Customer Reviews

Jane Doe

5 star:		(89)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

this thing is absolutely incredible. some of the most honest metalcore you will hear. converge meld metal, hardcore and noise in ways you have never heard before. some songs like "heaven in her arms" flat out rock, but then it goes in to the beautiful, textured, downright ethereal "phoenix in flight". thats what makes them so great...those types of dynamics. converge are easily the best hardcore/metal band out there now. they get better with every release. buy this as proof.

Yes, here it is: despite their numerous other godly efforts, this truly is Converge's best record to date. The Boston quintet (as they were before guitarist Aaron Dalbec's subsequent departure) find themselves at the absolute top of their game with 2001's Jane Doe, channeling all the promising chaos of When Forever Comes Crashing into a slicker, more concentrated, and altogether much more punishing release. Even 2004's You Fail Me, a punk-rock masterpiece in its own right, looks merely respectable in comparison.

To say that newcomer Ben Koller (replacing former drummer Damon Bellorado) holds down the rhythm section would be an obvious understatement from the very first listen. Even in comparison to Bellorado's admirable work on the numerous classics between Petitioning the Empty Sky and When Forever Comes Crashing, Koller's talent easily outshines his predecessor's. Jaw-dropping performances in "Fault and Fracture," "Thaw," and most notably, "Distance and Meaning" are exemplary of Koller's outstanding ability, placing him in the running with Chris Pennie of Dillinger Escape Plan fame as one of the genre's premier percussionists.

Guitarists Kurt Ballou and the aforementioned Dalbec absolutely dazzle. The opening taps on "Concubine" foreshadow the ensuant jarring with an unsettling lull, just moments before "Fault and Fracture," perhaps Jane Doe's greatest technical gem, shreds off one of the album's quickest and most memorable riffs within its opening minute. "Thaw," for all its own fleet-fingered mastery (particularly in its latter half), is also worthy of mention in the strings department. Pushing beyond simple technicality, however, the most impressive dimension of Jane Doe's guitar work is its incredible poignancy. Aptly exemplifying this attribute is the record's catharsis: an 11-and-a-half-minute title track, during which Ballou and Dalbec laboriously churn out seven minutes of low-end, dismally-rhythmic waves before building to an absolutely stunning and texturally-gorgeous climax. With a sense of melody unheard in any of Converge's previous work, this haunting but genuinely uplifting finale combines brute heaviness with sincerity and vulnerability in a manner unparalleled by any record that I'd heard before or since.

Though admittedly, there's not much to be said for the individual distinctiveness of Nate Newton's work on bass for the bulk of the record (as, for the most part, it simply backs the walls of Ballou and Dalbec's dissonant riffage), his contribution on the anomalous, groove-laden "Hell To Pay" is certainly noteworthy. Similarly impressive is his gritty, fretboard-scaling interlude in "Heaven In Her Arms," but such standout instances as these are few for Newton. Simply put, the bass tracks here aren't flashy or prodigious in and of themselves, but serve rather to supplement the sound of the album in its entirety as one organic-sounding whole. Overall, this approach is extremely effective.

It just wouldn't be a Converge record without Jacob Bannon's incomparable presence. Combining lyrical genius with a voice unmatched anywhere else in the genre, Bannon is arguably at his most effective on Jane Doe. The trademark scream that permeated both prior full-length efforts is unquestionably at its most abrasive here, with such vocal highlights being "Homewrecker," "The Broken Vow," and "Phoenix In Flames." However, Bannon's eerie temperance on "Distance and Meaning" and "Hell To Pay" is just as powerful, and very refreshing.

Jane Doe is the veritable magnum opus of one of the most radiant talents in contemporary music. It should not be avoided at any cost.

