Converge - When Forever Comes Crashing (1998)Release ID: 238
Converge is known as one of the pioneers of the metal/hardcore mix that is metalcore, and a developer of its mathematical subgenre mathcore. They're highly popular in the metalcore community despite the lack of mainstream attention. Its extreme taste might take a while to get used to but it has gotten better as time went on and the band would reach bigger labels for a bigger audience...
I'm definitely sure you won't get straight into Converge right away. Listening to a band that extreme takes time for its full pleasure. I thought When Forever Comes Crashing only deserved a lower rating at first, but now I realize how incredibly extraordinary it is! I think another math/metalcore band this good is The Dillinger Escape Plan.
"My Unsaid Everything" starts as the ultimate standout for this album representing everything to come in this album. They didn't even need an easy intro, it's just crazy since the beginning. The screams are good though hard to understand. It never goes slow or soft, it's all fast heavy metalcore all over. Though in the middle of the song, it calms down slightly with a creepy whiny chant. Other than that, absolutely no major changes! It is a never-failing highlight helped by the fast pounding drumming. However, the guitar tone isn't as great as the rest, but I still love that song. "The High Cost of Playing God" continues the berserk metalcore until it ends with strange melodic chords with vocalist Jacob Bannon's whining cries. Next song "In Harm's Way" has weirdly amazing lyrics with Bannon in the perspective of a murderer getting ready to strike ("Goodnight dear angel, I won't be back here in burden, I don't think we'll ever meet again"). A jangle-ish guitar riff drifts as we hear the cries of a man dying from the previous slaughter. Then the heavy mathcore action kicks in during the horror scene of the murderer killing the man's girlfriend. The song ends with strange sounds of electronic drum buzzing.
"Conduit" is a crushing metalcore tune that starts with fast chaos, and I swear, the brief riff fiddling that appears a few times sounds exactly like that of the last part of My Dying Bride's "Vast Choirs". I think I'm the only one who has noticed that because of my interest in both metalcore and death-doom. Anyway, that song has slow breakdowns as well, due to the band's mind-blowing ability to change the tempo and time signature. "The Lowest Common Denominator" is a d*mn weird highlight. It starts with loose clean guitar that sounds a bit downtuned, then Bannon starts screaming in dark gloom that never speeds up, giving it a sludge metal vibe My only complaint is the strange feedback effect in the middle of the song and the ending sounding too long. Besides that, a great song, if that's what it is! "Towing Jehovah" is a short sweet jam (with vocals of course) with pummeling riff dissonance. The title track is filled with headbanging speed before slowing down to a dirge of despair with more of Bannon's whining cries.
"Ten Cents" is a strange unfitting song, sounding too much like a Smiths ballad. The guitar is soft and soothing, same with Bannon's vocals sounding gentle, singing about a past failed relationship of his and the inadequate heartbreak he felt. Next song "Year of The Swine" continues the fast pace with dissonant riffs that sound Slayer on an epic sugar rush. "Letterbomb" is a possible inspiration for the metalcore riffs heard in Between the Buried and Me's first two albums, and that's most likely intentional. The fast craziness continues for the ending track "Love as Arson", filled with bullet-speed math-metalcore. Again no intro, just straight to the fast madness. The drums are amazing, and so is the guitar tone that's better than earlier. I can hear the bass follow the guitar except during the higher guitar riff. The strangely catchy heaviness appeals to me!
So here are some things I like about the album itself: First off, no metalcore fan can ever complain about the strong outstanding vocals, though it's astonishing how Jacob Bannon's vocal chords can survive his screaming sounding so intensely harsh. Second, the songs are all strong for the most part with almost nothing being bad or week. Third, I think both the original album artwork created by Bannon and the reissue artwork by Aaron Turner (Isis) are amazing. However, the album and the band might not appeal to everyone, so don't expect them to reach worldwide classic status. Either way, When Forever Comes Crashing is another fine metalcore album worth your money!
Favorites: "My Unsaid Everything", "Conduit", "The Lowest Common Denominator", "When Forever Comes Crashing", "Love as Arson"
