You may not know this about us but we don’t review anything we don’t dig in these pages. We tried that before and found we simply don’t enjoy dedicating an inordinate amount of time to slamming something we most likely won’t listen to beyond preparing a post. We also tend to gush. A lot. And we’re not being disingenuous or providing lip service by any means, it’s just that when we’re into something we’re really into it. Which brings us today. And Converge’s newest. Can you see where we’re going with this?
Converge was the last of the Boston Big Three (AKA: The bands that make up Old Man Gloom) that we really got into. In our past life as a retail warrior, Cave In’s Jupiter was a constant stereo staple and to an extent Oceanic from Isis. Despite the recent online debate, the certifiable classic Jane Doe dropped around the same time but we wouldn’t take the deep dive into Converge until 2004’s You Fail Me. And then we were hooked. And maybe it’s because our taste in Heavy music has only gotten heavier as we’ve gotten older but damn if their latest, Love Is Not Enough, isn’t our most favorite yet!
On their 11th LP, the Witch City quartet continue to evolve with a brisk, brutal record filled with gnarly bursts of noise that encapsulates so much of the band’s rich history, bolstered by sublime production from riff slayer Kurt Ballou at his GodCity Studio in Salem. The title track is in line with recent Converge opening bangers as Jacob Bannon growls out an easily implanted in the temporal lobe mantra while Ballou shreds and bassist Nate Newton and drummer Ben Koller roll out a frenetic tempo.
“Bad Faith” is a slugger, built on some big grooves and even bigger gang vocals while “Distract and Divide” comes in with a blistering minute and a half of unconventional verse chorus verse mayhem. “To Feel Something” is dense, complex and vicious with a barrage of Bannon’s voice, Ballou’s riffs, Newton’s bass bombast and Koller’s controlled chaos behind the kit at the forefront before ending as a unified front amidst Bannon’s barks with “Beyond Repair” coming in next like a subtle sonic reset during this creepy instrumental aural adventure.
“Amon Amok” boasts a monolithic crawl that unfurls like molasses and still might be the nastiest sounding track here and then “Force Meets Presence” brings all kinds of noise combining Sludge, Doom, Technical Metal, Hardcore Punk and even a little bit of New Wave Of British Heavy Metal with how the guitar harmonics play out here. Then there’s “Gilded Cage” which is the start of a penultimate two-fer acting as the more laid back Yin to the decidedly more anxiety-riddled Yang of “Make Me Forget You”.
Flowing out of that, “We Were Never The Same” begins with another menacing low end line from Newton and a primal pummeling from Koller with Ballou’s squealing guitars adding an eerie atmosphere and Bannon barking his way towards a howling chorus. The closing track is unlike anything the band has done before yet peak Converge all the same… which can actually be said for the entirety of LINE.
Love Is Not Enough arrives through Epitaph Records on February 13th and you can get your copy in a variety of ways when you head here or to the stream below. For more from Converge, including upcoming live dates like the one at the Worcester Palladium on April 9th with Balmora and SPY supporting Poison The Well (Direct link for that one here), hit the interwebs and their socials by clicking here, here or here.