Converge – Love Is Not Enough (Triple-Review)

Max’ Review

I think most people I know have some kind of connection to Converge or at least to one of their records. For me, it goes back to my school days. I had just discovered Grindcore and death metal, and suddenly I saw people everywhere wearing that iconic Jane Doe shirt. Even back then, it felt clear that Converge were something different. And honestly, that hasn’t changed. Converge are still one of the very few bands that have the power and attitude to connect different subcultures effortlessly. Hardcore kids, metalheads, mathcore nerds everyone seems to agree on Converge, almost like they’re some kind of higher being. The Michael Jordan of heavy music, if you will.

After nine long years, it’s finally time for a new full-length record. Love Is Not Enough will be released on February 13th via Epitaph / Indigo and features ten raw, authentic tracks that sound unmistakably like Converge but also like a band that still feels restless and hungry.

The title track “Love Is Not Enough” punches you straight in the face. Fast, driven, groovy and violent, it sets the tone immediately. This is Converge in attack mode. Bad Faith pushes things even further into metallic territory, almost feeling like the band’s own crusty take on “Wolverine Blues“. The main riff is ridiculously catchy. Holy smokes! “Distract and Divide” kicks off in complete chaos, instantly bringing back strong Jane Doe vibes, especially with a gnarly breakdown that feels like pure release. Compared to their last few records, Love Is Not Enough might actually be the most violent Converge album in years. Tracks like “To Feel Something” underline that perfectly. The chaos I personally missed a bit on The Dusk in Us is back and it hits harder than ever. Song by song, you can feel the band pushing themselves deeper into this never-ending cycle of doubt and pressure.

Jacob Bannon sums it up perfectly: “Personal, professional, economical, whatever. But I feel like we’re in a pressure cooker somewhere on our evolutionary line. It’s a lot just to be a human being in the modern world, trying to function, maintain, grow, have empathy, have compassion.”

At the same time, Converge know when to slow things down just enough to grind you out. Amon Amok is a heavy mid-tempo stomper that drags you through the dirt, only for “Force Meets Presence” to come in right after and kick you straight in the guts again… combining that crushing weight with Converge’s signature aggression. “Gilded Cage” and “Make Me Forget You” are the most emotionally loaded tracks on the record. Fans of All We Love We Leave Behind will definitely get their money’s worth here. And “We Were Never the Same” feels like the perfect closer giving you just enough room to breathe after all that tension and violence.

With Love Is Not Enough, Converge have written a record that feels beautifully imperfect just like the crises we go through as human beings. Watching others navigate life while constantly questioning ourselves: are we enough, just the way we are? The band pulls together the strongest elements from Jane Doe, You Fail Me and All We Love We Leave Behind to create a mirror of the human self… chaotic, brutal, fragile and honest.

Or, as Converge put it themselves: “As long as people are trying to better themselves, trying to better the world around them, that’s good.” And that’s exactly what Love Is Not Enough feels like.

Ray’s Review

How do you start writing a review for a new Converge record? How do you approach that? Especially taking into account that the Boston four-piece is subjectively, and for numerous fans and critics of heavy music also objectively, heralded as a cornerstone of heavy music as we know it. I simply couldn’t put into words what many other renowned music critics haven’t already stated in a much more poetic and fitting way. Therefore, let’s keep it short and concise: Converge were and will also be the GOATs of heavy, unconventional, and deeply emotional Metalcore. Side note for all those raging readers: please don’t contextualize this description with the modern, guitar-driven pop music that is classified under the same term. Thanks.

After 2021’s release of Bloodmoon Part I, which served as a collaborative effort with the inclusion of goth starlet Chelsea Wolfe and long-time collaborator Stephen Brodsky, fans were in limbo. While some enjoyed the rather far-out and experimental nature of said project (including myself), there were a few who were concerned that their favorite cult band may have lost their edge as they were getting a little older. Fear not, though, because daddy’s home again. With their first “real” record after The Dusk In Us, released in 2017, and almost ten years without new material, Love Is Not Enough demonstrates confidence, retained aggression, and magnificent songwriting prowess. 

Sonically and structurally, we are getting their tightest record to this day. And what may feel a little underwhelming upon first listen soon turns into one of the record’s greatest strengths: the no-bullshit approach. From the blistering drum rolls of the pre-released title track, the wolves are loose and out for blood. 4 tracks in 8.5 minutes is a statement akin to the short opening bursts of 2007’s (underrated) No Heroes. Those worried about a potentially lighter and more melodic direction, which structurally enriched The Dusk In Us and fan favorite Axe To Fall, will be headbanging as soon as the unfuckwithable riff of “Bad Faith” kicks in. That song alone might be the filthiest and purest hardcore song the band ever wrote. With four-on-the-floor and rhythm-centered double-kick drumming by Ben Koller and some more psychedelic bridge parts of guitar by producer wizard Kurt Ballou, no one will be standing still during the track’s live rendition. But the record’s only getting started here.

