Converge Biography
Incredibly prolific punk-metal road dogs Converge were formed in the winter of 1990-1991, and after several singles, compilation appearances, and the requisite growing pains, they released their first full-length, Halo in a Haystack, in 1994. The Boston-based quartet initially comprised vocalist/visual artist Jacob Bannon, guitarist Kurt Ballou, bassist Jeff Feinburg, and drummer Damon Bellorado, with second guitarist Aaron Dalbec joining in 1994 (he later left in 2001 without being replaced). Over the years the band also found time to lend out members to various side projects, including Kingdom of the Sun, Old Man Gloom, and Kid Kilowatt (the short-lived band that also included members of Cave In). Hydra Head issued Caring and Killing in 1996, which gathered tracks released over 1991-1994, followed a year later by Petitioning the Empty Sky through Equal Vision. Cave In's Stephen Brodsky entered on bass in place of Feinburg in 1997 as well, and by the release of 1998's When Forever Comes Crashing, Converge had proved themselves a force to be reckoned with in the hardcore-metal scene. Brodsky left the band that same year to be replaced by bassist Nate Newton; Bellorado exited in 1999 and, soon enough, the band had welcomed drummer Ben Koller into the fray. A split with Japan's Hellchild appeared in 2001 through Death Wish, Inc. (which Bannon co-owns) before Converge's ever-growing reputation among fans and critics was cemented even further with that fall's release of their fourth official full-length, the highly acclaimed metal masterpiece Jane Doe. Converge was by now regarded as one of the most original and innovative bands to emerge from the punk underground. Trudging along, the band during that time played over 600 shows with varying success -- their hard work made it possible for them to retain their cult status within the punk underground without the kind of commercial success that has vaulted other punk bands into the middle of alternative rock radio and press. Rare and out of print tracks were next collected together for 2003's Unloved and Weeded Out compilation before Converge returned the following year with the studio full-length You Fail Me, their first for Epitaph. Always reliable and consistently brutal, Bannon, Ballou, Koller, and Newton were back after more rounds of touring by October 2006 with the jaw-dropping No Heroes. ~ Stacia Proefrock, All Music Guide
Popular Biographies:
Atrophy Biography: Initially known as Heresy, Tucson, AZ's Atrophy was formed in 1986 and featured vocalist Brian Zimmerman, guitarists Chris Lykins and Rick Skowron, bassist James Gulotta, and drummer Tim...
Culture club Biography: Few new wave groups were as popular as Culture Club. During the early '80s, the group racked up seven straight Top Ten hits in the U.K. and six Top Ten singles in the U.S. with their light,...
Morgan Biography: Named after keyboardist Morgan Fisher, Morgan was formed in the early '70s by three musicians who had played in the late-'60s British pop group Love Affair: Fisher, drummer Maurice Bacon, and bassist...
Blue nile Biography: The Scottish folk-ambient band the Blue Nile has enjoyed a mystique contrived by its inaccessibility and the infrequency of its recordings, but it has also made a series of critically acclaimed...
Cancer Biography: Vocalist John Walker, bassist Ian Buchanan, and drummer Carl Stokes started Cancer in the late '80s as a brutal, simplistic death metal trio. Debuting with the amateurish To the Gory End, their...
Gtr Biography: Like most supergroups, GTR didn't stay together very long -- only one year and one album with 1986's GTR. Comprised of guitarists Steve Howe (Yes) and Steve Hackett (Genesis), vocalist Max Bacon,...
All shall perish Biography: Technical death metal band All Shall Perish hails from Oakland, California, but their eponymous three-track demo had to make its way across the Pacific Ocean and be embraced by Japan's Amputated Vein...
Antiloop Biography: After DJing for a couple of years, David Westerlund and Robin Soderman, childhood friends from the suburb of Lidingo, just outside Stockholm, assembled Antiloop in 1994. Their first EP, called...