Who’s ready to rock? Local metal heroes Converge announced back in July that they were curating a new festival, Saddest Day, to celebrate all things metal. Well, the Saddest Day is upon us. This Saturday, December 13th, Converge will headline a day full of riffs, screams and general amplifier destruction at Roadrunner in Allston.
We spoke briefly over email with Nate Newton, bassist for Converge and Cave In, about the festival.
Nate Newton: We just wanted to put together a gathering with as many kindred spirits in one place as possible. Whether it be musically, artistically, or just simply deep friendship we chose all of the bands because we wanted to be around them for the day and wanted our audience to see them. It was really just about picking bands we relate to and admire.
AP: Are there plans to make this a recurring festival, or is it likely a one-off?
NN: We would very much like to make this an annual event.
AP: Do you feel that heavy music is having a moment, and is this an effort to promote it?
NN: With social media and streaming being so integral to the way we consume music now I honestly have no idea what is big and what isn’t anymore. I do however think that there is a lot of really fantastic music coming out of the underground lately and I guess we just want people to enjoy it as much as we do.
AP: What is the inspiration behind the new song and how does Converge find ways to stay urgent and unique?
NN: The realization that overcoming adversity requires more than platitudes. As far as our creative process goes, we have a golden rule that we all follow. Don’t make music we wouldn’t want to listen to. It’s really that simple.
AP: What can we expect from the new Converge album in full?
NN: I never know how to answer a question like this. I think it’s an exciting, invigorating listen. The most I can hope for is that it brings joy, strength, and inspiration to people.
AP: Personal question – will there ever be a Bloodmoon: II?
NN: We all very much want to explore that side of the band more. It’s just a matter of finding the time when all parties are free to completely immerse ourselves in the process. Hopefully that happens sooner than later.
Converge date all the way back to 1990, and have been representing the best of the city’s metal since their debut album Halo In A Haystack in 1994. They’ve never done the same thing twice, and attempting to reduce them to one subgenre here is futile. Their 2001 album Jane Doe is indisputably one of the greatest metal records of all time, and in 2025, the band is still going strong. They recently released “Love Is Not Enough,” the first single off their forthcoming 11th album of the same name. It will be their first album since 2021’s collaborative Bloodmoon: I with Chelsea Wolfe, which they also celebrated with a one-off show at Roadrunner.
This festival is absolutely jam-packed with punk and metal heroes. Fellow Bostonians The Hope Conspiracy, a hardcore punk band who also trace their roots to a pre-2000 landscape, will be playing at the festival as well. The group is promoting their great 2024 album Tools of Oppression/Rule by Deception, which was their first full-length in 18 years.
Post-hardcore legends Touché Amoré are also on the bill, in support of their 2024 release Spiral In A Straight Line. Amoré have long been one of the most popular and critically-acclaimed bands in the post-hardcore scene, and they will surely slot right in on a festival full of all things heavy.
In a line-up full of veterans, one can’t overlook Coalesce, a fellow metalcore band who have been going off and on since 1994. The band reunited last year, after playing only a handful of shows since 2010. They haven’t released any studio music since 2009, but did release a live split with festival curators Converge earlier this year. The band is known for their chaotic live shows, and although age and a larger venue may tamper those wild sides some, you can expect this set to be a festival-stealer.
Be sure to catch the sets by Year of the Knife and special guests Full Of Hell. These are two of the most exciting and unpredictable acts in grindcore today, and their sets should feature a number of short, pulverizing songs that will keep the energy going in the festival’s midsection. Both bands have impeccable catalogs to pull from, and will squeeze a lot of music into a short amount of time, so prepare your body.
Directly in between their sets is Soul Glo, a buzzworthy and exciting hardcore band out of Philadelphia that mixes rap, noise, and metal into their varied attack. The group represents a great change of pace, bringing a different kind of energy from the other bands on the bill and showcasing the future of heaviness, not just the veterans. It’s been a bit since they’ve released any music, but if we’re all lucky, we’ll get some choice cuts from their instant classic 2022 album Diaspora Problems.
Also on the bill are the melodic black metal band Wormwood and the Chicago hardcore punk band Stress Positions. Music starts at 3:30, so make sure to get there in advance to catch the full whiplash of bands.
The festival will also see a live art exhibit from Thomas Hooper, J. Bannon, Nightswim Project and more. There will be plenty of vendors, merch tables and booths for non-profit organizations to peruse as well. Bring a second set of earplugs, because Saddest Day stands to be eight straight hours of blistering metalcore, hardcore punk and grindcore, and you know each band will try to outdo the previous one. Saddest Day 2025 will be a victory lap for Boston’s best metal band, and a celebration of all things heavy.