Converge

The revered metal and hardcore pioneers Converge now announce their first Australian tour since 2019. An enigmatic hub of extreme creativity backed by a thorough DIY ethos, the tour follows the swiftly sold out inaugural Lucidity festival for which the band is headlining. Jumping across from the festival lineup to join them at their Melbourne club show are the Texan metal punks Portrayal of Guilt, with the fast rising metallic hardcore unit Terminal Sleep and the savage punks Persecutor representing the best of Melbourne hardcore to set the tone for the evening.

For more than three decades, Converge have delivered musical and emotional catharsis, putting purpose before perception and intent before interpretation. Whether it's their 2001 landmark recording Jane Doe or their 2021 Bloodmoon collaboration with Chelsea Wolfe, they have created some of the most compelling music, lyrics, and visual art of the 21st century. During that time, fewer bands have had a greater impact on the underground imagination.

It seems unlikely that anyone who has been making music for this long would create not just one, but two of their best works in their 35th year as a band. And yet: Love is Not Enough and Hum of Hurt - the band's two 2026 album releases are exactly that, and might be the apotheosis of Converge's decades-long journey through the punk, hardcore and metal microcosm. What vocalist/lyricist Jacob Bannon, guitarist/producer Kurt Ballou, bassist/vocalist Nate Newton and drummer Ben Koller have created are strident artistic statements on the turmoil of living that hone their collective strengths to a razor's edge.