Jane Doe [Original recording reissued]

Converge | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 4, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued
• Label: Equal Vision Records
• ASIN: B00005NGZX
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (104 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #51,890 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #14 in Music > Alternative Rock > Hardcore & Punk > Straight Edge

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Aggressive, eclectic brilliance, September 4, 2003

By 

Wheelchair Assassin (The Great Concavity) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jane Doe (Audio CD)

Over the next few years, "Jane Doe" may well come to be looked upon as one of those albums that change the way people look at music. Although Converge lean more toward the hardcore side of the heavy-music equation than such bands as Meshuggah, the Dillinger Escape Plan, and Soilent Green, their essential mission is the same. Like their metal counterparts mentioned above, Converge fuse mammoth heaviness with uncharacteristic levels of intelligence and musicianship, churning out jarring song structures and mutating time signatures without abandoning the aggression at the core of their genre.

On "Jane Doe," their most recent album, Converge demonstrate songwriting and instrumental chops that blow away almost anything I've heard in any genre, period. "Heaven In Her Arms" is doubtless one of the most maniacal compositions in the history of popular music, and tunes like "Concubine," "Fault And Fracture," and "Homewrecker" aren't far behind. Jacob Bannon's harsh, unintelligible shrieks may take some getting used to, but their raw power and visceral impact are undeniable. Besides, they perfectly match the music, which is nothing short of astonishing. The guitars manage to find a completely harmonious balance of math-metal heaviness and hardcore brutality, and Ben Koller's drumming is positively sick.

Remarkably, when the band slows things down, it's every bit as effective as the heavy stuff. Songs like "Distance And Meaning," "Hell To Pay," and "Phoenix In Flight" substitute a doomy, genuinely creepy atmosphere and snatches of melody for the sonic carnage that's typically on display. The result is a genre-busting album that is as eclectic as it is creative.

And then there's the closing title track, which is an awe-inspiring culmination of everything that's come before it. Clocking in at more than eleven minutes, it's a mountainous epic that grabs your attention from the first note and never lets go. Between Jacob's mix of tortured screams and soaring clean vocals, and the band's intricate and enthralling music, this song contains more power than most bands will be lucky to summon up in an entire career. With "Jane Doe" (both the song and the album), Converge have both stepped outside the hardcore genre and maintained a solid rooting in it, resulting in brilliant music that all open-minded listeners should be able to enjoy. Period.

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THIS IS A GLORIOUS MONSTROSITY., May 20, 2004

By 

Lord Chimp (Monkey World) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jane Doe (Audio CD)

Metal used to be the sort of thing where you would plug in your guitar, get a nice heavy sound, write good riffs, and that was pretty much it. As the years have gone by, it's impressive to see how some bands have taken the aesthetic to _this_ level.

Converge is generally regarded as THE hardcore/metalcore band. I don't really know what those terms mean, but this is just a beast of an album. I've listened to so much death metal, grindcore, black metal, cyber-terminator metal, and so on, now it is rare that a band impresses with its sheer heaviness. But Converge _is_ heavy enough to bring you to your knees: massive, crushing riffs with guitar distortion that could strip flesh from bones; heart-stopping grooves of exploding shrapnel; and deliriously thick walls of sound... As a compadre recently said while we were discussing this album, "When 'Concubine' kicks in, hold on to your f_cking chair." But real heaviness is not just a sound, it also has a lot to do with how that sound is manipulated and performed. For instance, King Crimson is, in my opinion, much 'heavier' than nearly any 'metal' band. Converge is an excellent example of this theory in practice, as they pound through eclectic, wrecking ball riffs and industrial-strength rhythms at breathless velocities while vocalist Jacob Bannon's inhuman screams crackle across the scorched-earth metalcore landscape with spine-tingling ferocity. (Is that a human voice? Is he hurting himself doing that?) On the moments where he sings rather than screams, he has a sort of weird-indie voice.

And part of that visceral impact Converge plasters you with comes from their gritty, rugged sound. The music is most certainly not _sloppy_ -- Converge's technique is highly refined around their frenetic, short, violent bursts, mammoth drumming, aggressive stop-starts and syncopations. But the album has a fast, dirty sound could be interpreted as "punk" were the songs not so complex, brutal, and heavy. (That's that "hardcore" factor, yo.)

And just when you think you have their sound pegged, along comes the 12-minute title track of _Jane Doe_: it first trudges through clomping heaviness for a while and then - and THEN -- it finishes with an electric crescendo that would stagger Godspeed You! Black Emperor. It's one of the most powerful moments in the world of heavy music.

Highest recommendation. And if you love DEP, you will love this I think.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Metal Album I May Have Ever Heard, September 4, 2001

By 

Sexual Jeff (Inside the Locust Reign) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jane Doe (Audio CD)

Words can not describe how amazing this band is. They are the most brutal, insane metal act I have ever heard. But they are not just tough, they are amazingly talented songwriters and lyricists. Jacob Bannon has the most death rattling scream, one capable of inducing heart failure in the elderly and possible bowel leakage in anyone of any age. Anyone who is either a fan of Hardcore metal or simply of musicians at the top of their field, you must own this album. It is the best release by Converge, which is impressive considering how good their other albums and split EPs are. Converge makes Slipknot look like trick or treaters. No major record label can ever contain this sound, and that's the way it should always be.