No Heroes

Release and promotion

On October 24, 2006 a music video was released for the title track of the album, the music video was directed by Ryan Zunkley. Converge's first headlining tour in support of No Heroes started in November 2006 with Some Girls, Modern Life Is War, Blacklisted, Kylesa and Gospel.

Musical style and theme

In early July, Converge's official website announced the title of the album, as well as the meaning behind it:

In an interview with Alex Gosman of Crossfire, the band talked about the album's theme, or therefore lack of one. When asked "What’s the story behind the title of ‘No Heroes’? Do you feel that it’s pointless to idolise other people/bands?"

"It’s completely pointless – but that’s not the overall theme of the album: just of the ‘No Heroes’ song. We thought that title would work well for the record too, but it’s not a concept album or anything like that; it’s still very much a personal record, written about our experiences over the last couple of years."

Critical reception

No Heroes was given 8.1/10 by Brandon Stosuy of Pitchfork Media as he said "Conceptually reminiscent of the way Orthrelm's OV rocked socks within a tight framework, No Heroes is one of the year's most musically cohesive ways to keep pulses beating rapidly."

Sam Roudman of Stylus Magazine gave the album a B+ by stating "As Converge have been instrumental in the expansion of the contemporary hardcore vocabulary—embracing music signifiers previously under the dominion of metal or grind—this return to roots makes this album something of a homecoming."

Notably, No Heroes received a 4.5 out of 5 from Sputnikmusic staff reviewer Jared W. Dillon, commenting that "No Heroes is completely successful in delivering a great array of extremely heavy music", while another staff reviewer, Nick Butler, gave the album 1.5 out of 5, commenting that "I'll undoubtedly get flamed to hell for this, but if No Heroes isn't the worst album I've heard in 2006, it's certainly the least enjoyable", making it one of the uncommon instances where two staff reviewers almost completely disagree with each other. It was named the number 1 album of 2006 in Sputnikmusic's staff "Best of 2006" list.

Charts

The album reached number 151 on the Billboard 200. It also topped the Top Heatseekers chart and number 13 in the Independent Albums listings.

Track listing

All lyrics by Jacob Bannon, all music composed by Converge.

1. "Heartache" – 1:43
2. "Hellbound" – 1:07
3. "Sacrifice" – 1:37
4. "Vengeance" – 0:58
5. "Weight of the World" – 1:25
6. "No Heroes" – 3:43
7. "Plagues" – 4:43
8. "Grim Heart/Black Rose" – 9:34
9. "Orphaned" – 1:39
10. "Lonewolves" – 2:18
11. "Versus" – 2:09
12. "Trophy Scars" – 4:59
13. "Bare My Teeth" – 2:02
14. "To the Lions" – 3:40