Watch: Converge’s In-Studio Audiotree Session
Has anything heavier ever reached the Audiotree stage? Possibly, but Converge certainly solidified their place in top 5 heaviest, I’m sure. They performed four tracks during their session earlier this year on May 11 from Audiotree’s Chicago studio, and they’ve now put it up as a stream. You can watch it below.
Converge’s brief setlist went as follows:
“We Were Never The Same”
“Dark Horse”
“Eagles Become Vultures”
“Under Duress”
Even though their Audiotree session was from some months ago, that doesn’t mean they haven’t been busy in the meantime. They’re gearing up for the release of their 11th album Love Is Not Enough, which is due out February 13, 2026. I feel like the album title and release date are intentionally tandem, considering how the dumbest holiday in existence, Valentine’s Day, is the following day.
According to vocalist Jacob Bannon, this new album ramps up a harsh realism in a way he feels has been missing from metal—and music in general—for awhile now:
“I think that realism is missing from a lot of modern music of any genre, but especially our genre. Things either go super raw and almost chaotic to the point where it’s distracting, or bands take the life out of what they’re doing by editing every aspect. Sometimes the perfect take is the one that has some wildness to it. It’s not perfectly executed. There’s a lot of powerful moments on this record and a lot of angry moments. The realism amplifies that.
“It does a thing that no other Converge record does—it keeps ramping up. 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.”
Love Is Not Enough was recorded and mixed by Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou at God City in Salem, MA, with engineering assistance from Zach Weeks, with Bannon handling the artwork and design.
“We still identify this band as the outlet that’s essential to our lives. We give everything we have to it. Being past your average middle age, we’re starting to see deeper than before into a variety of places. And I don’t think that’s specific to us. I think that’s something that’s utterly relatable.”
Something likely no one has ever said, but ugh, if only February came sooner.
