Jane Doe (album)


Jane Doe is the fourth studio album by American metalcore band Converge. Released on September 4, 2001 via Equal Vision Records, it is the band's last release on the label. The album was produced by Matthew Ellard alongside Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou, and the artwork was designed by the band's lead vocalist Jacob Bannon. It's the band's first album to feature bassist Nate Newton and drummer Ben Koller, and the last to feature guitarist Aaron Dalbec; Converge's line-up has remained stable since.
Although Jane Doe did not chart, it was a commercial breakthrough for the band and the album received immediate critical acclaim, with critics praising its poetic lyrics, dynamic range, ferocity and production. It has since been listed as one of the greatest albums of its genre and era by various publications, and has developed a cult following, with the cover art becoming an icon of the band. A live version, titled Jane Live, was released in 2017.

Writing and recording

Bannon stated in an interview that many of the songs from Jane Doe came from side-project Supermachiner; the project was claimed to inspire Jane Doe's experimental side. The songs "Jane Doe" and "Phoenix in Flight" were initially intended for the Supermachiner album, Rise of the Great Machine, but Bannon thought "it made sense for Converge to play them." Ballou has stated that Koller "reinvigorated the band" and "pushed in a new direction" and that prior to Newton joining the band, Ballou was the dominant songwriter for the band. Ballou has said with the addition of Newton that the album became more collaborative in terms of songwriting, which was not the case prior.
The band had a greater budget of $11,000 to work with on Jane Doe, and therefore its recording process differed from previous releases. The whole album was made on six reels of two inch tape, being recorded in three studios and mixed in two. The album was mostly recorded at Q Division, next door to James Taylor's recording session. However, additional recording for the album also took place at GodCity and Fort Apache and took around three years to make. The band recorded for 7 days at Q Division Studio using two rooms which are dubbed "Studio A" and "Studio B". Studio A was used to record the slower songs because the room was bigger than Studio B, which Ellard states was more optimal for invoking ambience in their sound than Studio B. Studio B was used to record the more up-tempo songs due to its smaller size.
Newton stated in an interview "I remember all of us wanting to write a hardcore record the kids were going to hate." Matthew Ellard, the engineer and producer of Jane Doe, said he saw the album as a "big rock record" rather than a metal record. Ballou has stated that Jane Doe is the first Converge album that he is "proud of from start to finish".

Release and promotion

In mid-2000 Converge self-released a three track record titled Jane Doe Demos. The record was released at Converge's 2000 tour and were limited to 100 copies. The CDs contained unreleased demo versions of "Bitter and Then Some" and "Thaw" from the upcoming album, Jane Doe as well as a cover of "Whatever I Do" originally by Negative Approach.
In the Summer of 2001 recording for Jane Doe began. The album was released on September 4, 2001 through Equal Vision Records as a CD and double vinyl which came in multiple colors. Bannon's Deathwish Inc re-released the album on vinyl format, and was accompanied by a 28-page booklet. This double vinyl version of the album officially became available for pre-order at the Deathwish web store on April 1, 2010, and then became available to buy in August 2010. Converge's first tour in support of Jane Doe was in September, 2001 with Drowningman and Playing Enemy. Drowningman later dropped out of the tour to work on a new album.

Artwork

The artwork for the cover and liner note booklet of Jane Doe was designed and created by Jacob Bannon. The booklet features lyrics for each song on the album, however the lyrics are intentionally scattered and some times hard to read. Bannon stated "Visually, I just wanted to capture that disillusionment with relationships and channel the negatives I felt. I did this in hopes of creating some sort of positive out of all the negative I was experiencing." The result was a mystery created from a variety of media, collage, photography, spray paint, ink—that Bannon then assembled digitally. The cover image "has become Converge's de facto icon". She is not based on any original model.
In an interview Bannon revealed that he abandoned multiple art projects to work on artwork for Jane Doe;
"Abandoning several other ongoing art projects so he could work on 'Jane Doe' exclusively for a month, Bannon applied the same meticulous process in creating all of the companion images that appear in the album's 28-page CD booklet. "Once I had the basic images completed, including the cover, I worked on type treatments for the release," he says. "At first I used old Letraset type but later switched to contemporary typography as the project progressed. My goal was to continue the same kinetic feel of the imagery and make them one and the same.""

