Tonight was never a matter of "is the show going to be good or bad?", but rather "how good?". Yet, the word "good" is an understatement, and frankly a massive insult, as tonight’s show was fucking mind-blowing. Walking into the Manning Bar, it was clear there was a diverse crowd from all musical backgrounds; from metal heads to grindcore kids, hardcore kids and even some hipsters. Welcome to the greatest.

Having never had the chance to see Newcastle hardcore band The Hollow play, I was excited to finally witness them live; and they did not disappoint. It was a solid and tight set, and they played extremely well, with "Porcelain" a gritty, rough around the edges power-violence inspired song that truly set this band apart from all the poser hardcore bands out there.

I honestly never thought I would ever get the chance to see the three-piece experimental grind-metal-electronic-doom band Genghis Tron. By the time they got on stage I was wet with excitement. They opened up with "Board Up The House" and followed up with "Things Don’t Look Good". I had expected the crowd to be more energetic but the floor seemed empty and lifeless, with the exception of one guy who was head-banging as if his life depended on it. Without a live drummer their show felt empty and was just missing that extra hit that could have made it an incredible set. I would have preferred to see them in a smaller venue with blood and sweat, but nonetheless they were still astonishing as they covered Big Black's "Bad Penny" and closed with "Asleep On The Forest Floor".

CONVERGE ARE THE BEST BAND IN THE WORLD.

Now that we got the facts out of the way (Converge are the best band in the world), I can begin trying to describe the greatest band in the world’s set. Front man Jacob Bannon is what we mere mortals can never be; a God. From the first riffs of the opening song "Concubine", Bannon prowls the stage like a madman and unleashes his fury onto the crowd. Bannon is relentless in his stage presence; constantly jumping into the crowd, mic swings, running around, and a voice that would make Satan shit himself.

Converge, however, is not a one man band; drummer Ben Koller is the spine that connects the group with his incredible technical skills. Mix that with Kurt Ballou’s obliterating hardcore riffs and Nate Newtown’s thunderous basslines and you get an aural assault that will melt your fucking face off. They continued their set with songs off their latest album "Axe To Fall", with "Dark Horse" and "Axe To Fall", as well as a few older songs "You Fail Me" and "Heartache". It’s intense that a band with only four members can make this deafening sound. If only all music was as good as this.

Converge are the best at what they do, and after twenty years they show absolutely no sign of slowing down. Playing songs off their back catalogue, from "Locust Reign" to the encore "Jane Doe", tonight was absolutely magnificent. This is what music should be; passionate, emotive and loud as fuck. If everyone listened to Converge, the world would be a better place.

Header Photo by Matt Miller - Taken From:
http://www.myspace.com/converge