”I need you to be the strength of widows and sole survivors. And I need you to be as fearless as new mothers and new fathers.”
These two opening lines introduce the band’s history up to this point in a nutshell. The band had been slowly working its way up through the underground due to their unprecedented dedication to show the world their energy, technicality, and emotional response. However, after the band released their magnum opus,
Jane Doe, a mountain of accomplishment stood firmly behind them. The way that album came together was something that only happens once during a career in the music industry, and this achievement had to create an overpowering fear of where their sound could be headed next. And in this reflection, the band decided to release their most instrumentally stripped-down album to date – without compromising any of the relentless emotion for which their name was known. Therefore, those few opening lines not only fit in with Bannon’s lyrical theme of pressing on no matter what, but are a direct attempt at contact with the listener, proclaiming that “we’re still here and we won’t be counted out.”
It would be careless to believe a slightly more straightforward approach to their blend of metal and hardcore would make the album any more commercial. The reality is that with this album the band entered into a darkness which it would never travel again. The lyrics, which are still focused on crumbling relationships and the hardships of being
one in a world of
billions, will shake the core of your being just as much as anything on their other efforts. And Bannon’s ability to integrate imagery and well known themes right into the lyrics make them that much more relatable and personal. It was the transition between
Jane Doe and this release where the band lost one of their guitarists, but it’s impossible to recognize it while listening to the record. Regardless, there is not one riff on this album that will uplift your spirit. And aside from a slower, more peaceful introduction to the song “In Her Shadow”,
You Fail Me is consisted entirely of guitar passages which inflict pain and leave wounds completely out in the open for everyone to see. It’s not entirely far-fetched to imagine these riffs being the causes of Bannon’s response, which remains incredibly abrasive yet more decipherable on this release.
As with any Converge release, the rhythm section does a superior job of keeping everything flowing together nicely. Ben Koller is an absolute machine on the drums. The cymbal work and transitions on “Black Cloud” and “Heartless” alone are enough to make the average drummer covet his natural ability. And while it may be the least emphasized unit of their sound, the buzzing chainsaw-sounding bass lines are what ultimately keep the dark sound of the record constantly lingering from start to finish. Therefore, with the release of
You Fail Me, the band was able to sustain the momentum created by their most successful release to date – but only because of their unwillingness to create the same album over and over again. It is this constant push that makes them one of the most important bands in underground music to date.
