Converge
6th November 2022

Converge is an American hardcore punk band formed by vocalist Jacob Bannon and guitarist Kurt Ballou in Salem, Massachusetts in 1990. During the recording of their seminal fourth album Jane Doe, the group became a four-piece with the departure of guitarist Aaron Dalbec and the addition of bassist Nate Newton and drummer Ben Koller. This lineup has remained intact since. They have released nine studio albums, three live albums, and numerous EPs. The band’s sound is rooted in hardcore and also features frequent influences from heavy metal. They are considered pioneers of metalcore as well as its subgenre mathcore. Converge have enjoyed a relatively high level of recognition. According to AllMusic, they are “regarded as one of the most original and innovative bands to emerge from the punk underground.” Their popularity rose with the release of Jane Doe, which was ranked as the best album of the decade by Sputnikmusic, the best album of 2001 by Terrorizer and later as the 61st-best metal album of all time by Rolling Stone. Subsequently, Converge moved from Equal Vision Records to the considerably larger label Epitaph Records and their records gradually became more elaborate and expensive to produce. Special releases have traditionally been handled by Deathwish Inc., established by Bannon in 1999. Converge’s latest albums are The Dusk in Us (2017) and their first full-length collaboration, Bloodmoon: I (2021) with Chelsea Wolfe.