Converge is not failing anyone

The punk-metal foursome Converge will be coming back to Montreal this weekend as part of their Canadian tour in support of their 2004 release, You Fail Me.

The band spent a good part of the summer working on different side projects but also took time to work on new material. According to the band’s bassist Nate Newton, Converge plans on going in the same direction for the next record but as he explained would like “to sound more organic, rather than robotic. We would like for our music to have more of a human sound,” he said.

They are still extremely pleased with how last year’s much anticipated release turned out but explained that it is impossible to be completely satisfied. “If we were completely satisfied, it would be time for us to break up because there wouldn’t be anything left for us to accomplish,” said Newton.

Spending time touring with other bands and working on other projects is important for Converge because they feel it can positively influence the band. “I try to bring what I learned from playing with other people into Converge and also the other way around. It’s just kind of how it works. As a musician you should be influenced by everything musically that you take in. If you don’t, I don’t think you are exploring your full potential,” said Newton..

Newton said that no matter what they do with other people it could never be the same. “The four of us have been friends for a really long time and just enjoy playing music together. There’s a chemistry that we have that I’ve never been able to replicate with other people and I don’t think that the guys in the band have either,” he said.

Since their formation back in 1990, the guys of Converge have seen the music scene evolve greatly. Newton explained that there seems to be a lack of substance coming from hardcore and metal bands today. “It’s so homogenized. It’s almost like a band has its identity sought out for itself before they even begin. We’ve always been thinking like that. It makes me sad to see bands just accepting that, just doing it to make their band popular,” he said.

Another difference they’ve noticed over the years is their crowds. “I was thinking about this the other day, I was thinking “Wow all these kids that are coming out to the show are a lot younger then they used to be”, and then I started realizing maybe I’m just getting older,” joked Newton.

Although Converge does not have any specific plans for the future, you can definitely expect to hear at least one more record from them. “We just want to play all over the world, have a good time and write music that doesn’t suck,” concluded Newton.

Converge perform at La Tulipe on October 7 with Terror and guests.

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