Jane Doe Anniversary

Still staying gold

September 4th marked the 10th anniversary of one of my favorite albums of all time, Converge's 2001 epic, Jane Doe. The good folks over at Invisible Oranges wrote a nice little something commemorating the awesomeness of this record. Here's my own brief little rant for you all to enjoy...

Listening to Jane Doe is one of the most blissfully excruciating experiences you'll ever have in your life. First, the production is LOUD. Not in your face but rather through your face, loud. The opening guitar notes on "Concubine" conjure images of claustrophobic meth addicts in a confined space. Pure, unhinged depravity. The closing moments of the lumbering title track/album closer "Jane Doe" are emotional enough to make Oscar Schindler weep. Listening to this album all the way through flushes out every emotion under the sun.



The music is beyond metal and hardcore. Song's run the gamut from blast beats to space rock but no matter what genre Converge dabbles in, they always sound authentic. Jacob Bannon's lyrics and vocal performance on Jane Doe have become the stuff of legends. Chronicling the messy deterioration of a long term relationship, the story Jacob tells on Jane Doe constitutes the gnarliest "break up" album ever created. Good luck trying to decipher the lyrics though. Jacob's vocals are damn near inhuman and sounds like a dying velociraptor most of the time. All in all, this album is one of the most abrasive, painful and hauntingly beautiful records I've ever encountered.

Heaven in Her Arms

 This album has gotten me through some dark times as it has countless others. The Jane Doe image has become this millennium's Misfits skull. People adorned their bodies with this album's iconic image and do all kinds of other crazy shit in it's honor. Like this:

Bitter...and then some!

I can honestly say this album has changed my life for the better. I know this stuff isn't for everyone, hell, even I couldn't understand what the hell I was listening too when Jane Doe first came out, but once it clicks, it's like some kind of amazing drug (I'd imagine). Celebrating a ten year anniversary is cool and all, but really, this is the type of record that will stay with you for a lifetime. Thank you Jacob, Kurt, Nate and Ben.



*NOTE*
check out Decibel Magazine's special Top 100 Greatest Metal Albums of the Decade for an in depth making of Jane Doe feature. Spoiler alert....it ranked #1.