''You Fail Me'' is the fifth studio album by American
metalcore
Metalcore (also known as metallic hardcore) is a fusion music genre that combines elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. As with other styles blending metal and hardcore, such as crust punk and grindcore, metalcore is noted for its use of ...
band
Converge
Converge may refer to:
* Converge (band), American hardcore punk band
* Converge (Baptist denomination), American national evangelical Baptist body
* Limit (mathematics)
* Converge ICT, internet service provider in the Philippines
*CONVERGE CFD s ...
, released on September 21, 2004 by
Epitaph Records
Epitaph Records is an American independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, most acts signed to the label were punk and pop punk acts, while there are many post-hardcore and emo bands ...
. The band's first release for the label, it was produced by Alan Douches and guitarist
Kurt Ballou
Kurt Ballou (born February 1, 1974) is an American musician and producer based in Massachusetts, best known as the guitarist for hardcore punk band Converge and for his prolific recording and production work at his own GodCity Studio.
Early an ...
, with the artwork created by vocalist
Jacob Bannon
Jacob Bannon (born October 15, 1976) is an American musician who is the vocalist, lyricist and graphic artist for the metalcore band Converge. He is the co-founder and owner of the record label Deathwish Inc. and the author of many visual works ...
.
''You Fail Me'' was the band's first album to chart commercially, reaching number 171 on the
''Billboard'' 200;
it also reached number 12 on the
Top Heatseekers
Top Heatseekers are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new an ...
chart
and number 16 on the
Independent Albums
The Independent Albums chart (previously titled Top Independent Albums) ranks the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays (EPs) in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by '' Billboard'' maga ...
chart.
Background and recording
Converge began writing for ''You Fail Me'' after they recorded ''
Jane Doe
John Doe (male) and Jane Doe (female) are multiple-use placeholder names that are used when the true name of a person is unknown or is being intentionally concealed. In the context of law enforcement in the United States, such names are ofte ...
;'' they wrote on the road during sound checks of shows.
Much of the material was worked out in a live setting for some time before the band entered the studio. Bannon stated, "it definitely added a new level of refinement to the album material."
Recording for the album took place in March 2004, mainly at
GodCity Studio, with additional recording at Magpie Sound Design and Witch Doctor Studio.
Musical style and themes
When asked about the concept of the album, Bannon said:
"After ''Jane Doe
John Doe (male) and Jane Doe (female) are multiple-use placeholder names that are used when the true name of a person is unknown or is being intentionally concealed. In the context of law enforcement in the United States, such names are ofte ...
'' was recorded and released, I thought I was going to feel the emotional burden I was carrying lift from my shoulders. I had all the puzzle pieces there in front of me. Outlets bring closure, or at least that's what I thought. With that, I put myself out on the line looking for an emotional resolve with "Jane..." and it never came. When the album was released I didn't feel any better, nothing was changed. My depression kept collapsing on itself. At that point I stopped hoping and searching and I took a long hard look at my life and at my heart. I did a huge amount of soul searching and found so much failure within myself. That discovery was a massive realization. As I started to see clear again, I also saw the failure in friends and loved ones around me. How we fail each other, and how we fail ourselves. These are songs of failure. And ultimately, surviving self destruction and tragedy we all face in our lives. Musically our only goal was to write an album that moved us and challenged us. We feel we accomplished that."
Bannon stated the lyrics are "opinionated" and that there was definitely a "rage" in the writing not apparent in previous albums.
Release and promotion
''You Fail Me'' was released on September 21, 2004 by Epitaph Records. Converge's first headlining tour in support of the album began in September 2004 with
Cave In
Cave In is an American rock band that formed in 1995 in Methuen, Massachusetts. The band's lineup solidified with the 1998 release of ''Until Your Heart Stops'' through Hydra Head Records, and their early albums were prominent in the metalcore ...
and
Between the Buried and Me
Between the Buried and Me, often abbreviated as BTBAM, is an American progressive metal band from Raleigh, North Carolina. Formed in 2000, the band consists of Tommy Giles Rogers Jr. (lead vocals, keyboards), Paul Waggoner (lead guitar, backing ...
. On this tour, Converge sold copies of Bannon's side-project
Supermachiner
Supermachiner was an experimental music project that Jacob Bannon and Ryan Parker began writing for in 1994 and soon became a collection of four track recordings. When Converge had about six months of down time as the band searched for a drummer, ...
's album ''
Rise of the Great Machine
''Rise of the Great Machine'' is the debut and only studio album by the project Supermachiner. It was released on November 28, 2000, through Undecided Records. The album features artwork created by Jacob Bannon.
Writing and recording
Writing fo ...
'', limited to 50 copies.
On February 14, 2005, a music video was released for the track "Eagles Become Vultures", directed by Zach Merck.
''You Fail Me Redux''
On June 17, 2016, Converge reissued the album as ''You Fail Me Redux'' through Epitaph and
Deathwish. The band was "never quite content" with the original mix, and had guitarist
Kurt Ballou
Kurt Ballou (born February 1, 1974) is an American musician and producer based in Massachusetts, best known as the guitarist for hardcore punk band Converge and for his prolific recording and production work at his own GodCity Studio.
Early an ...
remix the album and Alan Douches remaster it. The reissue also features updated cover artwork with an inverted color scheme, a black-outlined hand on a white background. The redux had the same track list as the vinyl version of the original album.
In an interview with
Noisey
''Vice'' (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian-American magazine focused on lifestyle, arts, culture, and news/politics. Founded in 1994 in Montreal as an alternative punk magazine, the founders later launched the youth media company Vice Media, ...
