Convergence - "Dead And Dreaming" EP Review!!

It's now time for our 178th monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, and as our lengthy run of new album reviews crawls along, we're now taking a look at local progessive metal band Convergence's second EP "Dead And Dreaming"! Independently released to their Bandcamp page on January 1st (and thusly the first local metal album released in 2024), this EP was recorded at guitarist Brendan Christie's own Yellow Room Studios last year. The former Kraken Mara are again represented here by Brendan and his brother-in-law Jake Valois on guitar (bassist credits are not given), while the album features programmed drums aside from bringing back session drummer Cliff Aubut for "The Ebb". For the record, current drummer David Peredun didn't join Convergence until March. You can buy "Dead & Dreaming" on Bandcamp for $4.99, and while it can be streamed for free there, consider buying it to support the band's work!

With five songs (all instrumental) running for over 23 minutes in length, let's begin with this review with it's opening & title song "Dead And Dreaming"! While this runs for an album-low 40 seconds, it really only has 28 seconds of audible material, with a full band performance building and escalating before it ends and we hear more atmospheric noise & effects that fade out. I've never been a massive fan of intro/outro tracks like this, so this is filler to me, especially when it doesn't directly lead in to the following song. The first full song on offer is "Dig Up Your Ghost", which picks up where they left off on "One" with a strong catchy lead riff and a nicely paced structure that would fit well for verses and choruses if a singer was present (larger chorus sections was cited by the band as something they aimed for on these songs). I'd have had a much longer guitar solo though, especially given how a softer bridge immediately follows it.

This song shows off what Brendan & Jake do well and the technicality is very obvious, so it's a good true starter to the EP! The next two songs run both run for 6:30, making them the joint longest songs on "Dead & Dreaming". Of them, we first hear "Glass Statues", which was the name of a late 2000s local blues rock band that featured two of Brendan's future Late & Loud bandmates, incidentally. This one starts off softer and prettier, but gets more into a djent metal groove after the first minute. For pure guitar skill and melodies, I do prefer "Glass Statues" of the two early songs, and while not as punishing for metal riffs, it has a nice variance and structure that would be neat to see fleshed out further! That's followed by "The Ebb", which was briefly appended to "One" after its release but later moved to this follow-up EP instead. This song opens more atmospherically for the first 45 seconds before the djent riffs kick into full gear.

Strucutrally, this is more reminiscent of "Glass Statues" with the ebbs (of course) and flows of the guitar work from heavy to softer, and while still very well composed across the board, I don't think it glides along quite as well musically, at least for me. Cliff's drumming is welcomed and seems to settle into the song more naturally than the programmed drumming elsewhere, though if you like louder percussion, keep that in mind. Strong track all around for prog metal fans! "Dead And Dreaming" closes with "Awake", which was inspired by and dedicated to Brendan's grandma, who died in December after battling dementia, with the song influenced by his worsening communication with her & moments of lucidity as her memory declined. While certainly still a metal song with the riffing to match, "Awake" is the lightest song on average here, with Brendan & Jake making use of their composition abilities to good effect!

While this is an instrumental, I can see what Brendan's going for thematically, especially on softer passages, which definitely have a more melancholy mood, if still soaring onward, which is a sensation that their music always had for me. This is a quality closer that definitely means a lot to Brendan, so don't bypass it! So, what are my final thoughts on Convergence's sophomore EP? I'd have included more guitar solos, but this was a really good sequel to "One" that fans of progressive and djent metal will find a lot to like in! A lot of my nitpicks from their prior EP were addressed here, and we got a strong suite of instrumental metal that definitely played to their melodic strengths and songwriting abilities! If anything, these felt unfinished in that there was even more obviously parts meant to have a vocalist present, which they have been looking for, and it'd be neat to see these songs redone with one.

My favourite song is probably "Glass Statues", but aside from the title intro track, everything on here will deliver for subgenre fans! While there are lots of good breakdowns and riffs on offer, I'd have added more guitar solos and at least merged the intro into "Dig Up Your Ghost", but the prog metal attack is well composed and delivered, and here's hoping that "Gemini" comes out even better with David on board! Buy or stream "Dead And Dreaming" at the above links, and I hope you guys liked this month's CD review! Look for our next review of folk punk project Agnosticism's new EP "A Letter Of Resignation" next month, and for more news and notes on the site next month! Thanks everyone!