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Rating: The new work by Converge carries with it the weight of years, positively: all the experience accumulated album after album has allowed them to create an extremely personal and immediately identifiable sound amidst the myriad of anonymous hardcore bands.
An instinctive and wild punk attitude combined with metal-core technique and power (derived from thrash and death, especially their early works where influences from bands like Slayer or Entombed were more evident) have made them one of the leading post-core bands. A band that has contributed to the development of this musical genre, where a thousand nuances of a single musical universe are encapsulated. Taking Neurosis and Converge as examples: two bands with an apparently distant and different approach (in some ways almost at opposite ends), yet complementary and with common intentions.
And the intent of this "No Heroes" is not as concealed as in the past, where one fought for survival instinct and to avoid becoming prey to something prickly that offered no rest but the inevitable shedding of one’s own blood.
A mature album that encapsulates and blends most of the elements that have characterized the sound and soul of Converge, where starting from the sounds, they return to being incendiary once again, compared to those of "You Fail Me".
If indeed the penultimate album opened with "First Light" as a sort of intro, here Converge immediately attack the listener with highly intense, insane tracks of "ridiculous" and grind duration, giving a sense of initial fragmentation (Heartache-Hellbound-Sacrifice-Vengeance).
A sense that recomposes from "Weight Of The World" where Converge regain "clarity" and reason to pave the way for the title track, a real gem of destruction and a hymn to "anti self-celebration" and "celebrations" in general, of which a synonym could easily have been "no salvation". Paradoxically, from the song title, the lyrics of the title track are absolutely positive and provide great encouragement (at least as I interpret them).
The only "experiment" of the album is "Grim Heart/Black Rose", where the voice of Milligram blends with the self-destructive melancholy of Converge: needless to say, the poignant song culminates in a poisoned finale. It's hard to remain indifferent in the face of the anguish of "Trophy Scars", truly one of the best tracks on this album.
And as it began, it closes: "Bare My Teeth" and "To The Lions" inject the last epileptic shocks into an album ultimately much more convincing and inspired than "you fail me", but which obviously cannot replicate the greatness of "Jane Doe".
By now, Converge is a mature band (perhaps a bit paradoxical for a band with a fundamentally punk attitude) that wisely avoids being hermetic at all costs but instead seeks to spread the teachings acquired, the result of their personal sacrifice for the cause in the underground. An underground which they have helped to grow with albums of absolute depth and which, alongside those of the Neurosis, represent the pinnacle of a genre.
"Alone In My World Of Enemies, I Fear Nothing".
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Hellbound (01:07)
for lost hope and his son
i’ll avenge what once was
for his name and his love
these cold hands spill their blood
grant me the strength
to stand up straight
to make them pay
spill their blood
grant me the strength
to bear this weight
show me the way
spill their blood
04 Vengeance (00:58)
enemies eve
burn to believe
guns in the ground
are all i see
love liars thieves
all targets to me
jaws at my heels
mean nothing to me
knives at your throats
all that i see
don’t doubt me
i am vengeance
i’m built for war
06 No Heroes (03:43)
in vein and valor
be what they fear
their days are over
our nights are here
with hate and heartache
i’ll strike you down
with rage and rapture
i crush your crown
no more gods
no more graves
no more love
no more hate
hell hammer comes down
onto their blade
our world of widows
needs to be saved
it’s now or never
victim or victory
rebel or regret
who you are and who you claim to be
no more heroes
no more
no more
in my world of enemies
i walk alone
09 Orphaned (01:39)
Bright eyes Fading young eyes Beaten to black and blue Sunrise has been sinking since I was two One wounded and another dead I've spent years building these walls When all of this time my sky has been falling Burden to bare this anger is empty but heavy My heart carries the weight of your world My wounds are open I am out of blood
10 Lonewolves (02:18)
from a victim to a friend
don’t ever let them in
keep your scars on your sleeve
and your heart in your hands
all the whores with their wars
their gaping mouths want more
all of them choke on regret
we sit in silence
dead or dedicated
alive or medicated
a coward queen or harlot heart
it’s up to you
this world owes you nothing
this world owes me nothing
this world owes us nothing
but a hard road to walk
these mountains that we climb
is everything they’ve lost
this world owes us nothing
but a hard road to walk
these mountains that we move
are everywhere we look
it’s all up to me and you
14 To the Lions (03:40)
to the lions
as she closes her doors
to end this night
this raging sea
won’t have you
this weary grave
won’t keep you
these tired arms
won’t hold you
as she closes her doors
to the lions
inferno dreams
won’t leave you
this moonless night
won’t guide you
these brittle ghosts
won’t love you
as she closes her doors
queen of guilt
queen of grief
remember them
(erase me)
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Other reviews
By MORPHEO 33
It’s a derailing train at full speed that tramples everything and doesn’t stop in front of anything.
Those with weak hearts, abstain!!
By MahatmaTheKing
They combined the scream of despair from "Jane Doe" with the bloody gaze of "You Fail Me."
For almost five minutes we are deprived of the ability to breathe, such is the oppression this track creates.
