HEVYDEVY FORUMS

Hey Dev,

I seem to recall you mentioning that you aren't into really chaotic stuff like Converge. I have to wonder if your impression was formed on the basis of some of their earlier work. Their older stuff was certainly characterized by a lot of chaos, but their newer stuff is very dynamic and much more to-the-point. You might want to give these tunes a try:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prTKaaTzlZo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpNvQ84v3HA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkxkcV47teE

See you in Toronto!

Mark

How is that a question?

I'm really not into flaming, not at all, and everyone is entitled to their opinion...but I just saw Converge open for Mastodon and Dethklok (those guys are amazing live by the way!), and Converge really did nothing but run around screaming "fah, fah, fah!" over and over while their guitarist played chaotic, dissonant riffs. No one in the building was digging it, and if any of their newer stuff is any different, they certainly didn't play it. I am very open minded to all kinds of music, but we were all in shock...Converge really seems to be the anti-Dev to me. But I'm happy for them that they have found an audience, ya know? I wish no musician anything but the best.

Spyral2112 wrote:How is that a question?

The question was implied. If you need it stated explicitly, here it is:

"I have to wonder: Was your impression formed on the basis of some of their earlier work?"

rjnix_0329 wrote:I'm really not into flaming, not at all, and everyone is entitled to their opinion...but I just saw Converge open for Mastodon and Dethklok (those guys are amazing live by the way!), and Converge really did nothing but run around screaming "fah, fah, fah!" over and over while their guitarist played chaotic, dissonant riffs. No one in the building was digging it, and if any of their newer stuff is any different, they certainly didn't play it. I am very open minded to all kinds of music, but we were all in shock...Converge really seems to be the anti-Dev to me. But I'm happy for them that they have found an audience, ya know? I wish no musician anything but the best.

That tour is really strange. People who are into Converge rarely seem to be into Mastodon or Dethklok, and people who are into Mastodon or Dethklok rarely seem into Converge. I know people who went to shows on that tour and experienced the opposite of what you described. Different strokes and all that. Anyway, even if you didn't like Converge live (which is totally fair - even I like their studio work much better), I would suggest that you check out the links I posted above. You may be surprised.

rjnix_0329 wrote:I'm really not into flaming, not at all, and everyone is entitled to their opinion...but I just saw Converge open for Mastodon and Dethklok (those guys are amazing live by the way!), and Converge really did nothing but run around screaming "fah, fah, fah!" over and over while their guitarist played chaotic, dissonant riffs. No one in the building was digging it, and if any of their newer stuff is any different, they certainly didn't play it. I am very open minded to all kinds of music, but we were all in shock...Converge really seems to be the anti-Dev to me. But I'm happy for them that they have found an audience, ya know? I wish no musician anything but the best.

Converge seems to be one of those bands that people just jump on the band wagon saying they enjoy it when who knows if they really do. I have no idea what people see in that band, I've seen them live and have also listened to their music on myspace. The vocals are god awful and they are about as sloppy as dragonforce live. To each his own tho I guess.

Converge is the shit. I've liked them for 10 years now and I remember the days when Mastodon was starting out and people listened to them AND Converge OMG??!?

Do people that like Mastodon not remember "Remission"?

Fadefury wrote:

rjnix_0329 wrote:I'm really not into flaming, not at all, and everyone is entitled to their opinion...but I just saw Converge open for Mastodon and Dethklok (those guys are amazing live by the way!), and Converge really did nothing but run around screaming "fah, fah, fah!" over and over while their guitarist played chaotic, dissonant riffs. No one in the building was digging it, and if any of their newer stuff is any different, they certainly didn't play it. I am very open minded to all kinds of music, but we were all in shock...Converge really seems to be the anti-Dev to me. But I'm happy for them that they have found an audience, ya know? I wish no musician anything but the best.

Converge seems to be one of those bands that people just jump on the band wagon saying they enjoy it when who knows if they really do. I have no idea what people see in that band, I've seen them live and have also listened to their music on myspace. The vocals are god awful and they are about as sloppy as dragonforce live. To each his own tho I guess.

