Converge – Hum Of Hurt (Epitaph Records/Death wish Inc) At the beginning of this year, we got a new Converge record, the phenomenal
Love Is Not Enough and everything felt right in the world, then seemingly out of nowhere they went and announced there would be another album released in June THIS YEAR!! What the fuck??
How does this happen? Are these all new songs or just cast offs from previous sessions that didn’t make the album? And the main question will it be able to equal the impact of L.I.N.E, or just dull it down with a sub-par release?
As we get going with Slip The Noose, I need to be 100% honest and say it’s exactly what I wanted for an opening track, it has got all the hallmarks of Converge, savage vocals and an unholy racket that musically backs it all up!
After this, following that could be difficult but on Doom In Bloom there is a different style with the way it slowly builds and creeps and manages to shows another side of Converge that many people probably wouldn’t associate with them, it’s slower and more measured than people may expect but still a great track.
It Only Gets Worse then explodes into life with a cacophony of jagged noise, the guitars cut and jab, the bass flows and carries the beat of the drums and its all cloaked in a vocal display that brings a tear to the eye, wonderfully brutal but it still feels like there is more coming!
Then the curve ball is thrown and Detonator feels like a bit of an odd one, with a title like this you expect it explode out of the blocks but it really doesn’t, it’s a bass lead, slow drag of a track with sections that do of course come alive and grab hold of you but this may take a couple more listens to really land properly for me.
I Won’t Let You Go kicks everything back into gear, once again its not a full throttle attack, it starts off slowly and then just drops into an all out attack on the senses, the music weaves in and out and keeps you on your toes.
It never drops from the unrelenting barrage that you want and enjoy and the way Jacob Bannon throws his vocals around always make everything sound 1000 times heavier than is should.
On Its Not Up to Us you get a real pattern of the flow of the album, its not trying to sound like L.I.N.E in anyway, that was just straight up heavy and brutal whereas here its still heavy but it has a more measured approach, the songs are slower and attach more atmosphere and have a lot more uneasy moments, which is a great juxtaposition from what you may have wanted to hear.
Dream Debris is the perfect example of the slower approach there is nothing but bass for the first minute or so and then when the drums come in it all stays at one steady pace.
The guitars add layers in places but never fully take control and the vocals just gently lay on top of it all until they unleash everything for short sharp blats of contrast before then dropping back into the slower pace again, its uncomfortable and expertly done.
It Used To Matter is just 2 minutes of ambient guitar noise that sort of floats about and doesn’t really do very much at all and in all honestly, I’m not really sure of the point of this?
Anyway, Hum Of Hurt then feels like the most familiar track on the record, it has a huge sound to it that is full of off kilter guitars that track with a big meaty riff throughout and they crash and clash with each other from start to end.
The thud and throb of the bass and drums coats the track and really gives it a massive feel and of course once again the vocals just deliver the emotional gut punch you need. A really good choice of song for the title track.
Nothing Is Over sound like 2001 Mastodon have highjacked the recording studio, it’s a wonderfully executed piece of music that is always stabbing at you but keeps managing to drag its heels at the same time but not in a way that you don’t enjoy.
In a way that you almost want it to end because it feels so painful to listen to but when it does end you aren’t happy about it your just left on a heap in the floor, majestic.
6 months into the year and 2 Converge records, does the 2nd one match up to the first, well no because it is a completely different approach so doesn’t really need to be compared and I feel stupid for thinking they would release a cut and paste of Love Is Not Enough as they have never been a band that rest on there laurels and play it safe.
They are always evolving and changing as they please, not to make you or me happy but to stay true to their beliefs of how there music should sound, don’t like it?
I don’t think Converge give one flying fuck and that is what makes them the outstanding band they are and it’s what makes them constantly release albums as good as Hum Of Hurt and long may this continue. 9/10
