I know I’m beyond excited about New Converge! How about you?! That’s right, on February 13, 2026, via Epitaph Records, Converge will be releasing their eleventh (that’s correct 11) studio album, Love Is Not Enough. The first single is the title track, “Love Is Not Enough” and it’s a barnburner right out of the gate. With 35 years under their belts, Converge are set to release an album that according to Jacob Bannon, “Love Is Not Enough is all about momentum. “It does a thing that no other Converge record does—it keeps ramping up,” Bannon says. “And that’s definitely by design. Internally, we passed around dozens of ideas for sequencing because everyone interprets music differently and there’s no right way of doing it. When we do that, we always joke that we all have to be equally unhappy. But this is the one that works.” Personally, I really can’t wait for this record. If you’ve never seen Converge live, you should change that as well. They are one of the most intense live bands you’ll ever see.
Back in 2017 when Converge released their album, The Dusk In Us. It’s quite the album for Converge. It’s one of those albums that really spans their catalog and has become a renowned record. Before the record itself was released, the first single “I Can Tell You About Pain” came out with a b-side. That b-side wound up being the very epic and captivating song “Eve.” Why this wasn’t on the album is beyond me. This actually might be my all time favorite Converge song at this point. When you listen to the seven and a half minute opus, it definitely takes you places. The way the guitars shift from doom/sludge into etherial/atmospheric sounds, to the synths creating waves, while the rhythm drives and then pummels into a colossal explosion. While “Eve” has been in the setlist for a short period of time, and performed thrity-three times, it’s one that should be in rotation a lot more. There’s really something powerful about this song in particular that more people need to experience live. I’ve never seen it performed live and it’s “the one” Converge song I’d probably go absolutely apeshit for if I saw it live. So, let’s put it out into the universe to get “Eve” added more often!!!
I have a list of bands that any time they come through Los Angeles I have to go see them. One of those bands is Converge. It doesn’t matter how many times I’ve seen them (I think this was number 9 or 10), I just am compelled to go see them live. Converge aren’t just one of the best live bands around they are downright legends. Their catalog is one of those that you’d be hard pressed to find an album that isn’t good. And like a fine wine or scotch, Converge seems to only get better with time. This West Coast run got started this past Friday night along with Entry, King Yosef and Deaf Club and what a show it was.
Getting the night going was Los Angeles’s own, Entry. I’ve been fond of this band for a bit and they came out swinging. They really got the crowd ready for the evening. Though their set was short, only about 20 mins, they made every second count. Entry was on fire throughout their set as they blazed through song after song. I can see why they are garnering the street cred they have. They are the real deal and I look forward to their evolution as a band.
Next up was King Yosef. What he brought to the evening was a bit of Industrial Hardcore. Thankfully it wasn’t just one guy up there with a laptop. The live band aspect of drums and guitar definitely helped bring the sound to reality. Thee set though short, was direct and to the point, just as hardcore should be. The industrial element to the songs gave them a bit more bite. His latest album, An Underlying Hum is quite good and live those songs really came to life. I would be interested to see King Yosef again.
Before Converge was the mighty, Deaf Club. They really came out guns blazing and got the crowd up in a bit of a frenzy. Deaf Club has a great mix of punk and hardcore in their sound with a bit of a grungy undertone to it a la Nirvana. Never one to be still, frontman/vocalist Justin Pearson immediately commanded the stage and with each song got the audience more and more involved. It was quite a fun thing to witness. One of the things tht I really like about Deaf Club is the added dynamics to their songs. While they are don’t lose their hold on their roots, their ability to add off time parts and some cool shoegazey moments makes them not only stand out amongst the other bands during the night but, it gives the audience more to listen to.
Now the main event of the night, Converge. I really don’t know what else there is to say about this band that I haven’t already said throughout the years. They still pack one hell of a punch and a ferociousness that is untouchable. Their set this night was one that I quickly found myself absolutely enthralled by. Converge played a good chunk of songs off my favorite album of theirs, Axe To Fall, along with other gems from Jane Doe, You Fail Me, All We Love We Leave Behind and The Dusk In Us, including a close personal favorite of mine “I Can Tell You About Pain.” When you watch Converge live, it’s like poetry in motion. Each member from Nate Newton, Ben Koller, Kurt Ballou and Jacob Bannon give their all each night and it shows. The precision that they play with combined with the explosive nature of the songs makes for one hell of a show. There are many things I love about going to see Converge live and one of them is watching the audience get so into the songs. At times throughout the set, I’m pretty sure the crowd was louder than the band. Converge are without a doubt pioneers and legends in heavy music. They prove time and time again that they are band that you just can’t mess with. I look forward to hearing what they have coming up in the near future as the world does need more Converge in it!
