Metalcore legends Converge have released a live album to raise money for those affected by Hurricane Helene.
The band put out the new record – Live In Orlando, FL 03.14.22 – on Friday (October 4) and say that all proceeds will go to US charity Mutual Aid Disaster Relief. It can be downloaded now via Bandcamp, with a vinyl release expected in the future.
Hurricane Helene made landfall near the city of Perry, Florida, on September 26 and caused widespread devastation in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia and North Carolina. The Category 4 storm, the deadliest to hit the US since Katrina in 2005, caused mass flooding and more than 200 fatalities. It dissipated on September 29.
In the world of rock and metal, Helene necessitated the cancellation of several tour dates and festivals. Residual stormy weather forced the second day of the Louder Than Life festival (September 27) in Kentucky to be cancelled. The day was due to be headlined by Slayer, in what would be only their second set since reuniting the week prior.
Just days after Helene dissipated, Florida is due to be hit by another major hurricane, Milton. Milton reached Category 5 size on Monday (October 7) and is expected to make landfall in western Florida tomorrow, October 9. “Milton has the potential to be one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida,” John Cangialosi, a specialist with the National Hurricane Center, has warned (per USA Today).
Converge released their latest album – Bloodmoon: I, which saw them collaborate with Chelsea Wolfe, Ben Chisholm and Cave In’s Stephen Brodsky – in 2021 and are currently at work on their next standalone record. Drummer Ben Koller took to Instagram in July, sharing a photo from the studio.
Beforehand, via X (formerly Twitter), Koller had said of Converge’s next album: “We have crowdkilling, Fugazi, Mars Volta, Entombed, mathcore madness, slow Nate [Newton, bassist] riffs where I play too fast, shitty riffs, emo riffs… This could be our best album yet no joke.”
