Album review: Converge – Hum Of Hurt

That Hum Of Hurt is Converge’s second full-length album of this year, following Love Is Not Enough’s release in February, is impressive. That it manages to be the equal of its excellent recent predecessor, while feeling so different musically, is nothing short of remarkable.

Despite the closeness of the two albums’ releases, and the fact the material for both was written during the same period, having not made a record solely under their own banner for nine years, these aren’t companion records.

People will, of course, naturally wonder how they compare and contrast to one another. While Love Is Not Enough was a vicious return to the New England stalwarts’ roots, an unrelenting assault exploring the idea that in these dark days, positive affirmations alone simply won’t cut it, Hum Of Hurt feels more artful, more textured, more considered. Given that its title refers to a natural phenomenon the band has interpreted as a seismic expression of human suffering, it’s certainly no more hopeful.

While, musically, Love Is Not Enough used metal to hack at the ears of listeners, Hum Of Hurt is a more out-and-out hardcore record, with Doom In Bloom, I Won’t Let You and six-minute opus Dream Debris the highlights of a set that’s as raw as salted lacerations. You could look at its predecessor as the violent gut reaction to the accumulating ills of the world, while these songs here are the dazed and moody ruminations in the aftermath. Still angry, but wading deeper into the realities of our predicament.

As a result, Hum Of Hurt is the less instant record – though when it comes to Converge, ‘instant’ is a relative term. But it’s an equally fascinating and feral offering. Oh, and there’s still time for Converge to make a third album this year. Let’s be honest, there’s certainly no end of despair in the shitty state of things to inspire another.

Rating: 4/5

For fans of: Code Orange, Heriot, The Dillinger Escape Plan

Hum Of Hurt is released via June 5 via Deathwish / Epitaph