Photos: SADDEST DAY FESTIVAL (Boston, MA) – 2025/12/13
The inaugural installment of Saddest Day, a special event curated by CONVERGE. The lineup for 2025 featured COALESCE, FULL OF HELL, THE HOPE CONSPIRACY, SOUL GLO, STRESS POSITIONS, TOUCHÉ AMORÉ, WORMWOOD, and YEAR OF THE KNIFE, along with a special headlining set by CONVERGE themselves. Named after their song, “Saddest Day” from the album Petitioning the Empty Sky (1996 – Ferret Music), the festival also included an art exhibition curated by CONVERGE frontman Jacob Bannon, showcasing his work along with artists Thomas Hooper and Nightswim Project.
Photographs by @bananamasher.
Boston supergroup WORMWOOD (featuring current and previous members of Doomriders, The Red Chord, Phantom Glue) would open things up with their brand of coarse sludgey-doom metal. Their bleak and gritty rock’n’roll gathered attendees throughout the venue to gather at the stage, priming the audience of what is to come.
WORMWOOD:
Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram
Unrelenting and fierce hardcore from Chicago, IL, STRESS POSITIONS would perform in Boston for the first time for the festival. Anti-colonialist and anti-capitalist, the band uses their instruments and stage to help fight against the injustices, fascism, and ignorance of these trying times.
STRESS POSITIONS:
Bandcamp | Instagram
One of the most metal hardcore bands out there right now, YEAR OF THE KNIFE kept the energy and the rage going with a relentlessly brutal set. The band was involved in a horrific van accident in Utah while touring in 2023. Luckily, all members survived, though not without serious injuries. The metallic-hardcore outfit would bounce back from the near-death experience with No Love Lost (2023 – Pure Noise Records), their second full-length.
YEAR OF THE KNIFE:
Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram
Politically charged hardcore activists SOUL GLO delighted the audience with their raw hip-hop-infused hardcore. The band addresses themes of Black life, mental health, and anti-capitalism via powerful lyrics, incredible musicianship, and a chaotic live performance.
SOUL GLO:
Website | Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube
FULL OF HELL, a household name at this point in their genre-defying career. The experimental grindcore band pulled songs from throughout their lengthy catalog of music and even played a rendition of the Melvins song “Oven.” This would be one of the first performances, if not the first, without founding guitarist Spencer Hazard, who stepped away from the band in early December.
FULL OF HELL:
Website | Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube
In 2000, Converge would take fellow Boston-area-based THE HOPE CONSPIRACY (and American Nightmare) on their biggest tour at that point as a band, considering they had just formed the year prior. Ben even played drums for them on some shows in the early days as a band trying to hold down a lineup. The band would go on hiatus in 2004, then again in 2009 – only to reawaken in 2023, with the surprise release the Confusion/Chaos/Misery EP and then with Tools of Oppression/Rule by Deception in 2024 (produced by Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou).
THE HOPE CONSPIRACY:
Website | Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube
It’s been 15 years since COALESCE played Boston, the KCMO progressive-metalcore band took a hiatus from 2010 to 2024, aside from two one-off performances (Krazy Fest in 2011 and with Converge, Torche, and Kvelertak in Kansas in 2012). Cave In‘s Stephen Brodsky joined the band for “Wild Ox Moan,” and Touché Amoré‘s Jeremy Bolm joined them for a cover of Minor Threat’s “Seeing Red.” The band would perform three new songs during Saddest Day, marking the first new music from the band since 2009. However, the band has since parted ways with founding guitarist Jes Steineger following allegations of misconduct shortly after the festival.
COALESCE:
Bandcamp
Californian post-hardcore favorites TOUCHÉ AMORÉ turned the audience into a frenzy with constant stagediving, massive sing-along huddles, and a slightly less violent moshpit. The band had traveled all day to get to the festival, arriving shortly before their set time. The band would perform songs from every album except Is Survived By.
TOUCHÉ AMORÉ:
Website | Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram
Just six days before Saddest Day, CONVERGE drummer Ben Koller survived a hit-and-run car accident in California, where he was T-boned, causing his car to flip. He escaped with only minor bruising and was an absolute animal behind the kit for a 23-song set.
CONVERGE would perform a 23-song set, opening with the title track of their forthcoming album, Love Is Not Enough, blasting through favorites and deep cuts spanning their discography. FULL OF HELL joined in for “Axe To Fall,” they played “My Unsaid Everything” for the first time since 2012, “Lonewolves” for the first time since 2011, “Conduit” for the first time since 2008, “Towing Jehovah” for the first time since 2004, and closed with “The Saddest Day.” The full setlist is below.
Love Is Not Enough, the eleventh studio album by CONVERGE is set for release on February 13, 2026 via Epitaph Records and Deathwish Inc.
CONVERGE:
Website | Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube
CONVERGE setlist:
“Love Is Not Enough“
“Eagles Become Vultures“
“Dark Horse“
“Under Duress“
“We Were Never the Same
“Locust Reign“
“My Unsaid Everything“
“Conduit“
“Glacial Pace“
“All We Love We Leave Behind“
“Trespasses“
“Towing Jehovah“
“Heaven In Her Arms“
“Axe To Fall” (feat. Full Of Hell)
“Lonewolves“
“Heartache“
“Hellbound“
“First Light“
“Last Light“
“Black Cloud“
“Concubine“
“The Broken Vow“
Encore: “The Saddest Day“
