Converge – Love Is Not Enough (Epitaph Records/Deathwish Inc)
In every style or genre of music, there are names that you instantly know and always hold to a high standard and can usually rely on them to release great records. One of those names is about to release their latest record Love Is Not Enough, that name is of course the mighty Converge. Over the course of their 30+ year career they have re-defined what it is to be a heavy band over and over again, they have been labelled as many things and have always delivered the goods consistently including that one album that defined an entire genre of heavy music, yes Jane Doe and as much as I want to, I won’t talk about that here as this review is about their new album and that deserves all the focus here.
Back in the distant year 2025 when Love Is Not Enough was released as a taster for this album it absolutely floored me with its pure aggression and spiteful sound and after what feels like hundreds of listens since it still has the same impact, it has everything that makes Converge such a force, the pure anger running through every single second of this song feels almost life affirming in a weird way and it’s a blistering way to start a record that’s for sure.
Bad Faith in comparison doesn’t feel as aggressive and has a slower more thoughtful way of throwing extreme violence in your direction the deliberate and thundering force behind the music is something to behold and shows that they know how to be heavy in many different ways and always do it immaculately, Distract And Divide instantly throws the shackles back off and has a juddering and violent grindcore beginning that then drops into the more sludgy sound before ending on a chaotic and unholy cacophony of noise all over and done in 1:31, thank you very much and good night!
To Feel Something sounds like a lost recording from the Jane Doe era, yes, I know I said I wasn’t going to mention that record but the second I heard this it’s all I could think about and that’s kind of a good thing and also maybe not such a good thing? It reminds you once again how vital they were and still are of course but then it also makes you wonder if they could have stretched a bit more? It’s a good track no question just feels a little too familiar maybe? I’m not sure what they were aiming for on Beyond Repair because its just one riff and a bit of bass that does precisely nothing at all for a couple of minutes and feels like a complete waste of time to include as an actual track on its own instead of just having it as part of a build-up in a another song?
Amon Amok rudely smashes you back into life and is full of the kind of raw emotion and heart wrenching pain that is such a backbone of the sound and always makes for a fascinating and uncomfortable listen even after all these years I’m not sure there is another band that can show such emotion in heavy music and REALLY make you feel it all, this is a torturous listen but in the best possible way.
Force Meets Presence has a barn storming riff to get things going nicely with a touch of the stoner style but mixed with hardcore bite and then its back to the white hot violence and punk attitude and some wonderful atmosphere setting tones that then all form to one massive noisy crescendo that mixes back in with that beginning riff before ending abruptly, as you pick your jaw off the floor the sounds of Gilded Cage slowly and ominously begin. It’s a bass lead track with some background vocals that are more of the hardcore style the guitars come in and the familiar bark is back and creating the discord but they thread the sounds in and out in equal measure and it has an uneasy feel throughout without ever sounding one paced or predictable.
Make Me Forget You is another familiar feeling track but not in an instantly recognizable way, there are parts that you have come to expect and are all here in droves and the usual relentless behind this song feels a little purposeful and really makes you sit and want to take it all in, it’s a perfect expression of anger and done in the unique way that only Converge really can.
It’s fitting that We Were Never The Same closes this album because it feels like a grand finale, the first part has a grand bass rumble that sets a tone of expectancy that then explodes into life with the vital hardcore punk energy you want and then as quickly its back to the mood setting bass tone with the vocals screaming and wailing their discontent over the top before more blasts of energy and vitriol, it has an energy and flow that is remarkable and is a suitably effortless way to end.
Another day, another awesome Converge record, Love Is Not Enough is a remarkable piece of work, and while their earlier offerings are classed as genre defining classics. If you are a already a fan you will no doubt love this record, if you for some unknown reason you haven’t really got into them then this would not be a bad place to start because it combines a lot of their styles and sounds all together and is a fantastic show case for what an amazingly talented and unpredictable band they are and that alone should make you want to listen because once you do, you will not regret your choice. 9/10