, Ballou explained why he felt the album needed to be remixed:
"''You Fail Me'' was the last time Converge did a record where I wasn't involved in the entire engineering process. The record that followed ''You Fail Me'', which was ''No Heroes
''No Heroes'' is the sixth studio album by American metalcore band Converge, released on October 24, 2006 by Epitaph Records. The album was produced by guitarist Kurt Ballou, and the artwork was created by vocalist Jacob Bannon.
''No Heroes'' re ...
'', was the first time that I both recorded and mixed a Converge record, with the exception of '' The Poacher Diaries'', which was an EP or a split. Upon completing ''No Heroes'' and managing to make my bandmates happy with the work I did on that record, I thought that I'd really like to go back and remix ''You Fail Me''. I recorded that one, but Matt Ellard, who did most of the engineering work on ''Jane Doe
John Doe (male) and Jane Doe (female) are multiple-use placeholder names that are used when the true name of a person is unknown or is being intentionally concealed. In the context of law enforcement in the United States, such names are ofte ...
'', was the one who mixed it. But it was also mixed under less than ideal circumstances. ..''Jane Doe'' was mixed at Fort Apache on a console that Matt was familiar with, and we had sufficient time to do those mixes. With ''You Fail Me'', he came up and mixed in my studio, which he'd never worked in before, and it was an unfamiliar console. He's a very malleable engineer and can work anywhere, but it probably wasn't his top choice to mix at my place. We also kept having power outages during the mixes. I can't remember the exact details, but I think we booked six days of mixing with him, but he ended up having to do it in about three because he'd come in, work for half an hour, and the power would go out. It was mixed in the summer under brownout conditions, so we'd have electricity in the morning while it was still relatively cool but then as things heated up in the afternoon we'd lose power. So he spent a lot of time lying on the couch waiting for the power to come back on. I still think it turned out great, but there was something about the lack of consistency from song to song and a few other details that made me want to remix it. Sonically, I wanted to make it fit more logically between ''Jane Doe'' and ''No Heroes''."
Critical reception
''You Fail Me'' received positive reviews from critics.
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
said that the album "manages to hit all the right emotional highs and lows" and called it "a visceral and bracing blend of metal and old-school,
CBGB
CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in Manhattan's East Village. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for '' Country'', '' BlueGrass'', and '' Blues'', Kri ...
-worthy gutter hardcore".
Joe Pazner of ''
Stylus Magazine
''Stylus Magazine'' was an American online music and film magazine, launched in 2002 and co-founded by Todd L. Burns. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog.
Addi ...
'' said that "Converge has emerged an impeccably pared-down case study in calculated cruelty, resourcefulness and cunning tempered by desperation. More than any record in their expansive catalog, ''You Fail Me'' stands as testament to the brutal necessities Converge has created to ensure its survival." Adam Turner-Heffer of ''
Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic is an American music community website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites. The format of the website is unusual in that it includes both professional and amateur c ...
'' called the band "as important as
Botch and Palehorse in their own genres, and with
'You Fail Me'' they are here to prove it". Sam Ubl of ''
Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...
'' said, "Not only have Converge retained (even sharpened) their razorblade cut, they're now bolstered by a brawny low-end".
Track listing
All lyrics written by
Jacob Bannon
Jacob Bannon (born October 15, 1976) is an American musician who is the vocalist, lyricist and graphic artist for the metalcore band Converge. He is the co-founder and owner of the record label Deathwish Inc. and the author of many visual works ...
; all music composed by Converge.
Personnel
Adapted from CD liner notes.
Converge
*
Jacob Bannon
Jacob Bannon (born October 15, 1976) is an American musician who is the vocalist, lyricist and graphic artist for the metalcore band Converge. He is the co-founder and owner of the record label Deathwish Inc. and the author of many visual works ...
– vocals, lyrics
*
Kurt Ballou
Kurt Ballou (born February 1, 1974) is an American musician and producer based in Massachusetts, best known as the guitarist for hardcore punk band Converge and for his prolific recording and production work at his own GodCity Studio.
Early an ...
– guitars, vocals, bass guitar, keyboards, percussion
*
Nate Newton
Nathaniel Newton (born December 20, 1961) is a former American football guard in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys and Carolina Panthers. He also was a member of the Tampa Bay Bandits of the United States Football League. He ...
– bass, vocals
*
Ben Koller
Ben Koller (born July 29, 1980) is an American drummer who has played with Converge, Mutoid Man, Killer Be Killed and All Pigs Must Die. He started playing a full drum kit at age 14.
Musical career
Early bands (1997–1999)
Koller played i ...
– drums, percussion
Additional musicians
* Shawn Moseley – piano on "In Her Shadow"
Production
*Kurt Ballou – recording at GodCity, Magpie and Witch Doctor; mixing at GodCity
*Jacob Bannon – mixing at GodCity
*Alan Douches – mastering at West West Side
*Matthew Ellard – mixing at GodCity
*Shawn Moseley – additional engineering
*Chris Moylan – additional engineering
Artwork
* Jacob Bannon – artwork
Redux production
*Alan Douches – remastering at GodCity
*Kurt Ballou – remixing at GodCity
Chart performance
Redux
References
External links
Official promotional website for the albumYou Fail Meon
Bandcamp
Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...
{{Authority control
Converge (band) albums
2004 albums
Epitaph Records albums
Deathwish Inc. albums
Albums produced by Kurt Ballou
Albums with cover art by Jacob Bannon