Ben Koller

Ben Koller
Koller with Converge at Roadburn Festival 2018
Background information
Born (1980-07-29) July 29, 1980 (age 44)
OriginMassachusetts, U.S.
Genres
OccupationMusician
InstrumentDrums
Years active1997–present

Ben Koller (born July 29, 1980)[1][better source needed] is an American drummer who has played with Converge, Mutoid Man, Killer Be Killed and All Pigs Must Die. He started playing a full drum kit at age 14.[2]

Career

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Early bands (1997–1999)

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Koller played in the bands Where's Ben? and Bastian, before playing in the grindcore band Force Fed Glass.[3] He started playing for the band in 1997.[2] Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou, who is also a successful producer, recorded an album for Force Fed Glass. Ballou later started a side project called Blue/Green Heart and selected Koller as his drummer having already been familiar with his talent from Force Fed Glass. Blue/Green Heart only released one demo album, Self Esteem Through Modern Science.[4]

Converge (1999–present)

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Main article: Converge

Koller joined Converge in late 1999, replacing John DiGiorgio.[5] Kurt Ballou selected Koller to temporarily fill-in while Converge searched for a more permanent replacement for Bellorado, as he was familiar with his work in previous bands, Force Fed Glass and Blue/Green Heart, a band that Ballou and Koller played in together.[6][7] After working well with the band during some local shows in Boston, Converge made him an official member.[8][9] Koller's first studio release with Converge was 2001's Jane Doe released through Equal Vision Records.

All Pigs Must Die (2009–present)

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Main article: All Pigs Must Die

All Pigs Must Die is a heavy metal band composed of Kevin Baker of The Hope Conspiracy and Ben Koller in addition to Adam Wentworth and Matt Woods of Bloodhorse.[10] The former of which is also a part of Acid Tiger. All Pigs Must Die is signed to Nonbeliever Records, an imprint label of Shirts & Destroy. Their debut EP, which was recorded at Ballou's GodCity studios, was released in October 2010.[11] In 2011, they released their first full-length called God Is War.

Mutoid Man (2012–present)

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Main article: Mutoid Man

Koller recorded some songs as a two-piece band with Stephen Brodsky of Cave In in mid-2012 under the name Mutoid Man. The project was properly announced in March 2013,[12] and its debut EP, Helium Head, was released in November 2013 through Magic Bullet Records.[13] Describing the sound of the new project, Brodsky said, "The material picks up from where we left off with the Cave In Shapeshifter/Dead Already cassingle, written with Ben in the band. The two of us ran with that sound and formula and took it as far as we could go."[14] Koller and Brodsky were later joined by bassist Nick Cageao to form a three-piece band, and released their first full-length album Bleeder on June 30, 2015, through Sargent House.[15] The band released their second full-length album, War Moans, in June 2017.

Additional projects and contributions

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In 2005, Cave In drummer John-Robert Conners left the band after a wrist injury that prevented him from being able to play.[16] Ben Koller became his temporary replacement during Cave In's tour in support of their fourth studio album, Perfect Pitch Black. Before the group went on hiatus in 2006, the band recorded two songs with Koller. The two songs, "Dead Already" and "Shapeshifter", were released together on a limited edition cassette single sold during 2005 and 2006 tours.[17] Conners returned to Cave In when they reunited in 2009.

Acid Tiger is Koller's psychedelic punk side project with Lukas Previn (The A.K.A.s), Adam Wentworth (Bloodhorse / All Pigs Must Die), and J Rattlesnake. Previn described the band as having, "no plan or guideline for us other than getting our friends in a room and playing all the riffs we had that didn't work for the other bands we are in."[18] Acid Tiger signed to Deathwish Inc. in July 2009,[19] and released their self-titled debut on April 27, 2010.[20]

In 2010, Koller became the temporary touring replacement for John-Robert Conners in his side project Doomriders.

He filled in for Killer Be Killed's drummer Dave Elitch for their 2015 Soundwave performance. He later became the full time drummer on July 30, 2015.[21]

Koller recorded drums for the 2017 album "Only Love" with The Armed.

Koller recorded drums for the Carpenter Brut song "Leather Terror" in 2022.

Discography

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With Force Fed Glass

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  • When Backs Are Turned, Knives Are Pulled (1998)[22]
  • The Self Destruct EP (1999)[22]
  • Discography (2003)[22]

With Blue/Green Heart

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  • Self Esteem Through Modern Science (2001)[4]

With Converge

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For a more comprehensive list, see Converge discography.

