All We Love We Leave Behind

All We Love We Leave Behind
Studio album by Converge
Released October 9, 2012
Recorded February 2012
Genre Hardcore punk, metalcore
Length 38:32
Label Epitaph
Producer Kurt Ballou
Converge chronology

Converge / Napalm Death
(2009)		 All We Love We Leave Behind
(2012)

All We Love We Leave Behind is the eighth studio album by the American band Converge. The album was released on October 9, 2012 through Epitaph Records.

Recording

All We Love We Leave Behind was recorded and mixed at Kurt Ballou's Godcity Studios in Salem, Massachusetts.[1] Unlike the band's last few albums, All We Love We Leave Behind did not feature collaborators. The album's sound has been described as "raw" and "live-sounding," with Ballou saying: "There's no artificial distortion, triggers, or Auto-Tune on this album. It's all organic, it's real sounds that capture the way the band performs live." [2] The album was mastered by Alan Douches, noted for former contributions to Converge recordings as well as mastering for bands such as Death, The Dillinger Escape Plan and Japandroids.[3] Former Give Up the Ghost drummer Alex Garcia-Rivera was brought in as a drum technician.[3]

Release

All We Love We Leave Behind was first announced on August 28, 2012. On that same day, a Max Moore-directed music video for the track "Aimless Arrow" was released.[4]

The album was released in several different versions. The vinyl edition of the album was released by Deathwish Inc.[5] The deluxe edition featured a hardcover 48-page book that included art drawn by vocalist Jacob Bannon.[2] The deluxe edition also came with three additional tracks: "On My Shield," which was originally released as a single; "Runaway," which was originally released on the Dropdead split; and "No Light Escapes," which was originally released on the Napalm Death split.[5]

The album sold approximately 6,400[6] copies in the United States in its first week of release and debuted at position number 70 on the Billboard 200 chart.[7]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 88/100[8]
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [9]
The A.V. Club B+[10]
BBC Music positive[11]
Consequence of Sound [12]
NME 6/10[13]
Pitchfork 8.6/10[14]
Spin 8/10[15]
Sputnikmusic [16]
Tiny Mix Tapes [17]

All We Love We Leave Behind was met with critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 88, based on 19 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim"[8]

Brandon Stosuy of Pitchfork Media gave the album a Best New Music designation, writing "There's never a dull moment across AWLWLB's 38 minutes. It's all peaks." Stosuy continued: "AWLWLB is an example of building on and mastering the music you loved when you were younger-- something that became more than music, ultimately-- so that it has a chance to grow old with you without becoming any less vital."[14] Sputnikmusic also praised the album, writing "All We Love We Leave Behind is yet another successful achievement to add to Converge’s lauded canon. It lacks the novelty to reach the heights of some of its earliest predecessors, but it continues to drive nails into the coffins of competing hardcore/metal bands."[16] David von Bader of Consequence of Sound called All We Love We Leave Behind "[..] yet another glowing example of how to make art out of aggression," while Tiny Mix Tapes described the album as one that "entices kinetic release in every possible way, irrational and otherwise, allowing unchecked ventilation as means for escape through a medium that has never sounded so engaging."[17][12] The A.V. Club's Jason Heller wrote that while the album lacked cohesion in some spots, the album "solidifies Converge’s position as one of hardcore’s most progressive yet soulful stalwarts."[10]

NME's John Calvert, on the other hand, was more mixed to the album, writing "[..] [B]y trading nonsensical time signatures and atonal bursts for fluidity and stadium rock, they’ve subtracted from their former wretchedness."[13]

All We Love We Leave Behind was named the best album of 2012 by Decibel, while Pitchfork Media ranked the album #2 on its list of the 40 best metal albums of 2012.[18][19] The album was also listed 40th on Stereogum's list of top 50 albums of 2012.[20] Metacritic ranked All We Love We Leave Behind at number 5 on its "25 best-reviewed albums of 2012" list[21] and number 27 "critics pick the best albums of 2012" list.[22]

Track listing

All lyrics written by Jacob Bannon, all music composed by Converge.[23]

No. Title Length
1. "Aimless Arrow"   2:23
2. "Trespasses"   2:43
3. "Tender Abuse"   1:25
4. "Sadness Comes Home"   3:12
5. "Empty on the Inside"   2:29
6. "Sparrow's Fall"   1:27
7. "Glacial Pace"   4:25
8. "Vicious Muse"   1:52
9. "Veins and Veils"   2:32
10. "Coral Blue"   4:48
11. "Shame in the Way"   1:57
12. "Precipice"   1:47
13. "All We Love We Leave Behind"   4:07
14. "Predatory Glow"   3:25
Total length:
 38:32

Personnel

The following people contributed to All We Love We Leave Behind:[3]

Converge

Recording personnel

Charts and certifications

Charts

Chart Peak
position
US Billboard 200[7] 70
US Independent Albums[7] 16
US Rock Albums[7] 32
US Tastemakers Albums[7] 13

References

  1. ↑ Epitaph Press Release: Converge "All We Love We Leave Behind" out Oct 9th. convergecult.com. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Stosuy, Brandon. Converge Share Album Info, New Song/Video, Tour. Pitchfork Media. 28 August 2012. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 All We Love We Leave Behind - Converge: Credits. Allmusic. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Ramirez, Carlos (August 28, 2012). "Converge Unveil New Video, Release Date and Cover Art for New Album". Noisecreep. AOL. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Adams, Gregory (August 28, 2012). "Converge Detail 'All We Love We Leave Behind,' Premiere New Video". Exclaim!. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
  6. ↑ Converge's 'All We Love We Leave Behind' Lands On Billboard Chart - Oct. 17, 2012. Blabbermouth.net
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 "All We Love We Leave Behind - Converge". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved October 18, 2012.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "All We Love We Leave Behind Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved October 9, 2012.
  9. ↑ Monger, James Christopher. "All We Love We Leave Behind – Overview". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved October 9, 2012.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Heller, Jason (October 9, 2012). "Review: All We Love We Leave Behind". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Retrieved October 9, 2012.
  11. ↑ Rauf, Raziq. "Converge All We Love We Leave Behind Review". BBC Music. BBC. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Von Bader, David. Album Review: Converge – All We Love We Leave Behind. Consequence of Sound. 11 October 2012. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Calvert, John (October 5, 2012). "Review: All We Love We Leave Behind". NME. IPC Media. Retrieved October 9, 2012.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Review: All We Love We Leave Behind". Pitchfork. October 12, 2012. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
  15. ↑ Grow, Kory (October 9, 2012). "Converge, ‘All We Love We Leave Behind’". Spin Magazine. Spin Magazine. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Converge - All We Love We Leave Behind". Sputnikmusic. Sputnikmusic. October 4, 2012. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Converge - All We Love We Leave Behind. Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  18. ↑ Decibel‘s Top 40 Albums Of 2012. Stereogum. 20 November 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
  19. ↑ Stosuy, Brandon. The Top 40 Metal Albums of 2012. Pitchfork Media. 19 December 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  20. ↑ http://stereogum.com/1210661/stereogums-top-50-albums-of-2012/franchises/listomania/
  21. ↑ Dietz, Jason (December 21, 2012). "The Best Albums of 2012". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 2, 2013.
  22. ↑ Dietz, Jason (December 30, 2012). "2012 Music Critic Top Ten Lists". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 2, 2013.
  23. ↑ All We Love We Leave Behind (CD booklet). Converge. Los Angeles, California: Epitaph Records. 2012. 86827–2.

External links