Axe to Fall | ||||
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Studio album by Converge | ||||
Released | October 20, 2009 | |||
Recorded | May–July 2009 | |||
Studio | GodCity Studio | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 42:04 | |||
Label | Epitaph | |||
Producer | Kurt Ballou | |||
Converge chronology | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Aggregate scores | |
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 77/100 |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AbsolutePunk | 90% |
Allmusic | |
Alternative Press | |
Decibel | |
Drowned in Sound | 8/10 |
Mammoth Press | 10/10 |
Pitchfork Media | 8.5/10 |
PopMatters | |
Rock Sound | 9/10 |
Sputnikmusic | 4/5 |
Axe to Fall is the seventh studio album released by American metalcore band Converge. It was released on October 20, 2009, through Epitaph Records. It is their second most commercially successful to date, peaking at number 74 in the Billboard 200. The album was produced by guitarist Kurt Ballou, who previously produced many of Converge's album and features artwork created by lead singer Jacob Bannon. Axe to Fall is a collaborative album, which features a large number of guest musicians, including members from Cave In, Neurosis and The Red Chord among others.
Axe to Fall was met with widespread critical acclaim. It has been referred to as the band's most accessible album to date, and was compared with Converge's widely lauded Jane Doe.
"For a very long time, we've wanted to do a collaboration album where we could include people we're close with or friends with and who we gel with musically and socially. Now, we did that and it's pretty seamless. [Axe to Fall] doesn't feel like a big rock record where the guest vocalists come out and a spotlight is being thrown on them. It's much more involved than that. It's much more refined."
Converge began writing Axe to Fall in November 2008. 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, Converge 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. Vocalist Bannon wrote a few songs for Axe to Fall, but were scrapped because they were slower than the rest of the songs, and did not fit the energy of the album.