Converge - The Dusk in Us

Artist: Converge
Album: The Dusk in Us
Year: 2017
Rating: 97/100

Unless you're a hermit or you've been living under a rock for the past twenty years, it's impossible to disregard the contribution that Converge have made to extreme music. Jane Doe, their 2001 opus, was widely considered a minor classic by fans of metal and hardcore alike, and since then, the Bostonians have been going from strength to strength. The Dusk in Us is their ninth studio album, and Converge show no signs of slowing down with it.

Opening track "A Single Tear" sets the tone for what is about to follow perfectly. This is Converge at their unshakeable best; Jacob Bannon's throat-ripping screams, Kurt Ballou's bludgeoning, aggressive guitar riffs, and Nate Newton and Ben Koller's taut, frantic rhythm section. But this is Converge, and we all know that in their case, the whole is very much greater than the sum of their parts. Jacob Bannon's clean vocal passages, when they appear, not only offer a new weapon in his vocal arsenal, he does it with a new found confidence that we didn't hear on previous Converge efforts. Elsewhere, it's business as usual for Converge, with tracks such as "Under Duress" and "Trigger" offering themselves as counterparts to their nearest relations from Jane Doe, "Homewrecker" and "The Broken Vow".

I'm rarely lost for words when it comes to the quality of Converge's music; I've been a fan since the outstanding Jane Doe. Having said that though, The Dusk in Us is a more than worthy contender for Converge's best album, and it feels like a labour of love for each member of the band. Get this round your ears, without hesitation.

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

Unsane - Sterilize

Artist: Unsane
Album: Sterilize
Year: 2017
Rating: 92/100

Unsane are back. Yes indeed, Unsane are back. With five years in between previous effort, Wreck, and this, their eighth studio album, Sterilize, I decided to take a look at it and see how it stacked up.

On first listen, all of the hallmarks that make up the traditional Unsane sound are all there; a delightfully ugly cacophony of blues, noise and hardcore punk that has been their signature sound since their arrival on the scene in the late 1980s. This time, however, the songwriting (which suffered slightly on their 2005 effort Blood Run as well as on predecessor Wreck) is now back to its visceral, ferocious best. Tracks such as "Factory", "No Reprieve" and "We're Fucked" rattle along in a wonderfully nasty sounding way, with both bass player Dave Curran and guitarist Chris Spencer trading off vocal lines; neither particularly melodious, both sounding like rabid dogs as their impassioned screams grab the listener by the eardrums.

All in all, Sterilize is a strong album, possibly the strongest effort from Unsane since their excellent Occupational Hazard. The trio are as musically tight as they ever were, and their ideas are still fresh and enjoyable. If that works for you, give this album a serious look.

Track Listing

1. Factory
2. The Grind
3. Aberration
4. No Reprieve
5. Lung
6. Inclusion
7. Distance
8. A Slow Reaction
9. We're Fucked
10. Avail