By Keating Smith, Contributor
Promo Photo by Matt Miller (Found on MySpace)
4/5
Just in time for autumn and Halloween, the legends of metalcore are back again with the release of their eighth studio album All We Love We Leave Behind (released October 9). The group has maintained their pace of releasing a studio album every three years since their 2001 breakthrough album, Jane Doe.
All We Love is not only packed with ear drum-damaging tracks that will have you contemplating punching holes in your bedroom walls, they also play on long drawn out stoner-rock riffs that seem to be more apparent in this and similar other hard music genres recently. Front man Jacob Bannon has also distinctively refined his vocals this time around by taking less of an approach to sounding like a tortured velociraptor while singing, focusing more on his monotone voice, which I have come to absolutely adore.
Although this album is not everything I had anticipated, All We Love defeats any similar sounding album I have heard this year. The album also proves to the audience that Converge likes to take the path less traveled when creating quality jams. Notable tracks include first single “Aimless Arrow,” “Glacial Pace,” “Coral Blue/Shame in the Way,” and last but not least, the track that the album takes its name from.
Certain editions are available as a 17-song deluxe double album, packaged in a ‘reverse board gatefold jacket’ that comes in both a standard multi-coloured vinyl and a black 180-gram record for all you collector nerds out there.
