The riffing on Ascension is excellent. There are many songs ("The Smell of Destruction," "World on My Shoulders," "The Connection," or "Sanctified) that have legitimately fun, heavy riffs to get your head bouncing. This is the quickest way to most metalheads' hearts, too. Konradt understands the assignment and is doing a fantastic job in this department. Things are pretty punishing throughout, so the acoustic guitar instrumental, "When Calamity Ceases to Exist," in the middle of the album, is a nice palate cleanser before jumping back into the heavy riffing of "The Connection." Musically, this is the best material I've heard from Relentless Pursuit over the past two years. There are truly some fantastic moments here on guitar -- my favorite coming in "Divine Intervention."

As great as the music is, there are still some things holding the album back. It's been mentioned before, but the clean vocals are the biggest issue. There are times when they pull attention away from musical greatness. For example, "Divine Intervention" has such a fantastic opening riff, and the growled "I felt the hand of God" that kicks it off is great, but then the clean vocals come in and aren't up to par comparatively. Konradt has found a few tricks to make them better, but too often they don't feel as polished, or as in time, as everything else. You don't have to be a great singer to be in a metal band, but there must be a way to use the cleans more effectively. The production and mastering here is very even. It's not pristine like major studio releases, but it sounds good throughout and I would say it's RP's best effort so far. "Not Afraid Anymore" feels a little muddy compared to the rest of the tracks, but overall, this is a great effort as well.

Metal fans that have followed the growth and progression of Relentless Pursuit have another full album worth of material to dive into. Sometimes in small steps and sometimes in big strides, Matthew Konradt is taking critiques and using them to fuel his dreams. Relentless Pursuit is one of the best examples of DYI metal I can find today. Konradt is constantly writing, honing his craft, and getting better. Not only that, but he's also playing heavy music that glorifies God, and I can always get behind that mission. Indie metal fans should give Ascension a listen and support an artist who is taking this journey so seriously.

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