On the road to Ascension, Matthew Konradt's third full-length album in 2024 alone, Relentless Pursuit has released a brand new single called "Here With Me." The song capitalizes on the amazing progress Konradt has made over the years, delivering a loud, well-produced melodic metalcore song that has a lot to like. It's heavy and a little djenty, and it makes interesting use of synths that harken back to the MySpace-core of early Attack Attack! and The Devil Wears Prada. It works really well for the song and I wouldn't mind hearing more when the full album comes along. The big detractor here, though, is the predominantly clean vocals, which have never been Konradt's forte, and don't seem to have improved in the ways that the musical aspect has. Hopefully, Ascension will have a heavier emphasis on screaming rather than cleans, or at least utilize a third party for the singing. Given Konradt's recent output, though, I'm officially at the point of expecting Relentless Pursuit to deliver something worth listening to, and will be on the lookout for the Ascension.

- Review date: 10/8/24, written by Scott Fryberger of Jesusfreakhideout.com