Converge’s thirty-six-year career has been one of the most consistent in the metalcore and hardcore spaces, and while their earliest efforts may pale in comparison to some of the later work the number of influential and groundbreaking albums in their discography is unmatched. Over the years the wait between material has gotten longer, but the band has shown with each release that they still had surprises up their sleeves. 2021’s Bloodmoon: I followed up The Dusk With Us in a very unconventional fashion, fusing Converge’s core lineup with Stephen Brodsky and Chelsea Wolfe for a much slower and atmospheric work that still had its fair share of aggression. Many wondered what would come after this unexpected collaboration and whether there would immediately be a sequel or the group would do something completely different. This year’s Love Is Not Enough makes it clear the answer is the latter and finds Converge streamlining their writing in favor of pure rage and darker atmosphere. It’s a bit less experimental than some of their past efforts, but the brevity and staying power of the tracks works well and proves the impact has not been dulled at all.
Where a decent amount of Converge’s albums had an onslaught of shorter tracks as well as one lengthier one that let them stretch things out and offer more dynamic writing, Love Is Not Enough opts for short bursts and the longest track comes in at just under five minutes. In some ways this recalls both When Forever Comes Crashing and All We Love We Leave Behind, but the group has tweaked their attack and the material only seems to get denser as you make your way in. The title track has the type of high flying, angular guitar and blasting drums that you’d expect, while “Bad Faith” goes for a bit more of a mid-tempo cadence with leads that give off a High On Fire meets metalcore energy. What I continue to love about Converge’s material are the little details, as even two-minute arrangements like “To Feel Something” shake things up and there’s a slight industrial pulse during certain passages. The brevity doesn’t mean that the ten songs are nonstop speed either, as “Beyond Repair” has a slow build-up that’s genuinely desolate and hopeless sounding, while “Gilded Cage” has the trademark sludgy guitar and drum work. My personal favorite out of the bunch is “Force Meets Presence” where the instrumentals pick up speed and metallic influence for riffs that sound like full-on thrash, but the approach also reminds me a bit of “Dark Horse” from Axe to Fall. A lot of the individual moments pull from elements Converge has utilized throughout much of their discography, but they weave it together in ways that are just as memorable as before and the tightness of the performance remains unmatched.
Jacob Bannon’s voice is instantly recognizable, as his higher pitched screams have always grabbed listeners with their rawness and intensity and the singing has added variety to the performance. Even after multiple decades Bannon is as razor sharp as ever, with tracks like “To Feel Something” demonstrating the sheer force of the screams alongside the more frantic and emotional sung/spoken sections. Kurt Ballou and Nate Newton’s backing pitches have always been another piece of Converge’s vocal work that made things more dynamic from song to song, and the way they trade off with Bannon on Love Is Not Enough continues to keep the intensity at a high. Where some of the group’s previous albums had some guest contributions, they’ve opted to keep things focused on the core lineup this time around and it’s clear from beginning to end how well they complement each other.
Bloodmoon: I was a fantastic album back in 2021, but it didn’t fully scratch that same itch that the rest of Converge’s discography did and felt like more of its own entity. Love Is Not Enough comes through like a response to that, peeling back the layers and emphasizing the pure rage, speed, and slower, sludgy in-between sections that have defined the band’s sound over time. Despite the shorter length there’s a lot to take in and plenty of sections that stick with you, and while it may not quite top the classics the fact that Converge still has this much fire behind their music at this stage in their career says a lot. Love Is Not Enough is available from Epitaph Records.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg