By:
Ernesto Aguilar
Album Type: Full length
Date Released: 03/10/2017
Label: Epitaph Records |
Deathwish
Inc.
Today,
with random acts of violence, anger and pessimism dotting our timelines, maybe Converge just now seems like a soundtrack to our
contemporary apocalypse
“The Dusk In Us”
CD//DD//LP track listing
1.
A Single Tear
2.
Eye of the Quarrel
3.
Under Duress
4.
Arkhipov Calm
5.
I Can Tell You About Pain
6.
The Dusk in Us
7.
Wildlife
8.
Murk & Marrow
9.
Trigger
10.
Broken by Light
11.
Cannibals
12.
Thousands of Miles Between Us
13.
Reptilian
The Review:
Rarely
does a timeworn saying like 'absence makes the heart grow fonder' seem more
apropos as it does with a band such as Converge. It has been
five years since we last heard from the storied Boston quartet, together now
for just south of 30 years. Their old releases feel like they only get better
with time, but there is nothing quite like a new Converge
album, and experiencing how its sound evolves from its past outings.
Converge has long been hailed as a
heavy music innovator, with an impressive track record. Among its accomplishments
are "Halo in a Haystack," their
iconic 1994 debut, and "Jane Doe,"
the band's 2001 breakthrough release. Converge's last record,
"All We Love We Leave Behind"
in 2012, received madly positive reviews. Never do words like
"brutal" and "beautiful" get brought up so often in
conversations about a group that encompasses metal, hardcore and punk as
abrasively as Converge. Yet, those words are earned
through intricate songwriting, disarmingly gorgeous arrangement and
consistently pioneering approaches in an ecosystem that sometimes struggles to
produce truly singular music in such a content-rich age. Epitaph's
announcement of a new Converge album and the
subsequent preview of the divine song "I
Can Tell You About Pain" were greeted by much excitement. The clear
question is what might the layoff have done for the quartet, which had
previously only done two- and three-year breaks between recordings. A lot can
be said for a stretch that long. "The
Dusk In Us" creates that conversation even before the first listen.
Converge's greatest gift, and why it has
been so universally hailed, is their ability to pour so much emotion into its
vociferous musicianship. With "A
Single Tear," the initial song, it feels like Massachusetts' favorite
sons were never really gone, as they pick up seemingly where they left off,
while managing to tread new ground. Led by Kurt Ballou's ruthless guitar, Converge's kickoff is far more sonically complex as it
unfolds. It is fast and heavy, while tense and melancholy. The track, you soon learn,
is about that shared experience of finding our own self-worth, and the
orchestration at once creates a mood of confusion while opening up to hope.
It's Converge at a brilliant clip, and seems like
a promising beginning.
Vocalist
Jacob Bannon has always done a masterful job of sharing such a well of anguish
as well as an almost uncomfortable vulnerability. Remember his blighted words
on a song like "Jane Doe"
("I want out/Out of every awkward
day/Out of every tongue tied loss/I want out/Out of the burdening night sweats/Out
of the rising seas of blood")? Bannon's return continues his
fearlessly frank tradition in the opening, and in "Eye of the Quarrel," a dredging of old hurt and self-doubt ("I still have to wonder who let
dysfunction in/The little lies, distorted truths/Smeared the perspective and
made me love you/Queen of the garbage, prince of the weeds/My legacy won't
inherit disease"). This cut in particular also proves to be a defining
moment for bassist Nate Newton and Ben Koller behind the drums. They are a
dominant force as a rhythm section within this song, and, later, in "Arkhipov Calm" and "Murk & Marrow."
What
is fascinating as a feature in "The
Dusk In Us" is how Converge's songwriting
and Bannon's performance are further inspired by a world in constant conflict. Longtime
fans know Converge has taken cues from a rotting world
before, such as in "Sparrow's Fall"
from "All the Love We Leave
Behind." Today, with random acts of violence, anger and pessimism
dotting our timelines, maybe Converge just now seems
like a soundtrack to our contemporary apocalypse. In "Under Duress," Bannon sings, "I will never kneel and kiss your ring/The sickness spreads under
duress/Compassion bends under duress/Wouldn't need a gun if you didn't have
one/Don't need you to serve or protect." The title track exudes an
atmosphere of resistance and defiance, cautioning, "there are monsters among
us." In "Cannibals," Bannon's
lyrics feel most hopeless, reminding us that, if opportunism and parasitism are
left unchecked, "we will not survive." Yet Converge
cleverly avoid naming names or getting too topical. Instead, the band speaks to
a more universal, perhaps even timeless, story: that of good and evil,
oppression and freedom, self-destruction and redemption. Those are themes that are
long a staple in metal and heavy music, and Converge
draw them out for some of their most compelling work yet.
In
the book "Catastrophism: The
Apocalyptic Politics of Collapse and Rebirth," old friends Sasha
Lilley, David McNally, Eddie Yuen and James Davis investigate the popular
culture and political trends that forecast a world to be reborn from the ashes
of the old. The 2012 read is relevant today, and might shape some of your
understanding of tales that are brought up in "The Dusk In Us." Smashing to reveal beauty comes up in fits
and spurts here. By the time the album ends with "Reptilian," a standout cut for certain, Converge
begin a journey that may be further explored during our growing days of rage. "We must lose sight of the shore to
know what courage means," Bannon howls. "We must lose sight of who we are to know what we can be."
Whether the world must fail to
succeed remains to be seen. What is not in doubt is how missed a legendary band
has been, and just how important their return truly is.
"The
Dusk In Us" is available here
