Agoraphobic Nosebleed / Converge - The Poacher Diaries

The Poacher Diaries was my intro to ANb and one of my first Converge CD's. I love this split, plain and simple. It's not perfect, but it doesn't matter. The production for both bands isn't really up to standard. While most people seem to think it really mauls the Converge side, I think ANb actually suffers more because there's just not enough bass. However, I have no problem overlooking this because the song writing is just murder. Seriously with a song like Mantis to start this offering of unrelenting metal fury, you know the whole album is going to kill. ANb really uses the samples so well here, giving the tracks more variety and atmosphere. Pentagram Constellation and Infected Womb have this extra level of viciousness that shreds with such intensity, you just want to bash your skull into a wall.
And the Converge side is just fucking ridiculous. Easily some of their best material. The production gives the band a whole new sound. It's not dark and creepy like their first two albums or raw and caustic like their later albums. It's not even really between those two styles, it's hard to explain. Locust Reign is a fucking metalcore/grind anthem, the breakdown is just unrelenting and crushing. They Stretch For Miles and Minnesota are both slightly psychadelic in flavor, especially with the Fear and Loathing sample in the first. Very different material from Converge. The ultimate highlight of the album from either band is My Great Devastator. This could be the heaviest Converge song, right next to Love As Arson. The lyrics, the breakdown, the drumming are all spot on.
Converge and ANb are really different bands, but if you like brutal metal with unique approach both bands provide. The art is also worth mentioning, combining the drug blasphemy of ANb with the failed romance style of Converge. It really suits both bands.