Converge Confirms They’re Not At Fault for Internet Outages in Philippines

Hardcore outfit Converge were getting a lot of online hate due to internet outages in the Philippines, which was the fault of the service provider Converge ICT Solutions Inc. Despite this mishap, the band took the incident in stride, posting a funny statement acknowledging the comments online.

“Hey everyone… still just a hardcore band over here. Covid has not forced us to become an internet provider in the Philippines yet, but we hope everyone over there gets their internet access back,” Converge wrote on Facebook. “While you’re here though click the link to our webstore and grab yourself a cool T-shirt or something.”

This isn’t the first time a metal band has faced misplaced controversy over their name. During the early 2010s, the band Isis faced a number of negative comments toward the terrorist group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. While the terrorist group has been referred to ISIL in more recent years, ISIS was a commonly used name for the insurgency during the 2010s. The name Isis originally refers to a major goddess in Egyptian paganism, which likely inspired the metal band’s name.

It’s been a busy year for Converge’s members, who have been appearing in number of Two Minutes to Midnight covers over quarantine. The band’s Ben Koller sounded off on Converge’s upcoming plans last year, where he explained that the group have plethora of material ready to go. Koller also contributed drums on Greg Puciato’s solo album Child Soldier: Creator of God and Puciato’s band Killer Be Killed’s Reluctant Hero, which both made mxdwn’s top 50 albums of 2020 list.

“Yea Converge, we have a ton of stuff ready to go,” Koller revealed during an interview. “We just need to get in the studio and sort of hash it out. I think right now I’m at the point where I’m just ready to move on and start doing stuff, because I’m going crazy here not being able to tour and stuff. So I’m ready to fly back to Massachusetts—safely obviously—and get some stuff done.”

Check out mxdwn’s interview with Converge vocalist Jacob Bannon here.