Converge have perfected the art of making brutal metalcore albums. They’ve rarely gone astray from their formula over years, but each time manage to muster enough originality into each album to keep them ever exciting, and always fierce. I don’t think Jacob Bannon will ever run out of rage and angst. Put this on, and prepare to have your head smashed in. The first few tracks are fvckin mind numbing. You’ll feel like someone shoved your hand in a blender and punched you in the face. When people ask me, what’s a good example of really good punk/metal music, I used to put on Jane Doe, then You Fail Me, then No Heroes. But with Axe To Fall, the opening track “Dark Horse” will be the new example to show. They just keep getting better and better and it’s probably their most accessible song yet.

Axe to Fall just sounds better too. No other band has better sounding tone on their guitars. I don’t give a shit what you say. First, Jane Doe was an experiment in analogue recording, and You Fail Me sounded good, but it seemed guitarist/engineer Kurt Ballou hadn’t figured out the digital realm just yet. Well, this is one of the best recorded metal albums I’ve ever heard. The drums cut though the wall of guitars like a razor. And good thing too, drummer Ben Koller has never sounded better. His intense ultra complex fills compliment the songs like peanut butter and chocolate. It’s like when lego pieces fit together just right, expect this lego piece has 2,456 pegs to fill. Everyone in the band is at the top of their game. The guitar hooks come flying by fast and furious, like Vin Diesel is constantly hitting the NOS button.

The big difference with Axe To Fall from their previous work, besides being a little more prog rock, is the appearance of guest musicians. “Effigy,” one of four songs on the album that comes in under the two-minute mark, features Steve Brodsky and Adam McGrath of Cave In on guitar and that group’s drummer, J.R. Conners, behind the kit. Uffe Cederlund of Disfear takes over lead guitar on “Wishing Well,” while Steve Von Till of Neurosis sings on “Cruel Bloom” and Genghis Tron’ Mookie Singerman does guest vocals on the seven-minute album closer, “Wretched World, which sounds like a Tom Waits song from hell. Also included are members of The Red Chord and Himsa It really adds a great new flavor to the album. 40 minutes of pummeling metal can be hard to listen to sometimes. It’s really amazing that a band that tours as much as Converge does, and has been around so long can still put so much thought and passion into their music. Everyone will be comparing this to Jane Doe. I’m just not sure about deciding which one’s better, they each have their own identity.

If you are already a fan of Converge, then you just found your favorite metal album of the year. It may be a bit more prog rock than their previous couple releases, but it’s got everything you would expect and some sprinkles of awesomeness on top. Also, Axe to Fall’s “Dark Horse” joins the ranks of “The Saddest Day” and “Concubine” as absolutely blistering opening tracks from the Converge catalog. It will be played at all live shows from now on. Axe To Fall just drips with powerful emotions brilliantly characterized by violent and grim music.

Verdict: Rockit

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