Nowadays, many teens rely on music for their comfort. Some find joy in hip-hop. Others simply listen to whats on the radio. We also have the emo kids and the goths. Oh, and lest we forget the punks and sXe! It's safe to say that genres now rule and 90% of people simply won't be openminded about their music. It just isn't logical that a kid who worships Slipknot would hear about Kanye West's new CD and go out and purchase it on a whim. The chances are second to none. But I've found that every once in a while, a CD comes along that simply demands to be listened to. Every blue moon some band or artist will release an album so magnificent and devestating that it simply cannot be refused. Epic works like Mastodon's Leviathan album, which seized the metal genre and uprooted it from it's ground. Or perhaps Glassjaw's Everything you ever wanted to know about silence? The CD that even today holds it's own cult following for reinventing hardcore.
I could go on for days about these few albums that have achieved such great status, but since this review is about only one CD, I'll stop at that.

It's rare that heavy music can ever be regarded as catchy. There's no pop hooks or sing along choruses to get you into it. Thus, we must face the fact that heavy music (heavy metal, hardcore, and any other core) will never take the lead in mainstream music. I believe however, that Jane Doe is the CD that could have done this, and Converge is the only band that could have pulled it off. I can't think of a single genuine hardcore CD that is as innovative and epic as this. Of course it makes since that Converge would have done this. After all, they are regarded as the best hardcore/metalcore band of the 90's. Songs like "The Saddest Day" gave them trumendous prestidge in the scene. Along with their frontman Jacob Bannon, an artist and college proffesor who just looks like he's pissed at the world. The news of their live energy passed on and by 97' they were damn near close to taking the hardcore crown of the decade. Today, many people consider them to be legends. Their technicality cannot be denied. Even bands like Dillenger escape plan are trying to keep up with the tempo changes that Converge made so famous. Bannon's distorted scream is so chaotic that any attempt at making out the lyrics is completely nullified even with the words at hand.

Before I start my review, I need to urge you to go out and buy this album right now. The Booklet alone is worth whatever you'll pay for it. You won't be dissapointed and wish you would have downloaded, as I myself would be proud to say I own this peice of art.

So finally here we are...no one but you, me, and this CD. Where do I begin? Well, Jane Doe is an album entirely about an unidentified female body, if the title didn't give it away. In fact this is the same female body that supposedly ruined Bannon's life. These songs have been described as a huge hunk of emotional garbage. It sounds like it too. The emotion in bannon's voice is unmistakable...almost inhuman. I'm not kidding here guys. Some of the vocals here are suspiciously animal like. Which is weird considering the only VOX effect he used was distortion. Clearly he has some mixed up brutality complex going on in his head to produce something this crazy. If you want to know what I mean then listen to "Phoenix In Flames". This song is just drums and vocals but is comparable only to a jaguar fight. Literally, that's what it sounds like.

Converge as usual, come out swinging with a massive beast of a song. Concubine... This song has probably the longest breakdown I've ever heard. It's at least 10 seconds long. The double bass used here is phenomenal. It's got more tempo changes in it's one minute bag of tricks than other songs that last five. As soon as you think it's over, you'll be proved wrong though...as the song immediately cuts into "Fault and Fracture". This song can only be described as classic Converge. It's that simple. Next, you'll be greated by what seems like a more mellow but jumpy song. "Distance and Meaning" almost sounds sort of dancable yet evil in nature, however it's malice soon shows as it's chorus is unveiled.
All the sudden a WALL of distorted noise will crash into your ears. I jumped when I first heard it.
Finally, the album gives us a break after roughly 8-10 minutes of chaos, "hell to pay" comes on. This song is pretty bass heavy and has a way of creeping around you. It seems to me that this is Bannon's idea of a mind game with the listener. Every new instrument that's introduced during select intervals of the song threatens to speed it up and slaughter your ears. Fortunately though, the song ends jokingly enough...with no real harm done! I myself was relieved to be rid of it. But OH! I was far from out of the fire. All the sudden a screech of distortion appears, introducing the earth shattering, yer catchy as hell "Homewrecker"
This song is probably my personal favorite off the album, as it combines Converge's obvious influence with old school punk rock. I love it!

