Converge have long been rightfully revered as hardcore trailblazers, expanding the scene’s vocabulary through a questing spirit and willingness to experiment. Even within this ever-evolving context, however, Bloodmoon: I is so different to the rest of the Salem slammers’ oeuvre that it feels like a glimpse of an alternative timeline. No strangers to collaboration, this is nevertheless the first time Converge have invited outsiders to assume equal roles in the creation of an entire album, engaging Stephen Brodsky of Cave In alongside Chelsea Wolfe and her musical partner Ben Chisholm to assemble a seven-piece line-up. The result is an album which is remarkable on every level. A key attribute of Bloodmoon: I is a sense of grandeur, something which unit...