CONVERGE - All We Love We Leave Behind

Three years after the incredible Axe to Fall, Converge comes back with a new album. Titled All We Love We Leave Behind, the material gives us the same intense, complex, chaotic (in a good way) and passionate band, driven by the desire to come up with their absolute best and not only to get a new release in their portfolio.

First I must stress that compared to Axe to Fall, the music you’ll hear on All We Love We Leave Behind is much more doom metal-oriented. If the name Black Flag does not sound completely foreign to you and releases such as My War (1984) and In My Head (1985) are at least a bit familiar, you’ll understand pretty quickly what the new Converge record is about. Hardcore punk + doom metal = something really good. Don’t worry or get overexcited (as the case may be), Converge is still Converge and has not turned into a Black Flag tribute band. Jacob Bannon’s visceral voice is still there, Ben Koller’s rhythm changes are still fully present, as is Nate Newton’s bass guitar, only the master of ceremonies Kurt Ballou drives the Converge car in another gear. It’s as if there’s a mad chase on the highway in a Mad Max of our days, and from time to time they would stop to catch their breath and admire the desolate landscape, look for an escape and feed their souls with spirituality. One hot, one cold, and in this case both are good.

H. Nota: 10