Converge - Petitioning the Empty Sky (1996)Release ID: 237
Converge’s debut album was a rough, underwhelming and poorly mixed mess that had some good ideas on display, but just wasn’t executed well. The sophomore Petitioning the Empty Sky is much more favorably received and fixes some of the issues from before, namely the terrible production.
The album is much more concise and consistent, and delivers a great show of energy found both in the rhythm section and the dissonant riffs. It’s got an odd mix of short Punk-length songs and Prog-length compositions, and displays a good amount of variation and growth throughout. The vocals unfortunately remain terrible and I can’t make out a word here.
It’s fine, but it doesn’t grip me as much as others I’m afraid. No memorable riffs on top of a gruelingly bad vocal performance makes the relisten factor very low.
After the overly hardcore punk-ish Halo in a Haystack, the second Converge album Petitioning the Empty Sky marks a great contributor to the birth of the metalcore we know, love, and hate. Who knows what metalcore would've been like if Converge didn't step out of their hardcore comfort zone? I'm glad they did! This album has been praised and put in top-10 hardcore/metalcore album lists, along with other later Converge albums. Petitioning the Empty Sky has caused a new flow in the history of hardcore and heavy metal. If anyone who can't stand metalcore hears this and screams, "What is THIS!?!", the correct answer would be "A revolutionary piece of heavy history!"
Converge wasn't the only band with the idea of inventing metalcore. There seems to be a school of bands experimenting with mixing metal with hardcore, but I'm sure the top student of that metal-hardcore experimentation class is, you guessed it, Converge! And it looks like a couple other bands in 1996/1997 (Cave In and The Dillinger Escape Plan) were already following Converge's steps with their own demos/EPs, though they couldn't go the same height as Petitioning the Empty Sky...except maybe Dillinger's Calculating Infinity. Anyway, unlike Halo in a Haystack and the earlier Converge demo EPs that lean more towards traditional hardcore, their second album unleashed the rhythm vs. melody instrumentation and dissonant vocals of metalcore. It is a raw dynamic brute force to dig out of the underground and change two genres' destinies!
"The Saddest Day" is the first track and the best example of the genre that would develop to be metalcore. It opens with flaming alarm-like guitar cacophony joined by the throbbing rhythm of drums and bass (NOT the genre, the instruments) with a caustic vocal force as vocalist Jacob Bannon screams his lungs out. Before you have the chance to adjust, there's more of the drums and bass in a fast breakdown to remind you that's there's more purpose for metalcore than just moshing. Throughout these chaotic 7 minutes, the song keeps violently twisting and turning, yet maintains their motivation to stay cohesive and consistent. There are many brilliant moments fit into that one song, but you absolutely can't forget the pure ending breakdown of guitar/bass divergence staying insane until it stops, nor the haunting moment in the middle with just clean guitar, cymbals, and an eerie attempt at clean singing. Any of the earliest hardcore metalheads would surely keep those memories in a metalcore scrapbook.
While never being able to reach the brilliance of the first track, the second one "Forsaken" is shorter and focuses on pure metalcore assault. Notably it has a quick melodic section before descending into a sick dark breakdown as Jacob keeps screaming "CARRY ON!!!" Next one "Albatross" has more of the horrendous emo-punk side that killed the mood in their debut album, while turning through fast yet melancholic melody and ending with an uplifting major-chord verse. [does the JonTron "WHAT!?"] "Dead" has bright melody before jumping slowly into another breakdown spiraling into high-pitched guitar dissonance. Then it all crashes into mind-blowing chaos to end the song.
The second side with new tracks to turn this EP into a semi-studio album starts with "Shingles", marked by blazing tempo variations. The one-minute "Buried But Breathing" once again recalls the earlier years of Converge with dark old-sounding rhythm and vocals to scream/sing along to. "Farewell Note to the City" is the most emotional song of the album with minimalist jazzy instrumentation and vocals ranging from singing to emo wailing and, in the accelerated end, screaming similar to hardcore bands like Shai Hulud and Stretch Arm Strong. The last studio song "Color Me Blood Red" is one of my favorites here and delights me with tight metal melody over an incredible breakdown. Then it goes on with killer metalcore until the end. The album was re-released two years later with live tracks that are great but not as much as the studio part of the album.
I can't believe how much technical variety and artistry can be found in this album. UNBELIEVABLE!! While I'm sure there are more experimental metalcore albums out there by bands like Cave In, The Dillinger Escape Plan, and even Converge themselves in their ambient-ish masterpiece Jane Doe, Petitioning the Empty Sky is revolutionary in the hardcore and metal fields, ranging from violent chaos to tranquil melody. Generally, it's a #1 metalcore kick-starter pack!
Favorites: "The Saddest Day", "Dead", "Farewell Note to the City", "Color Me Blood Red"
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