listen to no absolutes in human suffering by gaza

Allright, noted. I'm terrible at following through with what I've said I'll listen to these days, but I'll try.

For anyone who thinks there is no songwriting and it's just noise, I recommend you listen to a piano cover of their opus prior to spouting such nonsense:



And while I certainly enjoy Poison the Well ("Grain of Salt" was probably 15 year old RAR's favorite song), Converge always tapped into the same desperation and anger that drove 90's metalcore, but in a more aesthetically 'pure' manner. The lack of discernible lyrics, the swirl of chaos, the suggestive artwork; they all scream 'heartache', 'rage', 'fear', and 'despair', before resolving with the album ender ("Jane Doe"). Catharsis achieved.

So yeah, it's tighter conceptually than anything PtW did but they're also aiming for different facets of the same emotional experience.

If someone thinks Jane Doe is too chaotic and noisy they're swimming in very shallow waters, music-wise.

I'm not saying Jane Doe isn't more accomplished than The Opposite of December, but PtW made a far more relentless album, which is really what I'm looking for from such an immediate genre as metalcore (and metal and punk in general), while also creating something with enough depth to be engaging on other levels. It's more that a better middle ground was reached on The Opposite of December that didn't compromise on intensity.

Whenever I listen to Converge or Poison The Well or whatever, I basically think to myself: Cool, but I could listen to some kickass powerviolence and have more fun and not feel like some angry teenager.

I can't think of any powerviolence groups that gets close to the complexity of a lot of mathcore groups. I go to both for pretty different reasons.

True.
But the teenageriness still bugs me a bit.
I think we've already had this discussion about post-hardcore.
Plus I usually go to other genres for complexity.

This is why Unbroken exist. Feel like an angry twenty-something.