Converge Set List:
01) Eagles Become Vultures 02) Dark Horse 03) Under Duress 04) Axe To Fall 05) Heartless 06) You Fail Me 07) All We Love We Leave Behind 08) Predatory Glow 09) Hell To Pay 10) Bitter And Then Some 11) Eye Of The Quarrel 12) Reap What You Sow 13) Cutter 14) Worms Will Feed/Rats Will Feast
Encore:
15) I Can Tell You About Pain 16) Concubine
Axe To Fall= 5 Jane Doe= 3 The Dusk In Us= 3 You Fail Me= 3 All We Love We Leave Behind= 2
As they prepare for the release of their collaborative new album— featuring Chelsea Wolfe, Ben Chisholm and Stephen Brodsky, Converge have unveiled the second single from Bloodmoon: I, “Coil.” Speaking on the song, Jacob Bannon comments, “’Coil’ turned out to be one of my favorite songs I’ve ever been a part of. There is an infectious slow build that ends up becoming theatrical in tone. Lyrically it was a true collaboration, with all of us expanding on each other’s ideas as they came to be. I believe Chelsea’s vocal was the starting point in that for this one. Kurt really pushed vocal harmonies to a new level as well. Encouraging many of Steve’s ideas while we were in the studio tracking together. This one really has everyone of us firing on all cylinders creatively.” When you hear this song, you’ll get it. It’s such a tremendous track. I personally can’t wait for this album. Ever since they performed at Roadburn I’ve been waiting for this to finally come to fruition. Bloodmoon: I, out November 19th on CD/Digital and on Vinyl June 24th.
2021 marks the 20th anniversary of Converge’s astounding album, Jane Doe. This was the bands first album with bassist Nate Newton and drummer Ben Koller, as well as the bands first with guitarist Kurt Ballou behind the board. This album not only put Converge on the map it was a commercial breakthrough and received immediate acclaim, with critics praising its poetic lyrics, dynamics, ferocity and production. Through the years this album has gone on to inspire and influence countless bands. The intensity on this album is often copied but you can’t match the original. The title track on the album is quite interesting. Singer Jacob Bannon stated in an interview that many of the songs on Jane Doe came from the side project Supermachiner. That project was claimed to inspire Jane Doe‘s experimental side.The title track “Jane Doe” as well as “Phoenix in Flight” were initially intended for the Supermachiner album Rise of the Great Machine. I personally remember hearing this album for the first time. A friend recommended I check it out. At first I wasn’t too into it but, I opened up the booklet, put on some headphones listened again and read the lyrics as the album played and it all made sense. This album is an absolute modern masterpiece. The title track is epic and ahead of its time! Converge is a force to be reckoned with any day of the week.
Converge- Jane Doe:
Lyrics:
These floods of you are unforgiving Pushing past me spilling through the banks And I fall Faster than light and faster than time That’s how memory works At least in the dark where I’m searching for meaning When I’m just searching for something I want out Out of every awkward day Out of every tongue tied loss I want out Out of the burdening night sweats Out of the rising seas of blood Lost in you like Saturday nights Searching the streets with bedroom eyes Just dying to be saved Run on girl Run on
Next up on Audioeclectica.com’s 2020 End Of The Year Lists, the Top 10 Vocalists The stipulation is that, an album/EP had to have been released this year.
Vote for your favorite in the comments section. At the end of the month, I will release the results of the readers poll.
This list is also in NO PARTICULAR ORDER!!!
