Live Review: Converge - Electric Brixton, London
6th November 2022
Support: Petbrick, Full of Hell
Words & Photos: Charley Shillabeer
We pour into the Electric Brixton, a comfortable theater-like venue excited to see some heavy hitters; Petbrick, Roadburns resident artist of 2022 - Full Of Hell and the pioneers that are Converge. Most of us are here tonight as we couldn’t make it to Damnation to see Jane Doe in its entirety.
Nevertheless People are excited, filling the stalls as soon as Petbrick's Wayne Adams manipulates a distorted thickness of atmosphere from his laptop. It’s a long drawn out beginning of a set. Confusing, an unknowing of what is to come. Is this going to mirror the experimental noise of bands like Sunm(((O))) or will Pet Brick give more of a structured sound? Enter Igor Cavalera, former drummer of Sepultura. Once the percussion enters the swell of unfamiliar sounds, Petbrick truly takes form. They are heavy, unafraid, confident in their direction and the crowd recognise this. I watch bodies pushed against the barrier with faces of unknowing turn to people with tightened jaws banging their heads to the groove of Igors beats.
The drums are the acceleration but Wayne is taking the wheel on this Journey, playing sounds that shouldn’t feel as heavy as he makes them. DnB, Jungle, Techno, a bit of everything? All I know is somehow it made sense. Towards the end of the set a long lanky figure dominates the stage, Jacob Bannon is on the microphone. The crowd has fully lost it. Bannon is slow and conservative during this collaboration, saving himself it seems. Giving us all a mild dose of what is yet to come. Bannon exits and like a tag team wrestling match Dylan Walker, vocalist from Full of hell, steam rolls into stage centre, pulls the mic to his mouth and rattles the foundations of Brixton Electric. He stomps and throws himself in every direction, Chaotic and malicious. The mood for the evening has been set in stone.
How does one describe Full of Hell? I’ll make it as easy as I possibly can. Imagine an elephant stamping on your chest so hard that your teeth cracked in the process, you're visualising that? Now imagine that elephant had the vocals of a really pissed off Banshee. We are getting close to the vibe.
Full of Hell killed it from the get go. As described during Petbricks set Dylan had no change in temperament. Still bouncing from one end of the stage to the next like some kind of mad predator. Spencer Hazard (guitar) and Sam DiGristine (bass) are reasonably static in comparison but still beating down brutality on all of us. You can’t help but feel an evil influence fill your core listening to Full of Hell, It’s in the name, but it's undoubtedly in the grind, powerviolence four piece.
It’s time for the headline act, Converge. The nu-metal Spotify playlist courtesy of the Electric Brixton tapers off. We are hungry for the hardcore giants, we have been waiting all night. Instantly the set begins. It’s guns blazing from the get go. Drums fill the room. Bannon is running from stage left to stage right, letting everyone know “we are here”. Kurt picks the oh so familiar riff, they have opened with 'Dark horse'.
Everything feels frantic and precise and sporadic and... am I having a sensory overload here? Converge are everything that I believed them to be on record. The difference is, I can see every member of the band perform with everything they have Nate Newton is incredible to watch. He uses the bass not only as an instrument but as an extension of himself, throwing it around as if it weighed nothing and was as simple as a gesture with his hands. Kurt is hammering away, in his own world. It looks like he is truly enjoying every minute of this set. While I’m trying to pay attention to everyone equally, Bannon steals my eyes. His performance is large, his stature is long, wherever you look, there he is. People are starting to surf the crowd while the security team scatters to deal with the incoming waves of humans clawing out to the headliner.
My three songs in the photo pit are up. I retreat to the back of the room to get a nice full view of the set and to really listen. Without any real transition Kurt bounces between those two notes that introduce 'Concubine'. I feel a collective squeeze, every one becomes tense and then releases, those distorted screeches from Bannon acts as a revolver to signify the beginning of a race. “GO” the pit erupts, a sprint, no one in the vortex of bodies is playing the long game, it’s now or nothing. It is a beautiful sight.
The energy and performance from; Jacob, Kurt, Nate and Ben were unmatched. Converge's reputation precedes them and continues to push the bounds of innovation in the studio and on the stage.
Photo credits: Charley Shillabeer
