Converge: No Heroes Album Review
After 15 years, Converge are Still at the Top of their Game
Mar 6, 2009
Jacob Bannon and his fellow band members have been very busy since changing their sound on 2004’s exceptional You Fail Me. Bannon has been running his label while bassist Nate Newton released his Doomriders debut and guitarist Kurt Ballou recorded countless bands at his studio. Yet they still found the time to get together and create another genre-defining work.
No Heroes’ Songs
The first four songs are over in five and a half minutes. They’re all short grindcore-ish songs that are so fast and pummeling that that short length feels like two minutes tops. “Heartache” has a southern rock feel to it before the blastbeats kick in, and during “Vengeance,” just before it seems that it can’t get any heavier, Ballou, Newton, and drummer Ben Koller unite to create a spine crushing breakdown. It’s great stuff.
With the slow rumbling of “Weight of the World,” No Heroes prepares to take off. The dark melody lurches along until a squall of feedback rise, rises, rises, and then—because the album is gapless—they launch directly into “No Heroes,” which may be the best song Converge has ever done. It is so furious and thrashing that it is nearly impossible to sit still while listening.
The middle of the album is weighed down by “Plagues” and “Grim Heart/Black Rose,” two long songs that take up nearly a third of the record. While both songs are not bad, they go on a bit too long for their own good. Thankfully, the second half of the record more than makes up for the lull in speed (not that slow songs are bad).
“Orphans” is a minute and a half long song featuring an interesting guitar melody that is somewhat uncommon of Converge. “Lonewolves” and “Trophy Scars” feature Bannon trading in his shriek for his old-school hardcore yelling. “Versus” is a seriously heavy song that features Converge’s awesome rhythm section. “Bare Your Teeth” is an absolutely fearsome song with a killer melody and some nifty drumming. “To The Lions” ends the record in a blur of intensity.
Theme of No Heroes
Lyrically, this is Converge’s most evolved album. On nearly every Converge release, lyrics about relationship gone wrong—and their aftermaths—have been standard fare. Thus it was a pleasant surprise to find out that No Heroes dealt with a quite literal interpretation of the album’s title. Namely, the lack of courage in the world today and the absence of those who stand up for what is just.
While some songs still have bitter relationship lyrics, the majority focus on the current world climate and its lack of leadership. That is the essence of the song “No Heroes,” and is implied in song titles like “Weight of the World” and “Lonewolves.” Excellent songs like “Bare My Teeth” and “Vengeance” deal with standing up for what is right in the face of adversity.
It’s all heavy stuff, and hardly original in the tough realm of hardcore, but coming from Converge it sounds fresh. It also benefits from having relevance to the state of the world today. The fact that Bannon’s lyrics are typically amazing doesn’t hurt either. The only gripe is that the majority of people listening to these songs will never look up the lyrics to figure out the messages beneath Bannon’s unearthly screams.
At this stage in the game, there can be no dispute over the relevance and excellence of Converge’s music. They’ve been highly influential in countless ways to countless bands without becoming repetitive or stale (while managing to top their successors). No Heroes only cements their legacy of inspiration, innovation, and intensity.
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