Axe to Fall

Converge began writing Axe to Fall in November 2008.[9][10] With Jacob Bannon, Kurt Ballou and Nate Newton all living within a half a mile of each other in Boston and Ben Koller living a couple hours away in Brooklyn, the band could easily practice for weeks at a time. Though most songs originated from a guitar or bass riff from Ballou or Newton, all members had equal input on the writing process, with each member proposing different songs. Bannon wrote a few songs for Axe to Fall, but they were scrapped because they were slower than the rest and did not fit the energy of the album.[11]

Following a short tour in March 2009 with Ceremony, Coliseum, Pulling Teeth, Rise and Fall, Converge entered the studio to begin recording in May 2009.[12] The band had debuted some new material live during the tour.[13][14] As with several of their previous albums, Axe to Fall was produced by guitarist Kurt Ballou at his GodCity Studio in Massachusetts.[13] Throughout the recording process, the band updated their fans via Twitter of their progress in the studio.[15]

During recording, Converge tried to challenge themselves creatively as artists. Ballou stated that with each new Converge album, he "always [wants] to create a new listening-experience", and continued with the concept of "pushing [themselves] forward and not repeating [themselves]".[16] Bannon stated, "We appreciate our past albums, but we're very much about forward movement and challenging ourselves musically and expressing ourselves emotionally". Bannon has stated that he felt that the main artistic difference between Axe to Fall and previous albums was the large number of guest musicians, which included various members from Cave In, Neurosis, and Genghis Tron, among others. Most of the guest-musicians already had an existing relationship with one or more Converge members prior to recording or the band had "admired in some way".[17] Converge had previously thought of the idea of creating a collaborative album with many guest artists for some years, but felt that the "time to execute it [had] never been there".[17] Bannon stated that working with a number of different artists was difficult and something that the band was not used to, but the finished product was "an extremely focused album".[17]

Though writing did not officially begin until November 2008, work on some songs from Axe to Fall began four to five years earlier. In 2004, Converge collaborated with Cave in and recorded some songs together. Dubbed the "Verge In" sessions,[18] the material from this period was never released, and the project later dissolved. The instrumental parts that Cave in contributed to the track "Effigy" were from the original recordings in 2004. Converge took the parts they contributed to the project to create the foundation for what would become "Cruel Bloom" and "Wretched World". While producing their album Board Up the House, Ballou gave Genghis Tron a rough mix of "Wretched World" to contribute their talents. According to Ballou, Genghis Tron "embellished it and created a whole new melodic structure on top of the song that we would've never come up with".[18] Brad Fickeisen from the Red Chord also later added his own drum track to "Wretched World". Much of the song "Plagues" from No Heroes also originated from the "Verge In" sessions. With the release of Axe to Fall, everything Converge contributed to the sessions was finally released in some form.[18][19]

Converge took their music in a more progressive direction with Axe to Fall. Ballou noted that drummer Ben Koller had been listening to more progressive rock over the last few years, and that he tried to complement this sound on the guitar. He went on to say that he was getting the "more straightforward, raw punk aggression out in a yet-to-be-named hardcore side project that I started. So that leaves me free to get weird and progressive with Converge".[20] Ballou considers the band's previous three albums (Jane Doe, You Fail Me and No Heroes) to be a trilogy in regards to their sound, and hoped to push their musical boundaries on Axe to Fall.[21] The tracks on the album have been noted to range from "drone-and-pummel" to atmospheric. Bannon said that this album is "not about being as loud and vicious as possible".[22] Feeling that 40 to 50 minutes of metallic hardcore would be difficult for some, Converge used softer tracks, or "slow jams", such as "Damages" and "Wretched World", to take the listener "to some other places".[21]

Unlike Converge's previous albums, the songs on Axe to Fall do not have a central and consistent lyrical theme.[11] Each song was meant to be a "standalone song" about Bannon's life between this album and No Heroes.[23] Bannon has said that he uses his lyrics and Converge to "vent about things in a healthy way so [he's] not a person that walks around with a lot of negative energy".[24] The opening track "Dark Horse" was written about the passing of a close friend of Bannon, and how he died while trying to succeed as the "underdog".[25][26]

The artwork for the cover and liner note booklet of Axe to Fall was designed and created by Jacob Bannon. The booklet features a different piece of artwork for each song on the album.[27] Bannon tried to create images that "encapsulated some of the emotion of each song" in contrast to more literal imagery, such as avoiding an axe literally falling for the title track. He also experimented with a technique where a single image would be repeated within a frame, but the copies would be distressed or slightly different. This could be seen in the cover art, where a single image of a woman's profile was broken down within the repetition, and some of the copies showed the woman's teeth through her cheek. Bannon stated that for the cover art, he "just wanted to have something that felt timeless and sort of embodied the whole emotional gamut of the record, something that was explosive and powerful but also something that felt poetic and soft at the same time. It could look violent and beautiful at the same time".[28]

In August 2009, two months prior to the release of the album, Converge made the opening track "Dark Horse" available for streaming and as a free download.[20][29] The song was noted for being one of the few tracks lacking guest musicians, and was met with a very positive reaction from reviewers.[16] The title track was also made available for free download in September 2009.[30] The entire album was available for streaming one week before the official release date on Converge's MySpace page.[31] Axe to Fall was released in the United States on October 20, 2009, by Epitaph Records on CD and digital formats. The vinyl edition of the album was released through Jacob Bannon's own independent record label Deathwish Inc., shortly after the release of the CD version.[32][33]

A screenshot from the "Axe to Fall" music video, showing a man strapped to a machine with his eyes forced open and tubes sticking out of his mouth

In October 2009, a music video for the album's title track, directed by Craig Murray, was released.[34] The short video (1:40 in duration) shows a man and a woman strapped to a machine, a television that gives birth to a bio-mechanical creature and several disturbing clips in between. The video features stop motion animation influenced by horror films, and was referred to as "terrifying",[34] "seizure-inducing",[35] "nightmarish",[36] "excruciating",[37] and "gross".[38] It was filmed in Ronda, Spain with the intent of making "a film in which we see a cycle. This cycle will study an idea of new creation without pleasure and the art of numbing for progression". Murray was inspired and influenced by artists Chris Cunningham, Gaspar Noé, Nine Inch Nails. and the films Ringu, A Clockwork Orange, and Hardware while making the music video.[39] On November 7, the "Axe to Fall" video debuted on MTV2's heavy metal music program Headbangers Ball.[40]

Axe to Fall personnel as listed in CD liner notes.[83]

• Official Converge Website
• Converge on Myspace
• Converge on Twitter
• Axe to Fall at Epitaph Records
• Track By Track: Converge's Axe to Fall with J. Bannon