tripleeyeindustries.com Open in urlscan Pro
173.236.184.213  Public Scan

Form analysis
0 forms found in the DOM

Text Content

 * Artists
 * Releases
 * Listen / Buy
 * Shows
 * Contact
 * Redeem


menu
Ryan Gorman



CONVERT

Milwaukee, WI


RIYL: MINISTRY, KILLING JOKE, JOY DIVISION, MURDER CITY DEVILS, REVOLTING COCKS,
ALIEN SEX FIEND, FIELDS OF THE NEPHILIM

convert [noun känˌvərt]
a person who has been persuaded to change their religious faith or other
beliefs.

We’ve heard it dozens of times before-a band is ahead of their time, so ahead in
fact, that they spend the majority of their career struggling to be understood.
The public catches on eventually, years or decades later, and if they’re
fortunate, the band is able to enjoy their new found success.

What we hear about considerably less, though, is an adventurous new act who
happens to exist at the same time that the world is ready to accept them. Such
is the case with Convert, the Milwaukee five-piece featuring former and current
members of Burning Sons, Get Rad, Assault & Battery and Cry Coyote.

While most of the aforementioned acts fit more squarely into a single
descriptor, Convert blurs the lines of a variety of styles, combining elements
of post punk, goth rock and electronic music into something that not only sounds
fresh, but also incredibly current. Singer Dillon Hallen, bassist Richie Murry,
guitarist Sam Sharkey and drummer Ben Davison have spent time playing in a
variety of different punk-adjacent acts over the last decade plus, but with the
project that would eventually become Convert, its members wanted to venture into
territory that they had yet to explore.

“Sam called me out of the blue and was interested in starting a band” says
singer Dillon Hallen. “I was receptive and we talked about a lot of the same
things-stuff like Killing Joke, Magazine, Joy Division… post-punk but with a
goth sort of focus. I started thinking about other people I knew who would be a
good fit, and I asked Richie and Ben. It was just us four”

“I always wanted to be in a band that had keyboards” says bassist Richie Murry.
“It came up as an idea and I was totally into it”

“Yeah, it was difficult to find a synth player, and we didn’t really know anyone
who could do it” adds Hallen.

Finding the right person to handle electronics proved to be a challenge. The
band eventually recruited Tyler St Clair, known for creating electronic
compositions under an array of monikers, as well as running the Radiograffiti
label. St Clair joined after the band had begun working on their first batch of
songs. Over time, they were able to both incorporate him into their existing
tracks as well as working on new ones together as a group. (Since the album’s
completion, St. Clair has left Convert for other creative pursuits, with Mick
Cleary taking his place)

After a handful of shows throughout 2019, Convert began work on their debut full
length Saves, which will see a release this spring via Triple Eye Industries,
Forge Again Records and Dog and Pony Records. With past projects, recordings
were always done expediently over a short span of time, but the beginning of the
pandemic in 2020 meant that both the tracking and recording of the album would
be conducted quite differently. Working with engineer Shane Hochstetler at Howl
Street Studios, the band worked throughout 2020 to complete the album despite
the many obstacles of Covid-19.

“We weren’t in the same room for a lot of the second half, which was
challenging,” says Hallen. “Mixing was done completely remote, so it was done
with songs being sent through email, and us sending mix notes back and forth
until we got them sounding right”.

Despite the complications in workflow, the band was pleased with their
experience in working with Hochstetler.

“I’ve always enjoyed working with him in the past, and this time was great too”
says Murry. “He was definitely interested in the music and wanted to make sure
that it was something he was proud of”.

“Working with Shane, the songs became stronger and more solidified” says Hallen.

The time spent writing and crafting the album is apparent. Saves’ 11 tracks
possess a quality of song-craft that is not always present on a band’s debut
release. Album opener “Bleached Bones” serves as the perfect introduction,
showcasing Hallen’s forceful delivery over driving rhythms and haunting synths.
“Watch It Burn” recalls the sonics of Pornography-era Cure, but the band’s
rugged rhythmic approach sharpen the track, giving the song a menacing quality.
“Tribeless” is arguably the album’s most direct offering, sounding the closest
to straightforward punk, but even then, it still features plenty of auxiliary
texture and noise that prevent it from not being able to hold its own. On the
opposite end of the spectrum, “Nightbursts” finds the band at their most
electronic, focusing more so on the synth work and programming. Still, it
doesn’t sound out of place on Saves, and while there may be slight variance from
track to track, the album is unified and feels like a singular cohesive vision.

Well timed or not, Convert are a band whose music suits the eclectic nature of
the streaming era. Atmospheric and moody while also brash and aggressive,
Convert’s hybridized sound is one that sits well in a time where variety is the
norm and the barriers of genres all but cease to exist. Had they arrived even
seven years prior, the public may not have been ready, but the time is right for
Convert. If Saves is any indicator, this could be the beginning of something far
greater than simply being Milwaukee’s best new act. You be the judge.

Convert’s debut LP, Saves, is slated for release on April 15, 2022 via Triple
Eye Industries, Forge Again Records and Dog and Pony Records.

