Even though the average age of the members of Converge hovers around forty years old, they’re putting out some of the best material of their career. This thirteen-song, forty-four minute album is full of tracks that beat you up one side and back down the other, with a couple of breathers along the way (“The Dusk in Us” and “Thousands of Miles between Us”). This follows a familiar pattern for the band, but some of the heavy-hitters such as “Under Duress” and “I Can Tell You about Pain” are more brutal and intense than anything they’ve ever released. Even the slower songs are wonderful, with the singing portion at the end of “A Thousand Miles between Us” giving me goose bumps every time. Showcasing some diversity in their sound, “Trigger” has a bluesy guitar and the bass brings a heavy swagger. It’s got a definite Rollins Band feel. As more time has elapsed since Converge’s classic Jane Doe, and as I’ve seen so many bands try and ape that sound, the album impresses me less. Fans of the band constantly put it on an altar and I think it’s important to acknowledge how it changed the hard music scene. It’s also fair to say The Dusk in Us isn’t breaking new ground in metal in that same sense. However, it’s certainly the most mature, fully developed album Converge has released since Jane Doe and, given more listens, I can easily see this being my favorite album by them. –Kurt Morris (Epitaph, epitaph.com)