Converge still has plenty left in the tank.
Five years after their collaboration with Chelsea Wolfe, and nine years after their previous album, Jacob Bannon (vocals/bass), Kurt Ballou (guitar/backing vocals/bass), Nate Newton (bass/backing vocals/guitar), and Ben Koller (drums) announce the release of their eleventh studio album, Love Is Not Enough, via Epitaph.
The album kicks off with the vindictive Love Is Not Enough, the title track that allows both the musicians and the vocalist to let loose while staying true to their furious Hardcore roots, covered with a dissonant and chaotic touch, before moving on to the heavy and motivating Bad Faith. Post-Hardcore elements are even more present on this track, particularly in the plaintive choruses and elaborate mosh parts, while Distract and Divide almost joins the ultra-fast and abrasive circle of Grind/Crust with its high tempo and touches, each more violent than the last. The same concept applies to To Feel Something, the next track, which openly abuses piercing and disturbing harmonics to drive us as crazy as its accelerations towards the minimalist and very distressing Beyond Repair. We catch our breath while anticipating Amon Amok, which ends up crashing down on us with its suffocating but very steady slowness that quickly becomes intoxicating as Mr. Bannon screams at us, only accelerating when moving on to Force Meets Presence, where we find the characteristic and expressive madness we know from the band. Power and staccato riffs blend naturally before giving way to Gilded Cage, which adopts much more soaring and groovy tones, thanks in particular to the bass and then the clean vocals, but the saturation is never far away and does not hesitate to color certain strategic passages. There is a constant sense of anxiety on this track, and the explosions almost sound like a release, while Make Me Forget You sweeps us away in its whirlwind of intoxicating leads that play with the energy of despair and sometimes sound almost joyful despite the striking message. The track will grow on you and eventually strike a chord before fading out gently, naturally joining We Were Never The Same, its direct sequel, and moving towards a similar atmosphere that is very negative and heavy, but which still benefits from more old-school and aggressive eruptions to show its anger in waves, thus closing the album.
Each Converge album has its own identity as well as a common thread: visceral intensity. While some tracks on Love Is Not Enough are infectious bursts of energy, others will move you with a different kind of violence.
90/100