Converge demonstrates they remain as authentic and unrelenting as ever with Love Is Not Enough.
Release date: February 12, 2026 | Epitaph Records | Bandcamp | Instagram
One would think that working with heavy music is not very sustainable in the long run. It requires energy, precision and a level of disposition that seems unachievable after a few decades on the road. It’s not uncommon for bands to lose steam over time and become a more tame version of themselves. This is specially notable in hardcore adjacent music, where anger and rawness seem to dim after that ‘youthful stride’ is no longer there.
Then you listen to something like Love Is Not Enough from metalcore legends Converge and you realize that, yeah, a band can maintain their ferocity and power in their late career. I stand corrected.
While Converge made a name for themselves as one of the first mathcore and metalcore bands (I’m talking first wave metalcore, which some would refer to as metallic hardcore for easier labeling), they would keep pushing boundaries as years went by and continue to be one of the most important and influential acts in their scene. From their crowning masterpiece Jane Doe, the unrelenting power of All We Love We Leave Behind and more experimental ideas such as Bloodmoon: I, Converge never once pumped the brakes.
So it really shouldn’t have surprised me that Love Is Not Enough is a complete banger. While not as chaotic and straight up bonkers as some of their early material, it more than makes up for it with its intricate songwriting and surgical precision. If early Converge was like a rabid pit bull, Love Is Not Enough is like a trained Doberman: they know where to hit their punches, and they hit it hard. It’s perhaps the most accessible version of themselves yet.
Now, while it is a bit dialed down this time, crazy Converge is still here and it’s kicking strong with tracks like “Distract and Divide” and “To Feel Something”. Those tracks more than match the energy of newer acts like Knocked Loose, proving they have their ears to the ground and keep up with the times, while still being themselves first and foremost.
Me personally, I’ve always been more fond of their slower, heavier songs, and boy are they here in strength. “Bad Faith” is an immediate standout: a song that pulls you in from the first second with that tasty gutpunch of a riff. It’s filled with that same delicious sludgy groove you can find on earlier songs like “Under Duress” and “Glacial Pace”. The same can be said of “Amon Amok” – those are just peak Converge, for my particular taste.
The album really hits the roof for its final three songs, which are just a mental run. Each of them are the perfect representation of the many things Converge bring to the table, from the sludginess of “Gilded Cage”, to the melodic, emotional outbursts in “Make Me Forget You”, to the unrelenting, old school hardcore energy of “We Were Never The Same”. Sharply written songs that are as raw and authentic as possible.
While the short runtime of just a bit over 30 minutes can feel like it would be something of an incomplete piece that would leave you wanting more, that’s far from the case. Every song, every riff, every single moment of Love Is Not Enough makes itself worthwhile and memorable. It’s a short, intricate burst of fury that demands constant revisiting on the simple account of it being just so damn cool. It presents the band in a way that’s extremely accessible for new listeners and is an absolute statement that Converge is very far from a legacy band – they’re still releasing music that can shake the scene in big ways and push boundaries. No one is doing their thing like they are.
