There's a sound some people swear they can hear. A low-frequency rumble, hovering somewhere between 30 and 40 hertz, reported everywhere from Taos, New Mexico to Auckland and Windsor. It's persistent, unsettling, and largely unexplained. They call it The Hum.
Now, Converge have taken that phenomenon and transformed it into something far more visceral – their second album of 2026, Hum Of Hurt.
Following on from Love Is Not Enough, the record emerges from the same prolific writing sessions that saw the band amass a surplus of material. But rather than a companion piece, vocalist Jacob Bannon is clear that this is a separate entity entirely.
"What if 'The Hum' is the culmination of all the pain in the world, creating an audible signal across the universe?" Bannon said. "Something noticeable to others operating on a similar emotional plane."
Where its predecessor leaned more toward metallic weight, Hum Of Hurt strips things back to something rawer and more exposed. As Bannon explains: "When we came together to write, we ended up with a wealth of material. As work progressed we realized we had created two separate albums, and treated them as such."
He continues: "It's not a sequel. The unifying musical idea early on was, 'Let's make a noise rock album.' But we never really did. The first one wasn't. This one touches on that spirit, but it's much more dynamic than that descriptor.
"To me, it leans more into being an emotional hardcore album, while Love Is Not Enough feels more metal leaning album. In the end, we simply gave creative birth to another Converge record with its own unique identity and character."
The title track – released today – stands as one of the most emotionally direct moments in the band's catalogue, with Bannon turning the lens inward: "I've given 35 years of my life to creating art and music. I appreciate the creative home and support this community has given, yet rarely is space left for anything else. These lyrics are me looking in a mirror, recognizing that I am not the man I want to be. I need change, and still have work to do."
Recorded and mixed by longtime collaborator Kurt Ballou at God City Studios in Salem, MA, the album continues the band's tradition of self-contained creativity. Visually, it's equally meticulous: Bannon teamed up with UK artist Thomas Hooper to realize a concept blending scientific imagery with spiritual symbolism.
"For the cover, I had a vision of an EKG signal fusing with some kind of volatile seismography. This amalgamation represents the conditions that would theoretically create a 'Hum.' Specifically the heart skips beats before dissolving into static. The signal is then interrupted by a seismic event at the center point of the cover."
He adds: "The figures represent the five elements of our planet, or 'Pancha Bhuta': Prithvi (Earth), Ap (Water), Agni (Fire), Vayu (Air), and Akasha (Aether). I present them in the throws of chaos, as if the elements themselves are entangled in the Hum of Hurt."
You can also catch Converge at one of their below tour dates. Get your tickets here.
w/ Poison The Well, Spy & Balmora
4/2 Cleveland, OH House Of Blues
4/3 Chicago, IL Concord Music Hall
4/4 Pontiac, MI Crofoot
4/5 Dayton, OH Hidden Gem
4/6 New Kensington, PA Preserving Underground
4/7 Toronto, ON History
4/8 Montreal, QC Theatre Beanfield
4/9 Worcester, MA The Palladium
4/10 New York, NY Knockdown Center
4/11 Philadelphia, PA The Fillmore
4/12 Baltimore, MD Nevermore Hall
w/ Poison The Well, The Armed & The Barbarians Of California
5/7 Denver, CO Summit
5/9 Austin, TX Stubb's Outdoors
5/10 Houston, TX House Of Blues
5/12 Mesa, AZ Nile Theater
5/13 Los Angeles, CA Belasco Theater
5/15 Anaheim, CA House Of Blues
5/16 San Diego, CA The Observatory North Park
5/17 San Francisco, CA The Regency Ballroom
w/ Heriot, Boneflower & Crouch
6/28 Antwerp, Belgium Zappa
6/29 Cologne, Germany Essigfabrik
6/30 Berlin, Germany SO36
7/2 Vienna, Austria Arena
7/3 Milan, Italy Circolo Magnolia
Converge festival dates
6/25 Netherlands Jera On Air
6/26 France Superbowl Of Hardcore
6/27 UK Outbreak
7/1 Czech Rep Obscene Extreme
7/4 Spain Resurrection
7/5 Portugal Evillive
