Petitioning the Empty Sky
Encyclopedia
Petitioning the Empty Sky is an album by American hardcore punk
band Converge
. While many sources catalog the release as a studio album
, the band considers this a compilation album
as it's a collection of songs recorded at different times. It also features both studio recorded tracks among three songs recorded live. Petitioning the Empty Sky was released and distributed through several different labels beginning in the mid 90s.
in 1996 and was also one of the earliest albums released through the newly formed label. This early version was a 7" EP featuring only the first four tracks of the eventual full-length. Two years later, the album was reissued through Converge's new label Equal Vision Records
as EVR040 on January 20, 1998. The full length reissue contained three live tracks ("For You," "Homesong," and "Antithesis") recorded during a radio broadcast, three newly recorded tracks ("Buried But Breathing," "Farewell Note to This City," and "Color Me Blood Red") and one track ("Shingles") that was recorded along with the original four tracks, but was unreleased.
Shortly after the release of Converge's 2004 album You Fail Me
through Epitaph Records
, Equal Vision reissued remasters of Petitioning the Empty Sky and When Forever Comes Crashing
. The updated version of Petitioning the Empty Sky featured new artwork from Isis
frontman Aaron Turner
, production work from Converge's Kurt Ballou
in addition to Mike Poorman and Alan Douches, and an alternate version of "Love As Arson" as a bonus track. The liner notes also contain the first half of an essay written by the "Aggressive Tendencies" columnist and editor of the Canadian online magazine Exclaim!
, Chris Gramlich. The second part of the essay is continued in When Forever Comes Crashing. The remaster was Equal Vision's EVR109 released on March 22, 2005.
In 2006, Jacob Bannon's Deathwish Inc.
released a vinyl box set collection for the remasters of Petitioning the Empty Sky and When Forever Comes Crashing in a package dubbed Petitioning Forever. Due to the physical limitations of a vinyl LP, a single 12" record cannot hold all of the songs from the remaster. The three live tracks were released separately with the first pressing on a 7" vinyl with its own artwork based on box set packaging. The box set was Deathwish's DWI47, and the separate vinyl was cataloged as DWLIMITED04.
in 1994, and later on the compilation album Caring and Killing
released in 1997. The song "Dead" was rerecorded from the version on Caring and Killing, which was recorded in 1994/1995. The original version of "Love As Arson" was released on When Forever Comes Crashing in 1998.
Tracks nine through eleven - "For You", "Antithesis" and "Homesong" - were recorded live during a performance on radio station WJUL
, run by college students at UMass Lowell. A notable moment on one of these live tracks is when a band member hits his head on a microphone
stand. The original CD release on Ferret Music features "Homesong" as a hidden/untitled song following "Antithesis".
Original production
Original artwork and design
Recording history
Remaster production (tracks 1–8, 12)
Remaster artwork and design
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
band Converge
Converge (band)
Converge is an American band from Salem, Massachusetts. Playing a blend of hardcore punk and metal since 1990, Converge has helped to define many of the elements of the metalcore genre.-Description:...
. While many sources catalog the release as a studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
, the band considers this a compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
as it's a collection of songs recorded at different times. It also features both studio recorded tracks among three songs recorded live. Petitioning the Empty Sky was released and distributed through several different labels beginning in the mid 90s.
Release history
Petitioning the Empty Sky was originally released through Ferret MusicFerret Music
Ferret Music is an independent record label, founded in 1996. The label is owned in part by NORA's vocalist, Carl Severson, and in part by Philadelphian artist manager Paul Conroy, and based in West Windsor Township, New Jersey...
in 1996 and was also one of the earliest albums released through the newly formed label. This early version was a 7" EP featuring only the first four tracks of the eventual full-length. Two years later, the album was reissued through Converge's new label Equal Vision Records
Equal Vision Records
Equal Vision Records is a record label based in Albany, New York, which has a focus in metal or punk-based rock genres. Equal Vision Records was founded in the early 1990s by Ray Cappo ....
as EVR040 on January 20, 1998. The full length reissue contained three live tracks ("For You," "Homesong," and "Antithesis") recorded during a radio broadcast, three newly recorded tracks ("Buried But Breathing," "Farewell Note to This City," and "Color Me Blood Red") and one track ("Shingles") that was recorded along with the original four tracks, but was unreleased.
