It seems pointless to even try to musically pigeonhole Converge, because ultimately you need to hear (or better still, go see) the Boston quartet in action to truly discover what they’re about.
No Heroes’ is a chaotic, extreme, malevolent and – above all – brutally uncompromising beast of a sixth album, which sees Jacob Bannon and co. pushing their twisted metal/hardcore hybrid ever further into new territory. If all you neatly-groomed ‘fashioncore’ types aren’t quaking in your Converse All-Stars yet, then now would be a good time to start.
The band waste no time in pummelling your senses into submission with the opening salvo of ‘Heartache’ and ‘Hellbound’ – with guitars and vocals sounding raw anf frenzied enough to shred your speakers, given half the chance. But there’s plenty of depth beneath the sonic warfare, as perhaps best evidenced by ‘Grim Heart/Black Rose’; an almost ten-minute long epic laden with dark melancholy and even some (gasp!) actual singing. It’s unlike anything this band have recorded before, and provides an excellent contrast to the aural armageddon that surrounds it.
You can hear the album’s title track on the link above, and also check this recent interview with Jacob to find out what the future holds for Converge.