I think the sound at a lot of venues doesn't do Converge justice. Say what you will about Jacob Bannon's live vocals, but I consider these to be tight live performances:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuei73pxBms
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziUPRLK2Bn4

Mods: I realize that this thread is no longer directly related to Devin. Feel free to delete it if you see fit.

sorry, can't dig converge. mindless screaming holds no attraction for me. it needs to fit the music. thats why i dont enjoy hardcore c/c most of it is like that. i saw them with mastodon too, they seemed really out of place and their live performance didnt grab me at all. just a lot of jumping around and, yes, mindless screaming. i dunno. not my cup of tea.

sylkicks wrote:sorry, can't dig converge. mindless screaming holds no attraction for me. it needs to fit the music. thats why i dont enjoy hardcore c/c most of it is like that. i saw them with mastodon too, they seemed really out of place and their live performance didnt grab me at all. just a lot of jumping around and, yes, mindless screaming. i dunno. not my cup of tea.

Did you listen to the links I posted? Two of the three songs are almost all melodic vocals.

Where is the mindless screaming here? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prTKaaTzlZo

I'm gonna have to say I don't really care for Converge either. Nor do I really get the point of a topic about them being here... no offense.

Octillus wrote:I'm gonna have to say I don't really care for Converge either. Nor do I really get the point of a topic about them being here... no offense.

Devin mentioned Converge as a way of saying that he wasn't into really chaotic music music that lacks tightness. Obviously, there is an element of chaos to what Converge does. This might be the most apparent element if you just listen to 1 or 2 songs, but one could form similar impressions of SYL based on certain tunes. I think there is much more Converge than just mindless chaotic spasticity. For example, their most recent record contains a bunch of moody, atmospheric collaborative work with members of Neurosis, which is a band that Devin cites as an influence. I was hoping that Devin would be willing to discuss Converge further. Given that he doesn't seem willing, this thread doesn't need to be here. Note my earlier suggestion to delete this thread.

UndeadInJersey wrote:Converge is the shit. I've liked them for 10 years now and I remember the days when Mastodon was starting out and people listened to them AND Converge OMG??!?

Do people that like Mastodon not remember "Remission"?

Glad someone said it. Mastodon and Converge both come from the same school.....but maybe had a few different classes, if you catch my drift. Today is the Day anyone? Neither band would exist without them...

Converge are bloody marvellous - the last "Axe To Fall" is up with my albums of the year. The latter two epics, especially the Tom Waits style "Cruel Bloom" with the god-like Steve Von Till from Neurosis on vocals, are just incredible.

Yeah, some tracks are a bit mad but others are completely the opposite. Anybody only hearing them live or catching just the odd track from an album may well be getting the wrong impression. It's what they do but not all that they do.

rjnix_0329 wrote:Converge really did nothing but run around screaming "fah, fah, fah!" over and over while their guitarist played chaotic, dissonant riffs.

sylkicks wrote:sorry, can't dig converge. mindless screaming holds no attraction for me. it needs to fit the music... just a lot of jumping around and, yes, mindless screaming.

It's easy to criticize any band you don't like by simply demeaning what the band does and implying that it holds no merit beyond its initial impression. I also find it pretty amusing when I see comments like this, because it implies that somehow you know all of the work and motivations that go behind any form of music you don't like, and can tell us exactly how and why they do what they do, and probably believe you can replicate it yourself easily with some measure of success. For some reason I imagine that if you were to just play "dissonant chaotic riffs" and just "randomly scream" that you'd probably miss the point of whatever Converge is trying to accomplish.

And this is coming from someone who's barely heard any Converge, and might not even care if he did hear it. People have no damn respect for artistic integrity these days, everything is exactly what they perceive on the surface, except of course things they actually like.

You know what's kind of funny, I'm pretty sure a lot of people out there upon hearing Strapping Young Lad for the first time thought it was nothing but random chaotic screaming too.