequent releases. 4.5/5 | | 6 |  | Converge
The Dusk in Us
This is the first Converge album that actually displays signs of age and stagnation. While the record does things fine overall, it lacks an immediate pull the rest of their later material possess. Songwriting is also not the best all the way through, "I Can Tell You About Pain" and "Under Duress" are proof of this. There’s definitely more focus on melodies, and often feels jarring switching from one mood to the next. While it is not a massive disappointment, it’s still considerably weaker than the majority of their previous catalogue. It's just a solid (at worst decent) Converge album, which cannot possibly be a bad thing. 4.2/5 | | 7 |  | Converge
Love Is Not Enough
I obviously haven’t listened to this as much as any other Converge album, so I might change my mind on this upon more listens. My first impressions are very similar to Dusk; it’s just another solid album from top to bottom, though it’s definitely heavier than Dusk. I get that this album is made to be contained and brief, but based on the cool ideas that the second half offers, I don’t see how or why they would keep it as short as 30 min and not add at least a couple more tracks. It doesn’t feel as expansive or ambitious as other works. Production is superb, though, which makes it even more of a shame there aren't more tracks in this because that sound is crisp and clear. 4.1/5 | | 8 |  | Converge
Petitioning the Empty Sky
By far the best release of their early output. "The Saddest Day" is forever king, and the album keeps things interesting for its very short runtime. Even though it was not conceived as a proper album initially, it works that each track was written as songwriting exercises recorded in different places with different equipment and whatnot. 3.9/5 | | 9 |  | Converge
Bloodmoon: I
Just like Neurosis did with Jarboe, or Cult of Luna did with Julie Christmas, Converge features a female artist on one of their records. Whether you consider this to be part of Converge’s album canon or not, based on purely personal preference, I think this holds up pretty high in their discography all things considered. Converge always dabbled with atmospheric sludge metal and post-metal, and this goes fully into that extreme with an obvious gothic rock influence as well. While the extreme metalcore/math core/hardcore punk styles the band is known for is not totally absent, it is greatly diminished. If you are mostly into that side of Converge, this may not be your thing. 3.7/5 | | 10 |  | Converge
When Forever Comes Crashing
This is definitely a transitional album for them. At this point, the band is figuring where to take things next. There are very weird vocals sprinkled through the album and "Ten Cents" definitely feels like it doesn't belong here or on any other Converge record. I also find that nothing much particularly sticks out and there isn't a lot of very memorable moments for me. Still a very enjoyable album, though. 3.4/5 | | 11 |  | Converge
Halo In A Haystack
Ah, yes, the forgotten Converge debut. This album is not even widely available anymore and can only be constructed using both Caring and Killing and Unloved and Weeded Out compilations. I still think there are pretty solid riffs here and I happen to like this material almost as much as I like anything from WFCC. 3.2/5 | |
bananatossing
02.12.26 | Can't go wrong with this band. | botb
02.12.26 | 10 is 1 yeah | bananatossing
02.12.26 | :O outlandish take | Veldin
02.12.26 | First half of When Forever, along with the title track, are superb. Your 1 and 2 are probably their best, yeah | Emim
02.12.26 | YFM > PTES > WFCC > ATF > JD > don't have strong feelings about the rest | Scoot
02.12.26 | you fail me redux is their best release | DType
02.12.26 | 2 > 4 > 5 > 3 > 8 > 6 > 1 > 9 > 10 > 11 | botb
02.13.26 | Not outlandish at all, has some of their absolute hardest songs of all time (conduit) on it and the only skip for me is ten cents. My favorite converge record. | jrlikestodance
02.13.26 | Love seeing No Heroes that high! You Fail Me is my number 1 | bananatossing
02.13.26 | @botb What I mean is it's not popular to rank that album so high, but then again I'm always baffled at how No Heroes is rated here. I do like WFCC, don't get me wrong, it just feels to me like the heaviness doesn't land like on other records. I've yet to listen the original release to compare it with the remastered version.
Nice to see some love for No Heroes. m/ |
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