CONVERGE — Halo In A Haystack (review)

CONVERGE — Halo In A Haystack album cover Album · 1994 · Hardcore Punk Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
UMUR
"Halo in a Haystack" is the debut full-length studio album by US post-hardcore/metalcore act Converge. The album was released in 1994 in a limited number of vinyl copies by Earthmaker Records and is now out of print. However 8 out of the 10 tracks on the 34:00 minutes long album also appear on the "Caring and Killing (1995)" compilation. The compilation is easier to find as it was released on slightly more prolific labels in Lost And Found Records in Europe and Hydra Head Records in the US.

Converge is widely considered a pioneering act in post-hardcore/metalcore and right off the bat it´s audible why when listening to "Halo in a Haystack". The band play a very unconventional hardcore style where they combine fast-paced and aggressive hardcore punk sections, with heavier groovy sections, and atmospheric clean guitar sections. The band obviously aim at twisting conventions and that goes for song structures too. I´d actually go as far as to call some of the tracks on "Halo in a Haystack" progressively structured. Very intriguing indeed. The vocals are even more unconventional though and they are pretty sure to be an aquired taste. High pitched, distorted, aggressive, and melancholic are some of the words I´d use to describe the vocals by Jacob Bannon. His vocal style can be a bit much at times but it´s certainly original.

Besides a few production flaws, "Halo in a Haystack" is a very impressive debut album by Converge. High level musicianship and a songwriting approach that´s adventurous to say the least. They would go on to release more mature albums later on in their career but still a 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is deserved.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Traumatica Metalcore
NO GUERRA
Buy this album from MMA partners
Within the Visceria Death Metal
NECKBREAKKER
Buy this album from MMA partners
EP 1 Sludge Metal
CHAOTIC AGGRESSION
Buy this album from MMA partners
Songs of Blood and Mire Black Metal
SPECTRAL WOUND
Buy this album from MMA partners
Everything Hurts And I'm Dying Atmospheric Sludge Metal
NEGATIVE BLISS
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Origin Of Infinity - Chronosphere (OFFICIAL LYRIC VIDEO)
ORIGIN OF INFINITY
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Kingdom of Heaven - “Pleasures of Pain”
KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
Bosh66· 1 day ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Sanctuary [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 18 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Farewell [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 18 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Curtain of Death - [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 18 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed