One thing I always enjoy is discovering new bands, and not just the music, the story behind the band too. Converge are certainly one of them. Although I had heard of them before, I had never actually listened to them.
From Salem, Massachusetts, USA, Converge are a four-piece band formed by lead vocalist Jacob Bannon and guitarist Kurt Ballou back in 1990. Bass is played by Nate Newton and drums by Ben Koller.
Their music varies from metalcore to its subgenre, mathcore, hardcore punk, and heavy metal, so there’s something for everyone.
Their 11th studio album, Love Is Not Enough, will be released on 13th February 2026 with 10 tracks. The album was recorded and mixed by Ballou at God City, the band’s Salem studio, with Zach Weeks assisting on engineering. Bannon handled all artwork and design, creating individual images for each track alongside a striking cover, depicting a celestial witness to a world aflame.
Bannon describes the album as born from the pressure of simply being human in the modern world. “The line ‘Love is not enough’ is something I had kicking around for a while,” Bannon says. “Some of the things I wrote at the time were from a human resilience perspective, an acceptance of the brutality and unforgiving nature of the world. I was reflecting on that in poetic form and set it aside. When we got into the studio, it all fit together.”
There are no guest features on this album and no overproduction. What you hear is Converge as they are, raw and unpolished. “I think that realism is missing from a lot of modern music of any genre, but especially our genre,” Bannon says. “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 rawness is exactly what hits you the moment the album starts. This is one of the heaviest albums I have listened to in a while! It is absolute carnage and chaos in the best way. Soaring guitar riffs, rasping basslines, fast and heavy drums, and guttural vocals. What more can you ask for?! The whole album impressed me. I like it heavy, as Lzzy Hale from Halestorm would say. There were a few songs that caught my attention the most, which I will share with you.
First of all, the title track ‘Love Is Not Enough’ introduces the album perfectly, hitting hard with its sheer heaviness and hardcore energy, setting the tone and giving you a taste of what else is yet to come.
‘Bad Faith’ is a deeply personal song about cruel intentions and limited options. “It came from watching someone I love being wronged and broken apart, and there was nothing I could do about it because there was no good intention in the first place,” Bannon says. “It’s that feeling of helplessness because nothing I could do or say could better the situation. I just had to love and support and do what I could to be there. But I couldn’t effect actual change. That’s a horrible feeling.”
‘Distract and Divide’ is the shortest track on the album but still has that chaos of heaviness. The drum beats are impressively fast and the screams are so brutal and gnarly.
‘Beyond Repair’ has no lyrics whatsoever. It still holds so much power, with some haunting moments within the music. It is a slower track on the album, which makes it stand apart. It shows a deeper, darker side.
To end this incredible album is the closing track ‘We Were Never The Same’. Bannon wrote the song about getting together with people at a funeral, finding commonality at a time of loss and grief, and processing the disconnect that follows. “Why do we all gather to mourn yet not to cherish?” he asks. It has such an infectious chorus, with Bannon singing “We were never the same,” making it one of the songs I headbanged the most to!
Bannon says the album was deliberately sequenced to keep ramping up, unlike any previous Converge record, and you can feel that momentum building from start to finish.
This whole album was an absolute treat to listen to, and I will certainly be listening to this band more. I look forward to what is yet to come in the future!