With Cave In

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  • "Dead Already" / "Shapeshifter" (2005)[17]

With United Nations

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With Acid Tiger

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With All Pigs Must Die

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With Mutoid Man

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  • Helium Head (2013)
  • Bleeder (2015)
  • War Moans (2017)
  • Mutants (2023)

With Killer Be Killed

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  • Reluctant Hero (2020)[25]

Collaborations

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Year Artist Release Additional information
2018 The Armed Only Love Drums on album[26]
2020 Greg Puciato Child Soldier: Creator Of God Drums on "Roach Hiss"[27]

References

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  1. ^ "CONVERGE wish a Happy 30th Birthday to Ben Koller! Underworld, London, July 29, 2010 – YouTube". M.youtube.com. June 2, 2011. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
  2. ^ a b "Interview: Ben Koller". Sick Drummer Magazine. September 14, 2008. Archived from the original on August 27, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2010.
  3. ^ Bennett, J. (January 2008). "Who's That Girl? The Making of Converge's Jane Doe". Decibel. Archived from the original on February 6, 2010. Retrieved July 28, 2010.
  4. ^ a b "Blue/Green Heart". Iodine Recordings. Archived from the original on May 26, 2011. Retrieved September 6, 2010.
  5. ^ "Converge – Interview". Archived from the original on October 6, 2016. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  6. ^ "Iodine Recordings: Blue/Green Heart". effection.net. Archived from the original on May 26, 2011. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
  7. ^ Administrator. "Sick Drummer Magazine | Ben Koller". sickdrummermagazine.com. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
  8. ^ "Converge | Biography & History | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
  9. ^ Administrator. "Sick Drummer Magazine | Ben Koller". sickdrummermagazine.com. Archived from the original on August 27, 2016. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  10. ^ Pratt, Greg (April 9, 2010). "Members of Converge, the Hope Conspiracy and Bloodhorse Become All Pigs Must Die". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on October 3, 2012. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
  11. ^ "All Pigs Must Die set to release debut". LambGoat. September 17, 2010. Archived from the original on September 24, 2010. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
  12. ^ Adams, Gregory (March 14, 2013). "Cave In's Stephen Brodsky and Converge's Ben Koller Team Up as Mutoid Man". Exclaim!. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
  13. ^ Wingerschmidt, Kip (September 23, 2013). "New Supergroup Mutoid Man (members of Cave In, Converge, All Pigs Must Die, Bröhammer) Debuts TONIGHT in Brooklyn!". Metalsucks. Retrieved September 23, 2013.
  14. ^ Macomber, Shawn (September 24, 2013). "Listen to Mutoid Man 'Scrape the Walls'". Decibel. Red Flag Media. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
  15. ^ Adams, Gregory (April 23, 2015). "Mutoid Man Announce 'Bleeder' LP, Stream New Single". Exclaim!. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
  16. ^ "Cave In part ways w/ drummer". LambGoat. July 27, 2005. Retrieved July 28, 2010.
  17. ^ a b Harris, Chris (September 20, 2005). "Cave In Survive Major-Label Divorce, Want To Revive The Cassingle". MTV. Archived from the original on November 30, 2005. Retrieved May 9, 2010.
  18. ^ Debenedictis, Matt (July 19, 2010). "Acid Tiger Play 'Without the Borders of a Scene'". Noisecreep. AOL Music. Retrieved July 28, 2010.
  19. ^ Paul, Aubin (July 17, 2009). "Deathwish signs Acid Tiger (Converge)". Punknews.org. Retrieved August 9, 2010.
  20. ^ Yancey, Bryne (March 8, 2010). "Acid Tiger (members of Converge, Thursday) detail debut LP". Punknews.org. Retrieved July 28, 2010.
  21. ^ "CONVERGE Drummer Ben Koller Has Officially Joined KILLER BE KILLED". Metal Injection. July 30, 2015. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
  22. ^ a b c "Label Discography". Ebullition Records. Retrieved September 6, 2010.
  23. ^ "Ben Koller – Sick Drummer Magazine". Sick Drummer Magazine. September 14, 2006. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
  24. ^ a b Koller, Ben (January 11, 2020). ""Twitter"". Twitter. Archived from the original on January 14, 2020.
  25. ^ November 2020, Stephen Hill 16 (November 16, 2020). "Killer Be Killed's Reluctant Hero: stellar return from modern metal's greatest supergroup". Metal Hammer Magazine. Retrieved November 16, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  26. ^ "America's Most Unpredictable Band, THE ARMED, Are Back With CONVERGE's Ben Koller Smashing The Drums!". Metal Injection. February 15, 2018. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  27. ^ "Greg Puciato – Child Soldier: Creator Of God". Discogs. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
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