Converge, one of hardcore's most revered and influential bands, have reared their heads once more and announced the details of a new full-length. Titled Love Is Not Enough, it will be released on February 13, 2026, as close to Valentine's Day as you can possibly get. It's the band's first record as just a quartet in nine years, coming off the back of 2016's bludgeoning The Dusk In Us. We haven't been starved of their creativity for all that time, though, because 2021 saw the release of Bloodmoon: I, a collaborative record featuring Chelsea Wolfe.
In describing what Love Is Not Enough represents for him, vocalist Jacob Bannon almost seems to be taking aim at the current way that the sound of hardcore is captured. It's a sentiment that could be poked toward heavy music as a whole, too, perhaps.
He states, “I think that realism is missing from a lot of modern music of any genre, but especially our genre. Things either go super raw and almost chaotic to the point where it's distracting, or bands take the life out of what they’re doing by editing every aspect. Sometimes the perfect take is the one that has some wildness to it. It's not perfectly executed. There’s a lot of powerful moments on this record and a lot of angry moments. The realism amplifies that.”
That idea is put to the sword straight away thanks to the release of the title track alongside the announcement. 142 seconds of skin-shredding ferocity, it is still raw but very much realised. From Kurt Ballou's dizzying riffs to Ben Koller's punktastic beats, every element of the composition can be heard loud and clear, with Bannon's bark feeling especially gripping. It's a very welcome return, one that shows that even after three decades, the band are still on the razor's edge of innovative, intense and intoxicating noise.
The album was recorded at Kurt Ballou's iconic God City Studios, with Bannon once again handling artwork. Each track on the record received its own piece of art, still to be revealed, but the cover feels quintessentially Converge. They continue to be so close to all areas of their art, a vital part of what allows them to keep on ticking after all these years.
Bannon adds, "We still identify this band as the outlet that’s essential to our lives. We give everything we have to it. Being past your average middle age, we’re starting to see deeper than before into a variety of places. And I don’t think that’s specific to us. I think that’s something that’s utterly relatable.”
The band are scheduled to make their live return on both sides of the Atlantic in the coming months. December will see them debut Saddest Day fest, an all-dayer curated by the band featuring Touché Amoré, Coalesce, The Hope Conspiracy, Full of Hell, Soul Glo and more.
They will then make their return to the UK and Europe next Summer with a performance at Jera On Air, taking place in Ysselsteyn, The Netherlands on June 25, before heading to Manchester to return to Outbreak Fest on June 27.
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