Shortly after the release of Converge's 2004 album You Fail Me
You Fail Me
You Fail Me is an album by Massachusetts, USA, band Converge, released on September 20, 2004. It is their first release on Epitaph Records, previously being signed to Equal Vision Records....
through Epitaph Records
Epitaph Records
Epitaph Records is a Hollywood, California based independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. The label was originally "just a logo and a P.O. box" created in the 1980s for the purpose of selling Bad Religion records, but has evolved into a large independent record...
, Equal Vision reissued remasters of Petitioning the Empty Sky and When Forever Comes Crashing
When Forever Comes Crashing
When Forever Comes Crashing is the third album by Massachusetts, USA, band Converge. Originally released in 1998, the album was re-issued in 2005 with a bonus track and bonus enhanced material . The album was recorded at God City Studio from 22 December through 3 January 1998...
. The updated version of Petitioning the Empty Sky featured new artwork from Isis
Isis (band)
Isis was a Los Angeles, California-based post-metal band, founded in Boston, Massachusetts, with a career spanning from 1997 to 2010...
frontman Aaron Turner
Aaron Turner
Aaron Turner is a musician, singer, graphic artist, and founder of label Hydra Head Records. He is most widely known for his role as guitarist and vocalist for the post-metal band Isis, while also participating in several other bands and projects such as Old Man Gloom and Lotus Eaters.Though raised...
, production work from Converge's Kurt Ballou
Kurt Ballou
Kurt Ballou is the guitarist from Massachusetts-based band Converge. Aside from his role in Converge, he is a prolific producer, engineering and producing out of his own Godcity studio.- GodCity studio :...
in addition to Mike Poorman and Alan Douches, and an alternate version of "Love As Arson" as a bonus track. The liner notes also contain the first half of an essay written by the "Aggressive Tendencies" columnist and editor of the Canadian online magazine Exclaim!
Exclaim!
Exclaim! is a monthly Canadian music magazine that features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with special focus on Canadian and cutting-edge artists...
, Chris Gramlich. The second part of the essay is continued in When Forever Comes Crashing. The remaster was Equal Vision's EVR109 released on March 22, 2005.
In 2006, Jacob Bannon's Deathwish Inc.
Deathwish Inc.
Deathwish, Inc. is a independent record label founded by Jacob Bannon and Tre McCarthy. The label was originally used to release early albums by Bannon's own band Converge starting in late 1991. It wasn't until late 1999 that McCarthy and Bannon discussed turning Deathwish into a full-fledged label...
released a vinyl box set collection for the remasters of Petitioning the Empty Sky and When Forever Comes Crashing in a package dubbed Petitioning Forever. Due to the physical limitations of a vinyl LP, a single 12" record cannot hold all of the songs from the remaster. The three live tracks were released separately with the first pressing on a 7" vinyl with its own artwork based on box set packaging. The box set was Deathwish's DWI47, and the separate vinyl was cataloged as DWLIMITED04.
Song history
Studio recordings of the live tracks "For You" and "Homesong" were originally released on the Unloved and Weeded Out 7" EP in 1995. The full length compilation version of Unloved and Weeded Out was later released in 2002 through Deathwish and also featured these two songs. The studio recording of "Antithesis" could originally be found on Converge's debut album Halo in a HaystackHalo in a Haystack
Halo in a Haystack is the debut album from American metalcore band Converge, released in 1994 through Earthmaker Records. To fund the making of the album, vocalist Jacob Bannon saved up money from working at a nursing home....
in 1994, and later on the compilation album Caring and Killing
Caring and Killing
Caring and Killing: 1991 Through 1994 is a compilation album by American metalcore band Converge. The album was originally released as a European exclusive through Lost & Found Records. However, Converge became dissatisfied with the way the label was handling the release and over charging fans for...
released in 1997. The song "Dead" was rerecorded from the version on Caring and Killing, which was recorded in 1994/1995. The original version of "Love As Arson" was released on When Forever Comes Crashing in 1998.
