Converge – “Axe To Fall”
Axe To Fall
Did you ever see The Rock with Nick Cage and Sean Connery? If you did, you should remember the scene where Agent Goodspeed is exposed to the insanely deadly VX nerve agent. He is then faced with the ultimate decision to either let his flesh boil and eyeballs pop out, or stab himself in the heart with an over sized syringe filled with the antidote to save his own life. Sorry to be a spoiler if you weren’t around in ’96 to catch it, but Goodspeed balls up to the obvious choice and ends up lunging the syringe into his chest to save his life. Adrenaline rush, dilated pupils. Awesome.
So what the fuck does this have to do with Converge? Watch the video below, and then continue reading.
Wasn’t that fucked up and fast? Let me tell you something, this analogy of facing an adrenaline-amped, life threatening moment and having an even worse life threatening decision to make to save yourself was the first thing that popped into my head while listening to “Axe To Fall” the very first time. This record makes me think of all the artist interviews I’ve ever read in books and magazines where they describe their music as something that “you can interpret in your own way.” This is exactly what I get out of Axe and what I can gather as an insane trip into Deaths’ icy grip and then having to save your own ass to get out.
I think any fan of Converge old or new will dig the shit out of this. Everything on this disc is perfect. Goddamn perfect. Guitars, drums, and bass flame, as well as embellish in the kind of heroics akin to metal gods of yesteryear. All the while, sounding brand new. Jacob Bannons’ vocals are and always have been throat tearing and unintelligible. But in my opinion his frenetic delivery is just one more devilish cog in the grinding speed that the majority of this album delivers. Make no mistake, this is the record you will put on your stereo at ear bleed levels and rock out to in your living room. All the meanwhile, jumping off your coffee table playing air guitar and punching the shit out of the air pretending to beat some phantom assailant who wants you dead.
Mood makers.
Nate Newton’s Doomriders‘ influence bleeds through perfectly into the songs. Any fan of the Motorhead meets Kyuss side project will know what to expect in terms of riff quality. To newcomers, any chance you get to think of this record as “traditional hardcore” will be thrown out with every passing hammer-on-pull-off double-whammy riff infused with a blues (Yes, blues) melody. *See album closers “Cruel Bloom/Wretched World” for what this means.* Although, you may have already had a coronary by the time the intense thrashing of “Cutter” breaks loose and knifes you in the dome.
It’s just too hard to believe and to say that this has easily topped everything they’ve ever written. Um, hello past three Converge releases?! Jane Doe?! I can’t believe I just fucking wrote that.
If they get any better than this, well…worms will feed.
tellin ya… metal album of the year thus far. dark horse is a great song. whole album is good.
You know Kurt Ballou is the guitarist right? Nate is just the bassist in Converge, unless there are truly gnarly bass riffs on here.
I saw Converge live in Vancouver six years ago and I have never been the same. These dudes have an energy on stage that can not be matched. Although their opening band Terror did a damn close job.