‘Converge deserve praise for producing something so succinct and on the nose after years of inactivity,’ said Scream Blast repeat of their February 2026 release of Love is Not Enough. Now, they give us the second part, and it’s less experimental and more traditional. The loyalist fans who were there from the beginning will be thrilled, but those with a passing interest in heavy music will wonder what the fuss is all about. But that’s the point: there is no fuss.
It’s clear from the first three songs that this is a hardcore album. That means excessive yet enjoyable drum fills, one-take screaming, guitar intervals that sometimes catch the wrong strings, and aggression that could produce stream. The audio production could pass for a live studio performance. ‘Doom in Bloom’ makes good use of the bass as the lead weapon with Ben Koller’s tom drums adding to the low-end mastery. Jacob Bannon is in his comfort zone here with the button for apoplectic rage on full mode. “No one has the right to judge me,” is the vituperative line in the chorus.
We’d be disappointed if this was the sole fruit of their labours after ten years, but we have this year’s earlier masterpiece to retain our affection. In this context, Hum of Hurt needs to be judged on its place within the band’s dual release output for 2026. The LP from February is their avant-garde hardcore opus, and this one is a chance to reconnect with their hardcore roots. Their noise rock and punk origins dominate the dynamics and punch of the songs, with the Fugazi influence informing much of ‘Detonator’. Those that prefer the group’s mathcore approach will find it one dimensional on first listen. The guitars are not as forceful as Love is Not Enough, often retaining that standard tuning “dad rock” sound that has less weight than an anorexic supermodel.
There’s something about the aggression of side A that feels contrived, almost as if it’s too easy for Converge to turn on these settings and run with them (see ‘I Won’t Let You Go’). ‘It’s Not Up to Us’ is impressive for its bass and drum interplay, but the whirling high-register guitars and thin chord slashes belong in the early 1990s. What happened to the violent Slayer grooves at the heart of the last record?
Yet there is more than a silver lining to this LP. The final four tracks are Converge at their best, which means they’re not beholden to hardcore punk. Instead, these songs are in the headspace of post-metal with ritual drum patterns, distorted bass, and doom metal tones as the dominant foundations (see ‘Dream Debris’). Nothing here feels like manufactured rage. Listen how Bannon elongates his screams with deliberate cracks in his voice. His spoken word parts demand that you sit down in a shared meditation. By contrast, the dust of the open road will get in your eyes when Kurt Ballou lets his pitch bends linger in the cinematic instrumental piece, ‘It Used to Matter’. This is the point where you realise that side A makes sense as a contrast to the introspection of side B. You can go back to the first five no-nonsense hardcore songs and enjoy them in the knowledge that they lead to this point.
There’s no reason for the disappointment to linger once you get into this record. The title-track is a wonderful maze of circular drumbeats, thick bass lines, and technical metal rhythms. Can you feel the pain in your gut as Bannon expels the negative energy from his body in a manic cleansing of the soul? Likewise, the atonal doom metal pounding for closing track, ‘Nothing Is Over’, is a lesson in how to end things in style. Repeat listens will be required to get the best out of Hum of Hurt, but it makes perfect sense when you experience it as a double album with Love is Not Enough.
Kirk Houghton
Verdict
Release Date: 05/06/2026
Record Label: Epitaph Records
Standout tracks: Dream Debris; It Used to Matter; Nothing is Over
Suggested Further Listening: Coffin Apartment – Full Torso (2020), End You – Aimless Dread (2021), Bastions – Majestic Desolation (2022)