Tracks nine through eleven - "For You", "Antithesis" and "Homesong" - were recorded live during a performance on radio station WJUL
WUML
WUML is a non-commercial College radio station licensed to Lowell, Massachusetts, USA. The station is owned by University of Massachusetts Lowell.-History:Radio at UMass Lowell was started in 1952 by a student named Ed Bonacci...
, run by college students at UMass Lowell. A notable moment on one of these live tracks is when a band member hits his head on a microphone
Microphone
A microphone is an acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor that converts sound into an electrical signal. In 1877, Emile Berliner invented the first microphone used as a telephone voice transmitter...
stand. The original CD release on Ferret Music features "Homesong" as a hidden/untitled song following "Antithesis".
Reception
Track listings
Personnel
Converge- Kurt BallouKurt BallouKurt Ballou is the guitarist from Massachusetts-based band Converge. Aside from his role in Converge, he is a prolific producer, engineering and producing out of his own Godcity studio.- GodCity studio :...
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
(track 1), guitars, backing vocals - Jacob BannonJacob BannonJacob Bannon is the vocalist, lyricist, and graphic artist for the American metalcore band Converge. He is also the founder and owner of the label Deathwish Inc...
– vocals - Damon Bellorado – drum kitDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Steve Brodsky (Cave InCave InCave In is an American rock band that formed in 1995, in Methuen, Massachusetts. After several members changes in the late 90's, their lineup solidified with the 1998 release of Until Your Heart Stops through Hydra Head Records. Their early albums were prominent releases in the independent...
) – bass guitar (track 12) - Aaron DalbecAaron DalbecAaron Dalbec, of Marlborough, Massachusetts, is the guitarist for Bane and Only Crime.Dalbec, a vegan, is also a former member of Converge and Velocity Engine....
– guitars (tracks 2, 3, 5, 7, 9–11) - Jeff Feinburg – bass guitar
Original production
- Brian McTernanBrian McTernanBrian McTernan is a record producer who has worked with bands from all over the world. He works out of the Baltimore, MD area at Salad Days Studio. Brian was voted to be one of the 50 most influential people in Maryland by the Maryland Daily Record...
– producer, engineer, mixing - Mike West – engineer
Original artwork and design
- Jacob Bannon – artwork, design
- Mark Lickosky – photography, video stills
- Patrick Santini – photography
- Aaron TurnerAaron TurnerAaron Turner is a musician, singer, graphic artist, and founder of label Hydra Head Records. He is most widely known for his role as guitarist and vocalist for the post-metal band Isis, while also participating in several other bands and projects such as Old Man Gloom and Lotus Eaters.Though raised...
– artwork, paintings - Erik Zimmerman – photography
Recording history
- Tracks 1–5 recorded by Brian McTernan at Salad Days studio in October 1995
- Tracks 6–8 recorded by Mike West at West Sound in February 1996
- Tracks 9–11 recorded live on the air at WJUL in August 1995
- Track 12 recorded by Jim Siegel at The Outpost in May 1997
Remaster production (tracks 1–8, 12)
- Kurt Ballou – mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
at God City studios in July 2004 - Mike Poorman – assistant mix engineering
- Alan Douches – mastering at West West Side Music
Remaster artwork and design
- Jacob Bannon – design
- Chris Boart – photography
- Danielle Dombrowski – photography
- High Roller Studios – enhanced video
- Nataija Kent – photography
- Mark Lickosky – video still
- Aaron Turner – artwork
External links
- Petitioning the Empty Sky stream at MySpaceMySpaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
- Petitioning the Empty Sky catalog at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
- Petitioning the Empty Sky catalog at Rate Your MusicRate Your MusicRate Your Music is a metadata database where musical albums, EPs, singles, videos, bootlegs, and movies are rated and reviewed by users. This data is then used to generate recommendations for users and to create rated lists of albums...