More than enough: hardcore legends Converge explore the deepest emotion and conjure a chaotic masterpiece on 11th album Love Is Not Enough.
Bloodmoon: I, Converge's 2021 collaboration with Chelsea Wolfe, was defined by haunting grandeur rather than frenetic uproar, so it’s close to a decade since the Salem band last released an album of full-tilt heaviness. Love Is Not Enough is certainly worth the wait; there’s still nothing like the dark heat generated when this band, one of the most visceral and scalding of their time, lock in.
This 11th full-length finds the Massachusetts maulers’ mastery of heavy music not just undimmed but enhanced. The title-track opens with a perfect thrash intro before romping into powerviolence territory, while Distract And Divide is a gloriously dizzying grindcore assault. There are nine seconds in Force Meets Presence which sound exactly like Kill ’Em All-era Metallica, the rest of its duration ramming together ferocious hardcore, sludgy metal and soaring guitar leads.
Instrumental Beyond Repair echoes the glowering clang of 21st century Swans, almost a breather between the hectic despair of To Feel Something and Amon Amok’s sledgehammer blows. Meanwhile, Love Is Not Enough’s endgame consists of a three-song streak to rival anything from the Converge catalogue. Nate Newton’s rasping bass activates the band’s noise rock impulses on Gilded Cage, before Kurt Ballou’s guitar lines snag your soul on emotional hardcore banger Make Me Forget You. And then there’s We Were Never The Same, Ben Koller’s drum battery driving the album to its thrilling conclusion.
Vocalist Jacob Bannon’s lyrics remain as powerful as ever, meditating on personal experience while taking a wider view of the modern world and its impact on the human condition. As its title suggests, Love Is Not Enough’s release on the eve of Valentine’s Day has absolutely not been scheduled as a romantic tie-in. Admirers of this ever-important band will find their hearts filled nonetheless.
Verdict: 5/5
For fans of: The Dillinger Escape Plan, Touche Amore, Nails
Love Is Not Enough is released on February 13 via Epitaph/Deathwish
