SilentScream213 Converge’s debut album was a rough, underwhelming and poorly mixed mess that had some good ideas on display, but just wasn’t executed well. The sophomore Petitioning the Empty Sky is much more favorably received and fixes some of the issues from before, namely the terrible production.

The album is much more concise and consistent, and delivers a great show of energy found both in the rhythm section and the dissonant riffs. It’s got an odd mix of short Punk-length songs and Prog-length compositions, and displays a good amount of variation and growth throughout. The vocals unfortunately remain terrible and I can’t make out a word here.

It’s fine, but it doesn’t grip me as much as others I’m afraid. No memorable riffs on top of a gruelingly bad vocal performance makes the relisten factor very low.

UMUR "Petitioning the Empty Sky" is the 2nd full-length studio (and partly live) album by US post hardcore/metalcore act Converge. The album was released through Ferret Music in early 1996. The recording history makes this more of a compilation album than a "regular" studio release. The studio tracks were recorded during different sessions and the inclusion of live tracks also points in the compilation release direction.

Converge continues the adventurous, aggressive, and powerful post hardcore/metalcore style that they initiated on their debut full-length studio album "Halo in a Haystack (1994)", but on "Petitioning the Empty Sky" they include more metal elements than on the debut. The raw shouting vocals, the breakdowns, and nods toward punk are definitely hardcore elements, but there are some pretty fierce Slayer type thrash metal riffing on the album too and those elements combined make "Petitioning the Empty Sky" quite an interested but also confusing listen. Sometimes the combination works wonders and other times the mix of genres seems a bit odd. I´d say it´s successful most of the time. The sound production is generally of good quality even though the studio tracks were recorded at different sessions.

The live tracks are loud, noisy and raw. They feature an acceptable sound quality but are probably mostly interesting to the hardcore fans. So "Petitioning the Empty Sky" is somewhat of a mixed bag and sligthly directionless in style, but Converge still manages to entertain greatly with their adventurous attitude towards music. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "All We Love We Leave Behind" is the 8th full-length studio album by US post-hardcore/metalcore act Converge. The album was released through Epitaph Records in October 2012. "All We Love We Leave Behind" was recorded and mixed at guitarist Kurt Ballou´s Godcity Studios in Salem, Massachusetts, with Ballou acting as producer.

The music on the album is energetic, raw, and aggressive post hardcore/metalcore, played with great technical skill. The vocals are mostly distorted, shouting, and harsh, but there are a couple of more melodic tinged moments on the album too. While the band excel in playing in a frantic hardcore punked pace a great deal of the album´s playing time, Converge are no one-trick pony and they drop the pace to a slower, heavier and sludgy pace several times during the playing time, which makes "All We Love We Leave Behind" an album with a great varied flow. Not unlike "Axe to Fall (2009)", which was also an album with a really great flow. While Converge always manage to maintain raw energy and aggression, which are key elements of their sound, the songwriting on "All We Love We Leave Behind" is clever and entertaining throughout. Just when you think they´ve completely surrendered to pure hardcore punk madness, they throw in a curve ball and maybe incorporate a little heavy metal tinged lead guitar part, or add one of those heavy sludgy moments. I´m not surprised because I know how good they are, but I´m definitely happy about the state of things...

The powerful and organic sounding production is a great asset too and overall "All We Love We Leave Behind" is another high quality release by Converge and further proof that they deserve every bit of the success they enjoy. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

Triceratopsoil Just like if metalcore was actually good.

Converge's All We Love We Leave Behind is utterly relentless. It simply never lets off for more than about 10 seconds at a time, which makes the relatively short 38 minute duration fly by. But more than that, the music is well composed and superbly executed. It also showcases quite high production value.

All We Love We Leave Behind is filled to the brim with catchy riffs, without eschewing any of Converge's well-known brutality. At times it reminds me of the band High on Fire, or maybe early Mastodon. The guitar work is searing, vocals are passionate and borderline actually understandable, and the bass cuts clearly through the mix - something we don't often get to hear in this style of music. The drums are frantic and never miss a beat, something which contributes to the overall driving feel this album has.

Though it lacks some of the clean, slower parts of Converge's (arguably) greatest masterpiece Jane Doe, and there are fewer moments of genuine weirdness, for many people these points will be pluses. All We Love We Leave Behind is certainly among Converge's finest releases, and comes highly recommended to anybody who can appreciate their particular brand of extreme metal.

Warthur So, this is that metalcore stuff I keep hearing metal snobs dissing, eh? Mathcore, no less. Not bad, not bad... it's full of sound and fury, and part of me does wonder whether it signifies nothing at the end of the day, but the combination of frantic vocals, everything-louder-than-everything-else instrumentation and giddy, fast-paced songs is clearly technically competent even if it feels like less than the sum of its parts. This seems to be a concept album of some kind - certainly, the songs flow together marvellously, to the point where the transitions between then come and go without me noticing (but not to the extent that the whole album becomes homogeneous and monotonous) - but I'm damnned if I can work out what it's about. Still, it sounds pretty good, even if it's not going to end up on regular rotation as far as I'm concerned.