Converge - Napalm Death
Napalm Death - Converge

THE REVIEW

A real bitch, the advancing age, believe me!

This morning I literally turned my orderly music collection upside down searching for the "Jane Doe" album by Converge; I couldn't achieve my goal. Maybe I lent it to someone? Did my daughter take it? And who can say... I cursed for a long time. Finally, I calmed down, finding solace in listening to this split EP.

Converge and Napalm Death come together; immense mutual respect between the two bands with the plan to release something together for some time. And in August 2012, the die is cast.

They don't even need a title for the work; they don't need one. Nor do I need to provide even the slightest introduction to these legends of extremism. Two tracks each for a little under eight minutes of total uncontrolled chaos.

It's Converge with "No Light Escapes" who open the macabre dance; FIFTY-TWO sadistic and bloody seconds. Jacob's hallucinating voice is supported in its psychotic screams by the grinding work of the instruments. An urgent and neurotic track that seems to end in a nanosecond, so frantic in its movements. It continues with a cover of the seminal Entombed; it's the track "Wolverine Blues" which features vocal collaboration, among others, from Aaron Turner (Isis) and Tomas Lindberg (At The Gates): unprecedented violence that surpasses the original. SCARY.

The grindcore masters' reply is not long in coming; Napalm Death always brings it back to the executional fury, bastardizing their sound with abundant hardcore inserts. "Will By Mouth" and the slightly more controlled, yet always terrifying, "“No Impediment To Triumph (Bhopal)” are two punches in the face that hurt terribly. It's the "usual": Mark's underground growl, Shane's tortured bass, Mitch's schizoid guitar, and above all, Danny's inhuman drumming. SCARY squared.

In conclusion: by a hair's breadth, the friendly challenge sees the Napalm Death prevail. Not even Converge, which is still a band of the highest level for me, can compete and keep pace with the English... SIEGE OF POWER...

Weak-hearted individuals should abstain from listening.

Ad Maiora.