hailing from Salem, Massachusetts, Converge is virtually a genre unto themselves. In 1990, guitarist Kurt Ballou and vocalist Jacob Bannon were just “hardcore kids with left-over Slayer riffs” who decided to form a band. The sound that would result from their marriage of hardcore and thrash would become one of the earliest examples of what is now known as metalcore.
There is really no way to overstate the influence that Converge has had on thousands of bands since, but it is telling that Ballou is now one of the most sought-after producers in all of metal. Working out of his own God City Studios, the guitarist has attached his name to some of the biggest and most revered metal records of the last 25 years.
Today’s edition of Massive Metal Monday examines the conjoined songs “Precipice” and “All We Love We Leave Behind” from Converge’s most recent studio album 2012’s All We Love We Leave Behind.
Stoner/doom metal legends High On Fire have announced that they plan to commence recording for their seventh studio album in late January at Salem, Massachusetts’ GodCity Studios with producer Kurt Ballou. Ballou, who is also the guitarist in legendary hardcore/metalcore band Converge, is currently one of the most critically acclaimed and sought-after producers in extreme music. In addition to producing HOF’s most recent album, 2012’s De Vermis Mysteriis, he has helmed numerous classics from the likes of Nails, Baptists, All Pigs Must Die, Code Orange Kids, Trap Them, Skeletonwitch, Vallenfyre, Black Breath, Kvelertak, and countless others.
High On Fire wrote the material for the new disc over the past year in both their hometown of Oakland and in New Orleans. The songs have been described as “epic” and “sonically huge.”
Students of the Unusual™ comic cover used with permission of 3BoysProductions
The Mercuri Bros.™ comic cover used with permission of Prodigal Son Press