FEATURED TRACK

Slow Choke by CONVERT

CONVERT IS:

 * Dillon Hallen - Vocals
 * Richie Murry - Bass
 * Sam Sharkey - Guitar
 * Ben Davison - Drums
 * Mick Cleary - Electronics

 * Bandcamp
 * Spotify
 * iTunes
 * Facebook
 * Instagram
 * Twitter

NEXT FEW SHOWS

No upcoming shows at this time.

back to artists


RELEASES

 * TEI-075
   
   SAVES
   
   12 inch, digital, CD


ARTIST VIDEO GALLERY

   
 * 
   
 * 


ARTIST PHOTO GALLERY

 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 


RELEASE REVIEWS

TEI-075: SAVES

> “
> 
> Convert have a wonderful debut record with Saves. It is an homage to the
> mixtape of the 80s counterculture; The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees,
> Killing Joke, Ministry, Depeche Mode, Sisters of Mercy, Virgin Prunes, New
> Order, Fields of the Nephilim and more can all be heard within these tracks.
> While it is all of those things, it is a new beginning—a baptism in the melded
> dogma that is Convert.
> 
> ” Ray Romanski, New Noise Magazine

> “
> 
> More blitzkrieg, less bop. That’s the M.O. of Milwaukee hybrid punks Convert,
> whose much-anticipated new album, Saves, is out today. The band, consisting of
> veteran local punk musicians, enter the realm of dystopian-sounding
> electronica, fusing it with punk for a pseudo-industrial sound. If that’s
> putting it too eloquently, just know that the record is absolutely
> pulverizing.
> 
> ” Allen Halas, Shepherd Express

> “
> 
> "Convert blurs the lines of a variety of styles, combining elements of post
> punk, goth rock and electronic music into something that not only sounds
> fresh, but also incredibly current. Well timed or not, Convert are a band
> whose music suits the eclectic nature of the streaming era. Atmospheric and
> moody while also brash and aggressive, Convert’s hybridized sound is one that
> sits well in a time where variety is the norm and the barriers of genres all
> but cease to exist. If Saves is any indicator, this could be the beginning of
> something far greater than simply being Milwaukee’s best new act."
> 
> ” thepunksite.com

> “
> 
> Convert fall squarely into one of my favorite phenomena of recent metal acts,
> “Modern Nostalgia.” They are familiar enough to be enticing, but break enough
> new ground to be intriguing. Dark and haunting, this is the soundtrack to
> rain-soaked, neon lit streets forever trapped in the seediness of the city.
> 
> One intriguing subtlety to the band is their use of pop chord progressions,
> layered with metal power chords and quirky synths, with vocals that oscillate
> between mournful and raw. This dystopian sounding album is a welcome addition
> to the gothic punk genre.
> 
> ” Corinne Westbrook


 * PAST SHOWS

Date City Venue Country 11/03/22 Cudahy, WI X-Ray Arcade United States Venue:
X-Ray Arcade. Time: 6:30pm. Admission: $15 ADV / $18 DOOR. Age restrictions: All
Ages/Licensed. Address: 5036 S Packard Avenue. w/ Video Vision & Lavish Waste
More information 10/08/22 Chicago, IL Sleeping Village United States Venue:
Sleeping Village. Time: 8:00pm. Admission: ADV $15 / DOS $18. Age restrictions:
No Minors. Address: 3734 W. Belmont Ave.. Venue phone: 773-654-3971. w/ Crows
More information 09/24/22 Cudahy, WI X-Ray Arcade United States Venue: X-Ray
Arcade. Time: 6:00pm. Age restrictions: All Ages. Address: 5036 S Packard
Avenue. w/ Northless, Snag & Cryptual 07/30/22 St. Louis, MO The Sinkhole United
States Venue: The Sinkhole. Time: 8:00pm. Age restrictions: No Minors. Address:
7423 S Broadway St. w/ Enemy of Magic , Van Buren, Vast More information
07/16/22 Chicago, IL Liar’s Club United States Venue: Liar’s Club. Time: 6:00pm.
Age restrictions: No Minors. Address: 1655 W Fullerton Ave. Venue phone: (773)
665-1110. Windy City Sensation w/ Bad Sons, Some Hearts, Criminal Kids,
Crimeline, Dinos Boys 04/29/22 Cudahy, WI X-Ray Arcade United States Venue:
X-Ray Arcade. Time: 8:00pm. Age restrictions: All Ages/Licensed. Address: 5036 S
Packard Avenue. Record Release Show w/ Rexxx, Guerrilla Ghost and DJ Vic Dagger
spinning between sets. 03/31/22 Milwaukee, WI The Back Room at Colectivo United
States Venue: The Back Room at Colectivo. Time: 7:00pm. Admission: $12. Age
restrictions: All Ages/Licensed. Address: 2211 N Prospect Ave. Venue phone:
(414) 286-3205. w/ The Pack AD More information 02/25/22 Milwaukee, WI Sabbatic
United States Venue: Sabbatic. Time: 10:00pm. Admission: FREE. Age restrictions:
No Minors. Address: 700 S 2nd St. Venue phone: (414) 573-0614. The Fatal Friday
Goth/Industrial Dance Party with DJ Vic DAgger More information

Subscribe: RSS iCal

FRIENDS & AFFILIATES

 * Underground Communiqué
 * Forge Again Records
 * Kaos Kontrol
 * Seventh Rule Recordings
 * No List Records
 * Mystery Room Mastering
 * Bureau of Print R+D
 * MKEpunk
 * Cactus Club
 * Rushmor Records
 * 91.7FM WMSE
 * Milwaukee Record

 * Artists
 * Releases
 * Listen / Buy
 * Shows
 * Contact
 * Redeem

© 2014–2022 Triple Eye Industries. All Rights Reserved.

 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 

Milwaukee, WI, USA