Converge are not in the habit of slowing down. The hardcore icons have released ‘Hum of Hurt’ via Deathwish / Epitaph, their second full-length of 2026 and a companion to this year’s earlier ‘Love Is Not Enough.’ Both records grew from the same burst of creativity, and both deliver a bleak yet empathetic look at the human condition and its slow unraveling.
The two albums came from one prolific writing stretch. “When we came together to write, we ended up with a wealth of material,” frontman Jacob Bannon says. “As work progressed we realized we had created two separate albums, and treated them as such.”
Bannon is clear that this is no follow-up record. “It’s not a sequel,” he explains. “The unifying musical idea early on was, ‘Let’s make a noise rock album.’ But we never really did. The first one wasn’t. This one touches on that spirit, but it’s much more dynamic than that descriptor. To me, it leans more into being an emotional hardcore album, while ‘Love Is Not Enough’ feels more metal leaning. In the end, we simply gave creative birth to another Converge record with its own unique identity and character.”
The album wastes no time. Opener “Slip the Noose” erupts with a furious cannonade from drummer Ben Koller before tearing into a short, grinding frenzy that would feel right at home on ‘Jane Doe.’ It’s a visceral reminder of why this band remains untouchable in their lane.
From there, “Doom in Bloom” pits Kurt Ballou’s spiky riffs against Nate Newton’s bass and Koller’s drums while Bannon screams himself raw. “Dream Debris” takes the opposite route, a doomy epic born from a single bass note that swells into a booming crescendo. “It has a lot of twists and turns, yet starts off incredibly simple,” Bannon says of the track. “It was just so heavy, encapsulating everything we wanted in the song.”
The lyrics turn the lens inward throughout. On the menacing “Detonator,” Bannon delivers a line built to linger, “There’s nothing to win if there’s no one to lose.” The title track stands as one of the most propulsive and emotional songs of the band’s career, with Bannon weighing the cost of a life given to art. “I’ve given 35 years of my life to creating art and music,” he reflects. “These lyrics are me looking in a mirror, recognizing that I am not the man I want to be. I need change, and still have work to do.”
The record also includes a fresh rendition of “I Won’t Let You Go,” originally cut for the 2020 video game Cyberpunk 2077. Bannon felt the first attempt left something on the table, and this version finally gets it right. Critics have already lined up behind the album, with Kerrang! calling it a remarkable equal to its predecessor and Metal Hammer noting that Converge never miss.
The band heads to Europe this summer for a run of festival dates and headline shows.
Hum of Hurt Track List:
Slip The Noose
Doom In Bloom
It Only Gets Worse
Detonator
I Won’t Let You Go
It’s Not Up To Us
Dream Debris
It Used To Matter
Hum Of Hurt
Nothing Is Over
2026 Tour Dates:
Jun 25 — Ysselsteyn, NL — Jera on Air
Jun 26 — Rennes, FR — Superbowl of Hardcore
Jun 27 — Manchester, UK — Outbreak Festival
Jun 28 — Antwerp, BE — Kavka Zappa ^
Jun 29 — Cologne, DE — Essigfabrik ^
Jul 01 — Trutnov, CZ — Obscene Extreme Festival
Jul 02 — Vienna, AT — Arena ^
Jul 03 — Milan, IT — Circolo Magnolia ^
Jul 04 — Viveiro, ES — Resurrection Fest
^ with Heriot, Boneflower, Crouch