"Concubine/Fault and Fracture" music video

In 2002 a music video was released for the track "Concubine/Fault and Fracture" from the album Jane Doe, the music video was directed by Zach Merck. The video was filmed on location in Los Angeles in September. Over a three-day period, longtime friend of the band, Merck was responsible for bringing Converge's conceptual vision to life. The band stated on their website that "Although it's always difficult to hand over creative control of a project, we can safely say did a commendable job on the project" and Converge also gave special thanks to Ashley for "sitting in a bathtub of blood for over two hours".

Musical style and theme

Bannon stated the album's lyrical themes were born out of a dissolving relationship and the emotional fallout from that experience.
The lyrics found in Jane Doe's liner notes differ from some of the lyrics on the recorded tracks. One example of this is the liner notes for the opening track "Concubine" state the lyrics are “For I felt the greatest of winters coming/ And I saw you as seasons shifting from blue to grey/ That's where the coldest of these days await me/And distance lays her heavy head beside me/ There I'll stay gold, forever gold” however when listening to the song the lyrics are “You stay gold/I’ll stay gold" repeated over and over again. On this topic, Scott Butterworth of Noisey said "It’s a somewhat confusing incongruity, but at the same time, it’s eerily reminiscent of a moment most of us have experienced. If you’ve ever planned an eloquent, well-reasoned speech in your head only to feel too overwhelmed, too hurt, too emotional to spit it out when the time came, you can understand the brilliant trick Bannon is pulling here."

Reception

Critical reception

Jane Doe was highly successful. Terrorizer Magazine awarded the record Album of the Year status in 2001. On July 2, 2002, Christopher Dare of Pitchfork Media said the album was “So full of intelligence, skill and intensity that it’s simply masterful. I don’t know what to call it. That’s probably a good thing.” In January 2007, Decibel magazine certified the album number 35 in the "Decibel Hall of Fame", and later named it the best album of the 2000s. J. Bennett writes that "Jane Doe was both a semi-melodic milestone and a discordant landmark, far and away the most crucial metallic hardcore record since Cave In unleashed Until Your Heart Stops three years earlier". On June 11, 2010, Sputnikmusic deemed Jane Doe the best album of the decade, earning the #1 spot on its top 100 albums of the decade list. Loudwire placed the album at #10 on its own albums of the decade list. In March, 2011, Jane Doe was inducted into the Rock Sound's Hall of Fame. They described the album as "a gamechanger in the entire realm of heavy music".

Legacy

The album has exerted considerable influence in extreme music circles and attained a cult following. Japanese band Heaven in Her Arms are named after the eponymous song.

Accolades

A "—" denotes the publication's list is in no particular order, and Jane Doe did not rank numerically.
PublicationCountryAccoladeYearRank
TerrorizerUKAlbums of the Year 200120011
DecibelUSDecibel Hall of Fame200735
MetalSucksUS21 Best Metal Albums of the 21st Century... So Far20095
NoisecreepUSBest Albums of the 2000s20091
NPR MusicUSMore Important '00s Music2009—
SputnikmusicUSTop 100 Albums of the Decade20101
DecibelUSThe Top 100 Greatest Metal Albums of the Decade20101
LoudwireUSTop 11 Metal Albums of the 2000s201110
Rock SoundUKRock Sound’s 101 Modern Classics: The Final Instalment!201215
LA WeeklyUSTop 20 Hardcore Albums in History20135
KerrangUK50 Albums You Need to Hear Before You Die201521
Rolling StoneUSThe 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time201761
LoudwireUSThe 25 Best Metalcore Albums of All Time20171

Track listing

Personnel

Jane Doe personnel adapted from CD liner notes.
Converge
  • Jacob Bannon – vocals
  • Kurt Ballou – guitar, vocals, theremin
  • Aaron Dalbec – guitar
  • Nate Newton – bass, vocals, theremin
  • Ben Koller – drums
Guest musicians
Artwork and design
  • Atomic! ID – art direction and design
Production and recording history
  • Fred Archambalt – recording assistant
  • Kurt Ballou – recording, pre-production, mixing
  • Jacob Bannon – mixing
  • Matt Beaudoin – recording assistant
  • Mathew Ellard – recording, mixing
  • Alan Douches – mastering
  • Andy Hong – pre-production
  • Carl Plaster – drum tech
  • Recorded at Q Division, God City and Fort Apache
  • Mixed at Fort Apache
  • Mastered at West West Side
  • All recording and mixing was performed in an analog format.