If It's Too Loud...

Photo by Jason Zucco It seems bonkers to me that Converge has been around for thirty-five years now, but considering they formed in 1990, it makes mathematical (if not emotional) sense. The Boston metalcore titans are once again back with a new single. "Love Is Not Enough" is, predictably, a powerhouse song. It's loud and dissonant and filled with all of the aggression you require for a Converge song. Despite being around for three and a half decades, they're showing zero signs of even slowing down a tiny bit. What makes them stand out apart from most of their peers, and makes them appeal to those of us who don't typically love music this heavy, is just how hard a song like "Love Is Not Enough" grooves. Plus, it cycles through multiple speeds and sounds in just under two and a half minutes. I certainly don't need to tell anyone how great Converge are, especially since they continue to prove it again and again. Vocalist/lyricist Jacob Bannon says the ...

Trust me, I'm just as shocked as you are with this one. We're by far a metal blog. I think we write about a new metal release once every six months or so. And I'm really late to the Converge bandwagon by 25 years. To be honest, I don't think I ever listened to Converge until The Dusk in Us was released. Every so often I'll send something over to Jeff that I know he'll hate, and this was one of them. I decided to try it out after I sent it, and almost turned it off after about a minute. I had always dismissed Converge as one of those metal bands that's just screaming for the sake of screaming. And, to be fair, it kinda is. But then it clicked with me. The Dusk in Us  is pure chaos. It's loud and fast with all of this insane feedback and distortion and tempo changes. It's everything I love about all of my noise bands, but unbearably heavy. If Helmet are Sonic Youth for metal fans, Converge is Lightning Bolt for metal fans. What started out as a joke ...