01) Greg Puciato- Greg Puciato/Killer Be Killed 02) Billy Corgan- The Smashing Pumpkins 03) Lance Black- In Parallel 04) Philip H. Anselmo- En Minor 05) EL-P & Killer Mike- Run The Jewels 06) Kadeem France & Erik Bickerstaffe- Loathe 07) Jacob Bannon- Umbra Vitae 08) Gavin Rossdale- Bush 09) Chelsea Wolfe- Mrs. Piss 10) Anthony Paganelli, Lance Jackman, Jess Gowrie & Lennon Hudson- Horseneck
A couple weeks back, a new band was unveiled in the form of Umbra Vitae which features Jacob Bannon of Converge, Mike McKenzie of The Red Chord, Sean Martin of Twitching Tongues, ex Hatebreed, Greg Weeks of The Red Chord and Jon Rice of Uncle Acid, ex Job For A Cowboy. The first song they released, “Return To Zero” was one hell of a track out of the gates but, this new one, “Mantra Of Madness,” is a whole other level of killer. The title is quite fitting for the times we live in at the moment too. Their debut album Shadow of Life, comes out May 1st on Deathwish. So, with all that in mind, check this out!!!
As a musician and artist, when you have the chance to tap back into a genre that you’ve been away from for a long while, the end result is something that often times feels refreshing and reinvigorating. That being said, while in rehearsals for Wear Your Wounds, Jacob Bannon, Sean Martin and Mike McKenzie, began messing around with some heavy riffs. After realizing what they had, the three of them recruited Greg Weeks (The Red Chord, Labor Hex) and Jon Rice (Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats, Job For A Cowboy) for the rhythm section to back their aggressive riffs and thus Umbra Vitae was conceived. Taking their name from a poem by Georg Heym, The music and and words are as haunting as it’s namesake. Their debut album, Shadow of Life (out May 1st via Deathwish Inc.), was recorded and mixed by Kurt Ballou. The album one that will pummel the listener with unrelenting force and unpredictability. As well as providing self affirming mantras to give it even more of an edge.
Vocalist Jacob Bannon has gone on to say about Umbra Vitae “After reading the piece from Heym, I immediately felt connected to it. Later, while working on the previous Wear Your Wounds album, my love for Death Metal was rekindled. This was likely a reaction to working on non-aggressive music for such a concentrated period. As these songs started to form, the ominous nature of that original poem came to mind.” He continues, “In many ways it embodied the character of what we were all creating together. For me, Umbra Vitae is darkly confrontational and my own internal struggles are nested within each song. At this point in my life it is of the utmost importance to use this art and music as the vehicle for a healthy purge of emotion. By design, even in something this intense, there is righteous intent to be a better human through the process of creating it.” Umbra Vitae definitely is a band to look out for and hopefully will continue as time goes on.
Umbra Vitae is:
Jacob Bannon: Vocals, Lyrics (Converge, Wear Your Wounds, Blood From the Soul)
Mike McKenzie: Guitars, Vocals (The Red Chord, Wear Your Wounds, Stomach Earth)
Sean Martin: Guitars, Vocals (ex-Hatebreed, Wear Your Wounds, Twitching Tongues)
Greg Weeks: Bass (The Red Chord, Labor Hex, etc)
Jon Rice: Drums (ex-Job for a Cowboy, Uncle Acid, etc)
Alternate versions are quite fun to dive into. They give you a different experience from the original version. And sometimes, these versions turn out better than what you heard first. Converge have released a new version of their song “Aimless Arrow” entitled “Endless Arrow.” This version was created by the bands guitarist Kurt Ballou and is a 30 minute experimental/ambient version of the song. “Aimless Arrow” originally appeared on the bands 2012 album All We Love We Leave Behind. This new version was created “To keep people entertained in these challenging times.” It’s definitely a different take on the song. Personally, I’d be interested to hear them do this with a few other tracks of theirs and maybe even expand this into their Blood Moon project as well.
Next up on Audioeclectica.com’s 2019 End Of The Year Lists, the Top 10 Vocalists. The stipulation is that, an album/EP had to have been released this year.
Vote for your favorite in the comments section. At the end of the month, I will release the results of the readers poll.
This list is also in NO PARTICULAR ORDER!!!
01) John Carbone- Moon Tooth
02) Cameron Miller- Seizures
03) Jonathan Davis- Korn
04) Courtney Swain- Bent Knee
05) Schuylar Croom- He Is Legend
06) Dennis R. Sanders- Spirit In The Room
07) Daron Beck- Pinkish Black
08) Deb Demure- Drab Majesty
09) Jacob Bannon- Wear Your Wounds
10) Itarya Rosenberg- Low Dose
AUDIOECLECTICA 