Converge are a band that needs very little introduction to the heavy music scene considering what they have been able to accomplish over the course of the last 30 years or so. However, with Bloodmoon: I things are very different this time around.
That fact is made very evident on the opening track “Bloodmoon,” which sees the band being joined in tandem with Chelsea Wolfe’s haunting vocals. This ain’t your daddy’s Converge, at least not yet. If you were expecting this to pick up where The Dusk In Us left off, you are mistaken. This kind of combination evokes the kind of change in style that Julie Christmas had with Cult of Luna on Mariner.
Think of Bloodmoon: I as something of an experiment from the band, one that showcases their ability to play some styles of music that they had only dabbled in before. Converge fully realize the potential of adding in guest musicians to help with the variety side of things with Steve Brodsky (Cave-In/Mutoid Man) on guitars to complete a Boston connection that was years in the making. It has paid dividends as “Coil” might well be the most beautiful song that Converge has ever recorded with Bannon and Wolfe exchanging vocal sections. His is more spoken and hers haunting and beautiful.
Tracks like those make the transition back to heavier tracks of “Tongues Playing Dead” and “Lord of Liars” even more successful upon their return. Even these tracks aren’t the Converge you’d expect in terms of the raucous metallic hardcore of yore, but this project may very well have been designed to be exactly this.
Overall Bloodmoon: I is a successful experiment that showcases the band’s excellent musicianship accompanied by several other well established performers, adding to the total quality of this album from start to finish. Perhaps there will be other entries into this series as an adjacent piece to the already large discography that Converge already possesses. No matter what, this is bound to be an album that will split Converge’s fan base, for better or for worse.
(released November 19, 2021 on Epitaph Records)
Heavy Music HQ Rating:
Watch Converge – “Blood Moon” Video
