Converge | ‘Axe to Fall’

Think of Converge and it’s hard for the mind not to drift inexorably towards ‘Jane Doe’, their 2001 opus that propelled the group from an above-average, angular hardcore band to their far more vaunted position today.

A home run on pretty much all fronts, ‘Jane Doe’ was a stellar record packed to the brim with vocal ferocity, deeply impressive musicianship and an almost unrivalled atmosphere of impending chaos. While the follow-ups, in particular ‘You Fail Me’, can’t be pegged as pale imitations, it was clear they’d mined themselves clear of that seam of haywire fury that made ‘Jane Doe’ the yardstick for their career.  

 ‘Axe to Fall’ manages to turn all that upside down. First off, they’re back playing with the sort of frenzied passion when you can almost feel the spit-flecked riffs whip off the speakers, and secondly, they’ve managed to give every single track a serious sense of personality.

So much for the raft of similar two minute belters that populated the last disc, the melodic speed of ‘Dark Horse’ and the asphyxiating density of the title track are just two of a fine selection of cuts that all hold their own. The album is full of those little moments when you tell your mate to shut up and check out this part, because that little solo, or that tasty drum fill, is just too good to miss.

The head-long thrash of ‘Cutter’ has to be singled out, perfection in aggression at just over a minute and forty seconds with an on fire Kurt Ballou pulling out riffs for fun. His production on this can barely be faulted - deep and crisp, it gives their packed sounded just enough space to operate without adding any unneeded sheen. 

This sense of really crafting the tracks is underlined by the brace of tracks that finish the record. The Tom Waits-esque croon of Steve Von Till’s guest spot on ‘Cruel Bloom’, complete with jangling piano, wins a prize in the ‘Now for Something Completely Different’ category.

Finally, the slow, brooding and lush release of ‘Wretched World’ glides through the speakers like a completely different band, Genghis Tron’s Mookie Singerman singing with a lilt and grace that completely subverts the proceeding album, while chiming synths and the closing vocal refrain humming away into the background. 

It’s great when a band lives up to a considerable legacy. How often do they come close to delivering a career best almost twenty years in? On the back of this album, Converge are still packing more than enough venom to ensure their primacy for years to come. 

4.5 / 5 - Lorcan Archer ::: 21/10/09