Reviews list for Converge - The Dusk in Us (2017)

The dusk lives within us all. You can't fight the darkness. Dusk rises to only those who can let their darkness and anger be dispossessed into the music that contains it all. And that music is another fine album by one of the most impressive metal bands!

Converge is a special metalcore band with aggressive art and cathartic passion to resonate with me more than other bands. Pretty much every album they've made is excellent, except for their bland hardcore punk debut. Released 5 years after All We Love We Leave Behind which is their best since Jane Doe, their recent album The Dusk in Us keeps up their artistic exploration into post-hardcore and sludge metal though in slightly more comfortable territory, while unleashing fantastic excitement.

The album makes another perfect kickoff with "A Single Tear", continue Converge's tradition of strong openers from their previous two albums and Jane Doe. It's no biased lie that this is one of the best songs here! Pounding drums and dissonant guitars take an exhilarating speed drive, while vocalist Jacob Bannon screams personal lyrics of self-improvement and fatherhood. I absolutely adore the part in the middle where the guitar melody and vocals form a cathartic mantra. The powerful emotion almost makes me shed a single tear. Paralyzing you like a bullet to the neck, "Eye of the Quarrel" recalls the speed of Axe to Fall. The distorted guitar riffing on "Under Duress" (Anyone else thought that song title was "Under Dress"?) fits well with Bannon's furious screams, encouraging you to raise your fist against the venomous world. "Arkhipov Calm" is never calm with frantic drum beats and phenomenal rhythms.

"I Can Tell You About Pain" is pretty impressive, especially in Bannon's apocalyptic delivery. The 7-minute title track monolith is also impressive though meanders a bit during its long length. While Jacob Bannon's usual harsh vocals are beyond emotional, his clean vocals sound a little empty. It's an unfortunate flaw within the somber guitar riff and the haunting lyrics of monsters within our shadows. After the first 3 minutes, the song starts getting stronger with the instrumentation kicking in, wrapping up this spiritual exorcism with a crying frenzy of "DUSK LIVES WITHIN US!!!" Post-hardcore influences are displayed more in "Wildlife". Same with "Murk and Marrow" with vocals yelling dark poetic lyrics of fear vs. hope, love vs. pain, rising in a personally struggling plague.

Highlight "Trigger" has some punchy bass, though there's also a hip-hop-like chorus. Then there's the aggressive "Broken by Light". That song fits well with "Cannibals" as the most chaotic one-two punch since the dynamic opening duo of Jane Doe. "Thousands of Miles between Us" once again shows the band's success in switching from fast to slow. The clean vocals sound much better and more dynamic alongside the magnificent atmospheric drums and guitars. Similarly, "Reptilian" takes on some more of their sludge metal influence to close the album.

Any band with a consistent discography like Converge might find it difficult when repeatedly playing their signature sound for almost 3 decades. However, you might beg to differ when you listen to The Dusk in Us! This is an album where Converge continues achieving their metalcore standard to feed fans hungry for emotion and violence. They might not have reinvented their metalcore wheel, but they've added subtle improvements to keep the audience in their Converge comfort zones. This is definitely a great album and one of the band's best besides the top 3. They still got their heavy talents for about 30 years as of this review, and it's just insane!

Favorites: "A Single Tear", "Under Duress", "I Can Tell You About Pain", "The Dusk in Us", "Trigger", "Broken by Light", "Thousands of Miles Between Us"

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