Converge have been around for over 30 years and are widely considered one of the most important metalcore godfathers, with their 2001 record, Jane Doe, in particular, often cited as a foundational work. When I started to get more into metalcore in the 2010s, I went back and investigated the classics of the sub-genre and Converge were near the top of my to do list. And I discovered I didn’t especially like them. I’ve tried revisiting Jane Doe a number of times over the last decade, as well as a smattering of their other releases, and found very little that worked for me.
I’m not sure why, therefore, I even bothered giving Love is Not Enough a try when it dropped in February, but I immediately knew I loved it. This is a brutal powerhouse of a metalcore record, with thunderous riffs (such good riffs) and rolling, bone-wobbling chugs. Jacob Bannon’s voice is absolutely immense here. It’ll take the skin off your bones: for a man of a certain age, it’s unfathomably good. The first couple of tracks on the album – the title track and ‘Bad Faith’ – are about as fantastic a one-two punch opening to a record as I can remember, while the album’s final song, ‘We Were Never the Same’ is one of my favourite standalone tracks of 2026. A 4-minute sledgehammer swing. All three of those tracks are perfect, breakneck metalcore. In between, there’s some slower, more introspective work, which is less immediate but just as fantastic. The lyrics attack modern culture, selfish politics and ignorance, and no quarter is given. For a heavy band to be this feral and vital in their 50s is some achievement. Love is Not Enough is now up there with my favourite metalcore records ever. As such, I have since tried Jane Doe once again. And I still don’t especially like it…
Love is Not Enough was the first of two new records that Converge put out in 2026: Hum of Hurt followed in June. Only once before have I put two albums by the same artist on the same year’s list: System of a Down’s Hypnotize and Mesmerize, which came #10 and #7, respectively, in 2005. So, I guess the big question is whether, 21 years on, Converge have repeated that feat in the most spectacular way possible, by landing both #2 and #1 spots. Is Hum of Hurt my album of the year???