Prejudice, boys and girls, is a very bad thing. This was proven to me once again when confronted with the latest album by CONVERGE, a band I always avoided, thinking they were another one of those emo-bands. Apparently this was a very stupid thing to do, because this album simply kills!!

Emo? As in emotion? Well, there's certainly lots of that. Luckily CONVERGE choose explosive catharsis over whining self-indulgence. The music is often complex without becoming soulless mathcore. Sometimes their sound suggests what VICTIMS FAMILY would sound like if they covered something by AT THE DRIVE-IN, other times they sound like a more interesting cousin to THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN. What it reminds me most of though is an even heavier version of FAITH NO MORE at its loudest. Remember FNM-tracks like "Surprise! You're Dead!" and "Collision"? Think those tracks, only ten times heavier and more fucked up, and you've got a pretty close idea of CONVERGE's sound.

Since this album is more about the aforementioned catharsis than about catchy songwriting it's hard to pick a favorite, but there's two tracks that stand out. First it's the epic title track with its seemingly endless wailing and screeching guitar. Noise can be such a great thing!! The second is the track that follows it, "In Her Shadow", a beautiful combination of haunting melody, acoustic guitar and noise that simply won't leave your head once you've heard it.

Dedicated CONVERGE fans who read this will probably shake their head in disbelief, "What an ignoramus!!" And you know what? In this case you're right! I still think most so-called emocore sucks nards but as far as CONVERGE is concerned, I bow my head in shame and hereby promise to check out their earlier work. Let's just say I'm er...converted. "You Fail Me" is one of the year's better releases.

- Van Hoften

OFFICIAL SITE: www.convergecult.com

RELATED ITEMS: Mini-spotlight: CONVERGE's Jacob Bannon.