Review: Converge ‘Love Is Not Enough’
When you are entrusted to review the new record by one of hardcore and extreme music’s most venerated and celebrated bands, you need to know that you are going to do it justice.
For US metalcore trailblazers Converge, the back catalogue you are dealing with is exemplary, the expectations are through the roof, and the end result is, well, more often than not, thrilling to experience. So, I dug deep into that back catalogue to fully prepare myself for the band’s eleventh full-length, Love Is Not Enough, which is released through Epitaph Recordsand Deathwish Inc.
Converge have always been leaders in steering where hardcore and metalcore have gone over the past thirty or so years. From the spiky, melodic, and at times almost grungey debut, Halo In A Haystack, through the early ‘00s heyday of iconic records like the catharsis-incarnate Jane Doe and my own favourite No Heroes, right up to their more recent output, Converge are a band whose sound has subtly evolved yet remained instantly recognisable.
Their work with Chelsea Wolfe led them into more varied and experimental territories, but Love Is Not Enough sees them return to their aggressive, hardcore punk roots. Intense to the point of insanity, angular mathcore guitar work splicing into metallic hardcore and captured a flow reminiscent of a living creature, the album feels like a re-establishing statement after some of their more recent work with Wolfe.
It is hard to know where to begin, as I can wax lyrical about Ben Koller‘s incredibly versatile and chaotic drumming or Kurt Ballou‘s stripped-back yet still subtly technical guitar leads, or even the propulsive power of Nate Newton, whose bass work more than keeps up with the rest of them.
But maybe it is Jacob Bannon who feels the most invigorated. His visceral screams imbue each song – from the intense opening title track to the breakdown-laden Bad Faith, the scathing fury of To Feel Something to the seething modern metalcore of Make Me Forget You – with the sort of world-weary bile that we’ve come to expect from one of the most important voices in the genre.
stunning encapsulation of modern hardcore, created by a band of OG luminaries who could write records like this in their sleep…
However, the variety of the tracks offers much more than just rage. The introspective, sinister tones of Beyond Repair, the gritty Gojira-esque riffs of Force Meets Presence, and the comforting bass grind and almost Killing Joke moments of Gilded Cage – it is all part and parcel of an older band, educated by experience to know that dynamic range is what truly defines an album’s impact.
However, the variety of the tracks is much more than just rage. The introspective, sinister tones of Beyond Repair, the gritty Gojira-esque riffs of Force Meets Presence, the comforting bass grind and almost Killing Joke moments of Gilded Cage, it is all part and parcel of an older band, a band educated by experience to know that it is the dynamic range that truly defines an album’s impact.
Love Is Not Enough is probably the best Converge record since Axe To Fall, and while everything in between has been great, it feels slightly less in the glare of this new record. It is a stunning encapsulation of modern hardcore, created by a band of OG luminaries who could write records like this in their sleep, yet have never rested on those laurels, always challenging themselves and us with their music.
It always feels like the rest of hardcore, particularly the more visceral and punk-influenced, are forever living in the shadow of Converge. And while many are starting to break through that darkness, Love Is Not Enough still has them as the unrivalled kings yet to be dethroned.
Label: Deathwish Inc | Epitaph Records
Band Links: Official | Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram
Scribed by: Sandy Williamson
