Converge (band)

Converge is an American metalcore band formed by vocalist and artist Jacob Bannon and guitarist and producer Kurt Ballou in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1990. While recording their landmark fourth album Jane Doe in 2001, 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. The members have also been involved in various side-projects and collaborations, including the bands Supermachiner (Bannon), Old Man Gloom (Newton), and Mutoid Man (Koller). With their extremely aggressive and boundary-pushing sound, rooted in hardcore and heavy metal, they are the pioneers of metalcore and its subgenre mathcore.

Converge rose to prominence with Jane Doe, which was ranked the best album of 2001 by Terrorizer, the best album of the decade by Sputnikmusic, and later the 61st-best metal album of all time by Rolling Stone. After, they moved from Equal Vision Records to the larger label Epitaph Records, and their record production became more elaborate and expensive. Special releases are often handled by Deathwish Inc., established by Bannon in 1999. Their latest releases are their first full-length collaboration, Bloodmoon: I (2021) with Chelsea Wolfe and their eleventh studio album, Love Is Not Enough (2026). According to AllMusic, they are "regarded as one of the most original and innovative bands to emerge from the punk underground."

Converge was formed in the winter of 1990 by Bannon and Ballou, they were later joined by high school friends Jeff Feinberg and Damon Bellorado in 1991. They started by playing covers of hardcore punk, punk rock and heavy metal songs. The band soon graduated to playing live performances in mid-1991, after recording some demos on a 4-track recorder. The band started writing and playing what they consider "relevant" music in 1994.

In 1994 the band became a five-piece when Aaron Dalbec was recruited as a second guitarist. Later in the year Converge released their debut album, Halo in a Haystack, released through Earthmaker Records. This was only released as a vinyl record, limited to 1000 copies and it was never repressed. The record was funded by Bannon through money he saved up from working at a nursing home.

In 1995 Converge released their first compilation album, Caring and Killing, which featured tracks from the band's early work from the years 1991 to 1994. The album was originally released as a European exclusive through Lost & Found Records. However, Converge became dissatisfied with the way the label was handling the release and overcharging fans for their hard-to-find older songs. The album was re-released through Hydra Head Records on November 17, 1997, in America to "make an overpriced release obsolete". Converge also released a seven-inch EP called Unloved and Weeded Out in 1995, which Bannon links more to contemporary Converge than the stuff that predated it.

In 1996 Converge released a four-song EP, Petitioning the Empty Sky. It was released through Ferret Music, and was one of the earliest releases through the newly formed label. Later that same year the record was re-released with four additional new tracks. Two years later, the record was reissued through Converge's new label Equal Vision Records on January 20, 1998. This version contained the previous eight tracks as well as three newly added live tracks, recorded during a radio broadcast. Due to the addition of the new tracks, fans and sources consider this to be Converge's second studio album, while the band considers it a compilation album because it is a collection of songs recorded at different times.

In early 1997 the band's original bassist, Feinburg, left the band, and was replaced with Stephen Brodsky. Also that year, the band signed to Equal Vision Records. On December 22, 1997, recording for the band's third studio album When Forever Comes Crashing began at Ballou's GodCity Studio; it finished on January 3, 1998. On April 14, 1998, Converge released When Forever Comes Crashing through Equal Vision.

In 1998, Brodsky left the band and was replaced by Newton, who initially joined the band as a part-time member while he was still active in another band, Jesuit. Jesuit later disbanded in 1999, allowing Newton to make Converge his main focus. In early 1999, the original drummer Bellorado left the band and he was quickly replaced with John DiGiorgio. Converge's only release with DiGiorgio was The Poacher Diaries; Koller joined Converge in late 1999, replacing him. Ballou selected Koller to temporarily fill in while Converge searched for a more permanent replacement for Bellorado, as he was familiar with his work in previous bands, Force Fed Glass and Blue/Green Heart, a band that Ballou and Koller played in together. After working well with the band during some local shows in Boston, Converge made him an official member. Newton and Koller remain in the band to this day.