Converge are a hardcore band from the US and this is their eleventh album, (or twelfth if you count their collaboration with Chelsea Wolfe).
A second Converge album in the space of a few months you say? Apparently so. Love Is Not Enough hasn’t even cooled, yet Converge are back at it again, treating the world to their distinctive brand of idiosyncratic hardcore.
It’s 33 minutes of emotive mayhem and restrained chaos. The Converge wrecking ball is a vicious one, but it’s also wrapped in complex feelings. Whether that makes its crushing heaviness easier to weather is another matter.
When compared to its recent predecessor, there are clearly similarities, yet Hum of Hurt presents with more of Converge’s emotive side. This aspect was obviously well-represented on Love Is Not Enough, but here it is emphasised. It’s still sharp and savage in places, but has a greater appreciation for mood and feeling. To paraphrase the band’s iconic singer in the promo blurb, Hum of Hurt is less metallic, more emotional hardcore, which is an apt description.
The band sound all fired up and like they’re revelling in their creative inferno. While still containing plenty of high impact moments, it’s less direct than the last album, allowing itself to range and wander further and deeper into the weeds. The result of this is songs that captivate at a more impactful level.
With gnashing teeth, snarling attitude, and infectious hooks, Hum of Hurt emphasises Converge’s more distinctive qualities. As such, these songs feel like classic Converge in a way that Love Is Not Enough didn’t always. The previous album saw the band pushing themselves in certain newer areas, whereas on Hum of Hurt the band are pushing themselves – probably even more so – into waters that are simultaneously more familiar, yet also more daring by some perspectives. This is Converge confident, absolutely loving what they do, and pouring their collective hearts into every second of the music. Of course, this isn’t unique to Hum of Hurt, and both 2026 albums are imbued with expressive passion and the classic Converge personality, but these newest songs take a closer look at raw emotion and atmospheric weight, and are all the better for it.
Well, if it’s not enough for Converge to release one great album in a year, they’ve now gone and released another that’s arguably even better. This review will end with the same closing words as the last one did – you need this record in your life.
Essential listening.
Wonderbox Metal 