The next two tracks ramp up the aggression as “Distract And Divide” and “To Feel Something“ bring back the band’s more vicious and grind-inspired influences with heavy blast and d-beat sections, accompanied by Jacob Bannon’s vicious banshee screams. And yeah, the latter hasn’t lost a step. There is still no voice that can match Bannon’s sheer intensity. And while the four opening tracks do not really offer anything new to long-time fans of the band, they serve as perfect testaments to the band’s ability to create urgency in sonic form. 

Atmospheric instrumental “Beyond Repair“ then makes way for the record’s more lofty but no less gnarly second half. Here, the short burst of Force Meets Presence is more of an outlier compared to the more noise-rock-sounding, longer tracks that are placed before and after it. “Gilded Cage“ more subdued and atmospheric structure builds up tension and cleverly shows an interplay of dynamics and moods. Sequentially, the record’s tracklist serves as a gradual ascension to the emotionally driven highlight “Make Me Forget You” before second single and album closer “We Were Never The Same” summarizes all of the record’s sonic parts into one cohesive and catchy swansong. And after just 31 minutes, Love Is Not Enough ends in a more anticlimactic fashion, guiding you into silence.

So how does the newest record of these highly influential gentlemen stand against their most well regarded cult classics such as Jane Doe, You Fail Me or All We Love We Leave Behind? While it may not be touching these albums highest highs individually (and god damn, there are many outstanding songs in Converge’s discography), it absolutely succeeds as a unit in its cohesive demonstration of passion, focus and urgency only very few other bands can achieve. All it takes is a rehearsal room, four individuals and the pure enjoyment in creating something honest and meaningful. And Converge just did that once again. Thanks for reminding us collectively that although we may keep on suffering we must persist to ensure that Love Can Be Enough again.

Thomas’ Review

Converge. Mentioning that band name alone gets an acknowledging nod from a lot of people across many heavy genres. Their imprint on the history of hardcore can’t be mentioned often enough. Everyone who listens to hardcore has their own history with this band. Jane Doe was and still is a benchmark when it comes to the “total package” of a record: artwork, production, and ethos. Everything is top notch here. For me, You Fail Me was the starting point with Converge, “Black Cloud” in particular. Since then, there have been absolutely no dull moments in their discography. Jane Doe may be their masterpiece, but You Fail Me was the record that opened my heart to them.

With more than 30 years under their belt and roughly five years after Bloodmoon: I, Love Is Not Enough is the eleventh album in their catalogue. Like its predecessors, Love Is Not Enough was recorded and mixed by Kurt Ballou at God City, with engineering assistance from Zach Weeks (who did a great job on last year’s Deafheaven record). Jacob Bannon handled the artwork and design. Given these circumstances, there simply can’t be anything going wrong.

Love Is Not Enough sounds great, even as good as my personal hidden champion of their discography, All We Love We Leave Behind. Besides that, this is one, if not the most, coherent album of Converge. You can’t bite or dissect a single track of it. Once you lend your ear to it you can’t stop, you have to take the whole thing in. This whole thing feels like a violent blur you can’t escape from.

The title track starts this album furiously and from there on there is no turning down on intensity. “Bad Faith” sounds like a long lost cousin of “Wolverine Blues” and the following “Distract and Divide” could be a good fit on No Heroes or Axe to fall with its chaotic energy. “To Feel Something” owning a massive riff at the end closes the first half of the album and the much needed breather in form of the instrumental album-divider “Beyond Repair” follows.

The second half is Metal / Hardcore cardio-training par excellence. Besides the short, granite-splitting rager “Force Meets Presence“, every other track is more than 3,5 minutes long. “Make Me Forget You“ is D-Beat greatness that gives me instant Disfear flashbacks. The closing “We Were Never the Same” is constant uphill battle that rewards the energy spent listening to this tenfold.

Love is not enough is yet another very strong entry in Converge’s catalogue (who would have guessed otherwise for one second?). This set of songs will bloom on their upcoming Euro and world-tours. Nate will deliver roaring backing vocals while Kurt is shredding like it is his only modus operandi. We will see the grin in Ben Koller’s face while beating the living crap out of his drums and the white in Jakob’s eyes while his body contracts with every word sung. 

Converge are never gone or on pause, they are always like an animal laying in the grass waiting to pounce. Love Is Not Enough is a testament to a band never standing still and always on top of the pack.