Next comes "The Broken Vow" a song that can't seem to decide if it wants to go all out like the rest or become something slower. Even still, it's a mammoth song that shouldn't be overlooked.
"Bitter and Then Some" follows after sounding almost metally. But that doesn't in any way keep it from ripping out your spine. "heaven in Her Arms" is another Converge classic about love of all things. Finally, we get to the album's showcase of sorts. The two phoenix songs. In a nutshell this is 4 minutes of slow distored art guitars, followed by one minute of pure hell.

So we've made it to the end of the CD. Only two tracks to go? yes...but converge has obviously saved some of the best for last.
"Thaw" is an instant classic in it's own right. The tempo changes combined with the vocals are simply awe inspiring and sickining.
It's majesty could only be followed by the title track though...
She starts slow and ends frantically. That's all I can say about Jane Doe. Some parts will rip you and some will soothe you...but in any case it will end the album and you'll probably end like me, being compelled to buy the entire Converge Catolouge because your going to be addicted to the band forever.

Once upon a time I was truly repulsed by this album. If I listened to it on the headphones, even at a reasonable volume, I would get a headache. The fast parts were a confusing blur, the slower parts were dreary downers, and everything in between was just weird. The vocals sounded like cheap black metal ( a genre that brings out the cheesiest elements of heavy metal and then some) imitations, which made me send the album straight to the used record store.
However, I couldn't ignore the tremendous amount of hype around Converge and this album from people with respectable taste in music. There were two things I could have done; stubbornly insist that I could see through the hype around Converge or open up my mind a little more and give them a second chance. I chose to take the second option and I'm glad I did. I finally discovered the truth about Converge's masterpiece "Jane Doe."

It begins with a brief sound off of the guitar before they lay into a blistering section of grindcore called "Concubine" that is much like being sucker punched in your temple. For the second track they slow the tempo, but ratchet up the dynamics and intensity which makes for a perfect flow so far. Then, on "Distance and Meaning" they settle into a type of groove with interludes of whistling feedback that brings to mind the golden age of hardcore (Minor Threat, Black Flag type stuff) only a bit more complex. Finally, they slow to a crawl with sadistic, harsh, and noisy little number called "Hell to Pay" that signifies the first breaking point of this psychotic episode.
Bam! Time to break out of it with the strike and rise guitars and vocals of "Homewrecker" which is oddly catchy. The fight to rise continues with a renewed level of rage that continues to build throughout the course of "The Broken Vow." "Bitter and Then Some" continues on the same note only becoming more reckless and chaotic at the highest speeds since the first track. At this point the rage begins to twist and bend into demented plane of being during"Heaven in Her Arms."
You've arrived at the second breaking point as everything once again slows to a crawl and there is a sort of beauty churning out of this sludgy, feedback laced track that indicates there may be no turning back. With just the drums and vocals, Converge then unleashes one of the most vicious attacks on the album with an almost psychedelic, yet enraged piece called "Phoenix in Flames." By the time "Thaw" arrives, the emotions are overloaded in terms of heaviness and intensity, yet Converge continue to drive it home with chaotic insanity.
The final breaking point arrives. The bleak ending. No turning back. When people talk about Jacob Bannon's vocals becoming ethereal and beautiful on "Jane Doe," they are speaking of the title track. It's an eerie, chilling ending to an album that has been a dizzy array of emotion.

"Jane Doe" is completely original for whatever genre you would like to put this in. If it's a metal or metalcore album, then it's not anything like the many Gothenburg bands and their clones who have merely stolen Judas Priest and Iron Maiden riffs and made them faster and harder. No, Converge is much more creative then all those bands put together.
If it's just a hardcore record, then it may be too complex and experimental to be grouped in with that general scene. The guitar sound may be closer to hardcore, yet they play riffs that are closer to metal.
So, throw out all your preconceived notions about what metal or hardcore should sound like and listen to "Jane Doe" very, very closely. The rules they break are part of the charm of this record, but they are not merely breaking rules to break them. Every note played has a place and reason on the record and it all fits together perfectly.

