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RELEASED: October 24, 2006
PRODUCER:Kurt Ballou
LABEL: Epitaph
BAND:
Jacob Bannon
Kurt Ballou
Nate Newton
Ben Koller |
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Vicious songwriting, great production, fantastic drumming, cool concept
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Unintelligible vocals |
TRACKS:
1.Heartache 02. Hellbound 03. Sacrifice 04. Vengeance 05. Weight Of The World 06. No Heroes 07. Plagues 08. Grim Heart/Black Rose 09. Orphaned 10. Lonewolves 11. Versus 12. Trophy Scars 13. Bare My Teeth 14. To The Lions |
OVERVIEW
I’ll go right ahead and say that I’m probably not the best person to review a Converge album, especially not on a site focused on guitar heroes, fist-pumping anthems, and occasionally big hair. But after reading several worshipful reviews of “No Heroes”, I found myself in a record shop looking for something that would truly rip my face off, some straight up aggressive pit music that would make Killswitch Engage look like Van Morrison by comparison.
And boy, does Converge deliver.
Calling this record aggressive is like calling Chicago’s “You’re the Inspiration” slightly cheesy. Right from the outset, this record hits like a brass-knuckle punch in the throat, as the band tears through the first 5 tracks in just under 8 minutes – BUT, unlike just about every other band that attempts to play this scathing mixture of hardcore, grind, punk, and whatever else is in there, Converge manages to pull off each song with a unique flair that’ll actually leave you remembering each individual track. The musicianship is also head and shoulders above 95% of today’s heavy music scene, especially the ferocious, possessed drumming of Ben Koller. The precision musicianship on here is half of what makes Converge’s acerbic musical assault work so well, and the other half is just darn solid songwriting (for the most part, anyway).
SONGS
No Heroes doesn’t waste any time with filler intros – “Heartache” hits with the force of a full-speed cross-check, and the following track “Hellbound” is easily my favorite on the record, despite being only 1:07 long. “Sacrifice” reminds me a bit of old Norma Jean injected with a liberal dose of Discharge or Black Flag, and “Vengeance” offers no relief whatsoever, as it’s another paint-peeling slammer. The pace finally changes a bit with “Weight of the World”, and it almost seems as if the band is taking a minute and a half to let you recover from the past 7 minutes of auditory punishment. Don’t get comfortable though – “Weight of the World” builds straight into the title track “No Heroes”, which is the first track I ever heard this album and still one of the best, with Bannon’s frenzied screaming and Koller’s aforementioned inhuman precision on the kit combining for a lethal effect. “Plagues” is where Converge start getting more diverse in their songwriting, with a grating main riff that leads into some serious slow-burn riffing. “Grim Heart, Black Rose” is the undisputed surprise of the album, with a 9:34 running time, and it’s not unlike some of Norma Jean’s longer dirges, featuring some great composition and a surprise guest appearance from Only Living Witness’ Jonah Jenkins. The crushing conclusion to “Grim Heart” signals that we’re right back to the brutal, and “Orphaned” is another choice cut with a seriously catchy main riff and more song development in 1:39 than most bands manage in 4 or 5-minute numbers. “Lonewolves” has a real old-school hardcore feel to it and an absolutely vicious breakdown that sends the song from good to neck-snapping, and “Versus” keeps stuff slamming right along. “Trophy Scars” features some downright creepy moments, “Bare My Teeth” is a decent mid-paced, off-kilter crusher vaguely reminiscent of The Dillinger Escape Plan, and “To the Lions” closes the album with a scathing shot of speedy, borderline grindcore brilliance.
CONCLUSION
So after my first real experience with Converge, I must say I am quite impressed. The combination of precise musicianship, clear-yet-grating production, and an amalgamate of just about every extreme musical style on the planet produce absolutely devastating results, and the only gripe I really have with this record as a whole is that Bannon’s vocals are distorted to the point where they’re really unintelligible. Still, when all I can find to pick at is a production decision, especially from a band I’d never heard before this record, I’d say this is pretty darn impressive.
Review
by Matt Rewinski
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