All We Love We Leave Behind is the best album of the year. I'm not going to tiptoe around it. Converge has yet to release a poor album; everything in their catalogue is nothing short of brilliant. From the earlier madness of When Forever Comes Crashing to fan favorite Jane Doe, all the way to the aural madness that is Axe To Fall, every release has had unique characteristics that drive it to greatness while never sacrificing that trademarked, undeniable Converge sound. Heavy. Angry. Emotional. Relentless. On All We Love We Leave Behind, Converge make the next logical step and release quite possibly their best work yet and one of the finest pieces of art I've ever experienced.
AWLWLB begins with lead single "Aimless Arrow," an infectious and emotional tune that sets the tone for the rest of the album. Upon initial hearing, I was given the impression that the new album would be similar in style to You Fail Me. Then "Trespasses" played. I kid you not when I call it the heaviest thing they've recorded. Immediately, it's made clear that Converge is not messing around. Never once do they let up; every track is gripping and left me breathless. Even slower songs, such as "Coral Blue," don't really give you a chance to catch your breath. The tone throughout is incredible; listen to the title track for proof that Converge do it better than anyone. It's not as simply bleak as You Fail Me; it's bleak, gripping, urgent, and dark. I'm not sure what inspired the feel of this disc, but I can say right now that it wasn't fun.
Onwards to Kurt Ballou. On past releases, he has proven to be one of the best riff writers while slowly gaining ground as one of the more technically proficient players in rock/metal. On Axe To Fall, he showed off some incredible chops. As with every other aspect, he turns it up to a whole new level. His riffs are the heaviest yet and when he plays a solo or a lick, it's faster, more impressive, and leaves you in the dust. Then we have Nate Newton on bass. He's always stood as the driving background force, giving Converge their sheer power. Yep, that's been stepped up too. Newton is one of the hidden gems of hardcore; without him, I guarantee Converge wouldn't sound this heavy or powerful. And of course, who can forget Ben Koller? He's stood as my favorite drummer for quite some time now, thanks to his work primarily on Axe To Fall and Jane Doe, and his work here is drastically improved. His more liberal use of double bass adds an extra layer of strength without being gimmicky in the slightest.
And then there's Jacob Bannon. What more can be said about the hardest working man in music? In virtually every way has he stepped up his game on AWLWLB. His cleans are great and he still has the most ferocious scream in music. Arguably his most impressive feat is how natural he sounds. Everything sounds like a live take, giving the album a raw feel that is often attempted, but rarely is successful. His lyrics are just as impressive as everything else he has done, which comes as absolutely no surprise to this reviewer. And the artwork he designed? He really is one of the most impressive and talented artists out there; it's impossible to not fall in love with everything he creates.
I can't get over how good All We Love We Leave Behind is. It's the best band in hardcore at the top of their game. Every moment is breathtaking and never once does anything feel remotely stale. Every member has drastically improved, and considering how good they have been for a couple of decades now, it's incredible how far they have come. One of the defining characteristics of Converge is how cohesive the members are. They simply wouldn't be the same band if anyone was replaced. This time around, that couldn't be clearer, as every member plays an absolutely vital role and is the perfect compliment to the other three guys on the disc. All We Love We Leave Behind is one of those rare gems that practically never comes along. It's heavy, emotionally powerful, brilliantly composed, and never once falls short of perfection. My standards and expectations were unbelievably high, and here I am, completely blown away. Converge have done it again. Expect this one to replace Jane Doe as the fan favorite. 80/100
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