I'm a huge fan of Converge. I own most of their discography that spans a decade. I fell in love with "When Forever Comes Crashing". This album, as expected, stunned me just as much.

WFCC had a lot more low-end, and was darker. But that isn't to say Jane Doe is just as heavy. High-pitched screeches from singer Jake Bannon, and incredible skill displayed by the rest of the band at it's very best. Converge has changed, but not radically and certainly for the better! Complex guitar grooves, insane drumming, and even the occaisional background singing.

Even the cd in it's physical form is beautiful - comes in a digi pack with a tinted jewel case, containing a thick booklet of the singer's artwork and the lyrics which are, as always, oustanding (if you can read the text). BUY THIS ALBUM AT ONCE.

I always though that hardcore punk and heavy metal were a great combination. On Jane Doe, Converge nail both, everything delivered from each genre without any compromising.

Why is that? It must have to do with those guitars. The riffs are kind of _________ crossover metal, which is known for being metal with obvious punk sounds (you could say that extreme metal has roots in punk, and you'd be right), only, eh, let's say, a bit more metal (give or take). Unlike bands like Killswitch, they don't seem to have that really weird black metal/NWOBHM/Judas Priest like sound, which I consider to be really stale and crappy (and that's a ________ blessing). Their tone is extremely raw and dirty, like hardcore punk. Best of all, the guitars don't sound too thin which really takes away impact. So many of the aforementioned black metal/NWOBHM/Judas Priest-like bands do this, and they sound really boring (worse, so many of them blatantly do this, which is the reason why so many of those bands fail to impress me). The wall of sound is addicting and adds intensity and adrenaline. And they even use the theremin at times, to a useful effect.

The rhythms, must gives props to that. Too many of those samey hardcore metal bands fail at the drums. Too many of them are so damn simple. That really wouldn't bother me normally (if the beat works), but the drums aren't PUMPING. The drums are here. It's technical, but the technical makes a ______load or memorable licks that only make it even more intense and chaotic. Elastic and pumping. The bass is more to blend in, but there's some pumping bass that just _______ rules, like in Bitter and Then Some and Heaven in Her Arms. Love the bass groove on track 4 as well.

That's my best guess and MY interpretation, and genre snobs really do get cracking like idiots. Let em' crack.

And the vocals, sick. Jacob Bannon's vocals never really range to a shill scream that sometimes comes across as a Jaguar. And I did. I did like the lyrics as well. Get them online, because the vocals are very hard to make out.

The songs themselves are full of memorable, ripping, hardcore rhythms, mean riffs, cool lyrics, and an awesome shrill scream. I like the occasional experiments, like The last track (more doomy), Hell To Pay (great groove and explosions), Phoenix in Flight evokes cool imagery. Every song has a different type of structure it seems, and the album will pack plenty of turns and changes to keep you satisfied. Geeze, I'm running at the mouth like verbal __________ as a liquid. I could go on and on, whatever. GET IT, and listen closely. Or just rip one anew. Either one works.

10/10

Can brutality be beautiful? Converge doesn't stammer to answer this question. Their response is an insanely fast and intense as hell conglomeration of metal, poetry, spirituality, and splendor. If music could somehow be an infusion of words, notes, and volatility, the end result for this band would seemingly be an incineration of sound. Converge has been together since late 1990 and within months of that, recorded their first demos. Ever since then, they've been putting out unyielding albums and don't show any signs of letting up. Sometimes dark, elegiac, cryptic, and despair-ridden, Converge writes some of the most eloquent tunes in music today. No stranger to addressing contemporary issues as well, they are one of the most underrated bands to grace this industry. Recommended Songs: "Minnesota," "My Unsaid Everything," "Albatross," "Heaven In Her Arms," and "Concubine."