Today in 1996 Converge released the album Petitioning the Empty Sky Salem, Massachusetts Hardcore punk, metalcore, mathcore, post-hardcore Status:Active Years active:1990–present Converge is a 4-piece American band, formed in February of 1990 in Salem, Massachusetts, United States. Playing a blend of extreme metal and hardcore punk, this pioneer outfit helped define a lot of the rudiments of the fast-burgeoning metalcore and mathcore genres. They first started by playing covers of hardcore, punk and heavy metal songs, being self-confessed hardcore kids with leftover Slayer riffs. The band soon graduated to playing live performances in 1991 after recording some demos on a 4-track recorder. In their latter years, Converge have enjoyed relatively high levels of popularity despite the esoteric feel of their music and the substantial lack of media attention they receive. The extreme nature of their music, particularly the atonal vocals and often complicated finger-work of the guitar riffs make it difficult for some to appreciate this brand of metal. Later records have gradually become more extensively produced largely due to the maturation of their sound. Converges influences range from hardcore punk bands, such as Black Flag, Negative Approach, The Accüsed, and Born Against; metal bands like Black Sabbath, Godflesh, Slayer, and Entombed; and proto-mathcore bands Starkweather and Rorschach. Jacob Bannon has also discussed an appreciation for and inspiration from grindcore on Earache Records, post-hardcore on Dischord Records; thrash metal, such as Suicidal Tendencies, Vio-Lence, and Death Angel, and post-punk groups, such as Depeche Mode and The Cure. Outside of Converge, singer Jacob Bannon and guitarist Kurt Ballou compose stark, ambient music under the moniker Supermachiner, with Daltonic bass player Ryan Parker, co-founder of the record label Deathwish Inc.. Ballou has participated in an array of other lesser-known bands, such as Blue/Green Heart with drummer Ben Koller. Bannon also records under his own name, releasing solo records. In late 2005, Ben Koller briefly drummed for Cave In. Bassist Nate Newton also plays guitar in Old Man Gloom and Doomriders. Aaron Dalbec, former guitarist, and Damon Bellorado, former drummer, created a side project in 1995 called Gateway, later renamed Bane. Ferret Kurt Ballou – bass guitar (track 1), guitars, backing vocals Jacob Bannon – vocals Damon Bellorado – drum kit Stephen Brodsky (Cave In) – bass guitar (track 12) Aaron Dalbec – guitars (tracks 2, 3, 5, 7, 9–11) Jeff Feinburg – bass guitar 1. The Saddest Day (7:06) 2. Forsaken (2:22) 3. Albatross (1:51) 4. Dead (3:07) 5. Shingles (4:14) 6. Buried But Breathing (1:14) 7. Farewell Note to This City (5:22) 8. Color Me Blood Red (3:59) 9. For You / Antithesis (8:25) 10. Homesong (17:04) Total Time: 54:48 Ferret Music, Early 1996 Equal Vision Records, 1998 (re-issue) Recorded: August & October 1995, February 1996, May 1997 Producer: Brian McTernan, Mike West #Originally released as a four track EP. Recording history: - Tracks 1–5 recorded by Brian McTernan at Salad Days studio in October 1995 - Tracks 6–8 recorded by Mike West at West Sound in February 1996 - Tracks 9–11 recorded live on the air at WJUL in August 1995 - Track 12 recorded by Jim Siegel at The Outpost in May 1997 Petitioning the Empty Sky is an album by Converge. While many sources catalog the release as a studio album, the band considers this a compilation album as its a collection of songs recorded at different times. It also features both studio recorded tracks among three songs recorded live. Petitioning the Empty Sky was released and distributed through several different labels beginning in the mid 90s Petitioning the Empty Sky was originally released through Ferret Music in 1996 and was also one of the earliest albums released through the newly formed label. This early version was a 7 EP featuring only the first four tracks of the eventual full-length. Two years later, the album was reissued through Converges new label Equal Vision Records as EVR040 on January 20, 1998. The full length reissue contained three live tracks (For You, Homesong, and Antithesis) recorded during a radio broadcast, three newly recorded tracks (Buried But Breathing, Farewell Note to This City, and Color Me Blood Red) and one track (Shingles) that was recorded along with the original four tracks, but was unreleased. Shortly after the release of Converges 2004 album You Fail Me through Epitaph Records, Equal Vision reissued remasters of Petitioning the Empty Sky and When Forever Comes Crashing. The updated version of Petitioning the Empty Sky featured new artwork from Isis frontman Aaron Turner, production work from Converges Kurt Ballou in addition to Mike Poorman and Alan Douches, and an alternate version of Love As Arson as a bonus track. The liner notes also contain the first half of an essay written by the Aggressive Tendencies columnist and editor of the Canadian online magazine Exclaim!, Chris Gramlich. The second part of the essay is continued in When Forever Comes Crashing. The remaster was Equal Visions EVR109 released on March 22, 2005. In 2006, Jacob Bannons Deathwish Inc. released a vinyl box set collection for the remasters of Petitioning the Empty Sky and When Forever Comes Crashing in a package dubbed Petitioning Forever. Due to the physical limitations of a vinyl LP, a single 12 record cannot hold all of the songs from the remaster. The three live tracks were released separately with the first pressing on a 7 vinyl with its own artwork based on box set packaging. The box set was Deathwishs DWI47, and the separate vinyl was cataloged as DWLIMITED04 https://youtube/watch?v=bJBjWpas0q4
Posted on: Sat, 10 Jan 2015 17:19:14 +0000
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