Converge "No Heroes" (Epitaph)
By Lucas Salg
Thursday. Nov 30, 3:23 PM
A sense of familiarity and a lack of surprises.

In today’s metal landscape, there are few bands with a sound as distinctive as Converge. Like them or not, Converge have carved out an unmistakable niche within the hardcore/metal scene: you KNOW when you’re listening to a Converge record. Demonic barks, bludgeoning technical riffs, and an absolutely pummeling rhythm section are what Converge bring to the table: an acquired taste, to be sure. The band’s sixth LP, No Heroes, is definitely, well, a Converge record. But this record is defined more by what it isn’t: a step up from previous releases.

No Heroes follows almost exactly the same blueprint as their Epitaph debut You Fail Me. Both records have the cross to bear of following their 2001 masterpiece Jane Doe, a landmark record both within their catalog and within the entirety of heavy music, and a record that still slays to this day. You Fail Me paled only in comparison to its predecessor, trading in Jane Doe’s immaculately produced and arranged fury for a raw, nightmarish blast of metalcore. Unfortunately, No Heroes inhabits the same musical waters as You Fail Me, and the record is largely underwhelming as a result of Converge choosing to merely tread water rather than innovate: for the first time in their career.

No Heroes again has guitarist Kurt Ballou twiddling the producer knobs, and while Ballou has proven adept at producing other bands’ albums, he seems at a loss for how to treat his own. Ballou’s tendency with Converge is to go dark and murky, and when the riffs are as convoluted and downtuned as they are here, the production technique basically reduces Converge to a deluge of unintelligible noise sludge. The first five tracks sail by in under 10 minutes, each blurring into the next, none offering a distinctive or memorable moment. Part of Jane Doe’s appeal was the crystal-clear production by Matthew Ballard, and the band would really do well to enlist outside opinions on production. It’s a huge problem on this disc.

The main problem, however, is the lack of innovation. No Heroes sounds cobbled together from bits and pieces of earlier, better albums. The album’s most memorable track, the nine-minute centerpiece “Grim Heart/Black Rose,” has soaring clean vocals and an exhilarating build-up at the end, but you know what? The title track to Jane Doe does the same thing only far, far better. Most of the tracks on here are plagued by a sense of déjà vu: in this case, the realization that we’ve been here before and it was a lot better the first time.

The album is not completely without merit: the rhythm section of Nate Newton on bass and Ben Koeller on drums continues to impress, particularly Koeller, who plays so fast, hard, and intricate all at once that it’s a marvel his kit stays together. And Converge are still capable of whipping up a mosh-pit frenzy on tracks like “Orphaned” and “Bare My Teeth.” But overall, the sense of familiarity and the lack of surprises make this record a largely disappointing listen. It’s still very much Converge, but it isn’t very interesting. Let’s hope they change things up next time around.
www.convergecult.com
www.epitaph.com

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Lucas Salg

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