If you zoom out far enough, an upward trajectory will simply look like a straight line; however, once you zoom in, anyone's upward trajectory will prove to have zigs and zags, dips and drops, spikes and plateaus. Matthew Konradt has given us plenty of reasons to believe that his solo metalcore project, Relentless Pursuit, is on a generally upward trajectory, but the latest single, "Hope for the Weary," does not live up to the quality of music we've heard from him already this year. Set to be the first single from RP's 9th overall album (due in 2027), "Hope for the Weary" arrives merely two months after the release of Through Confusion Reimagined (which was quite possibly the band's best album to date). Out of the gate, listeners will hear the types of issues that can arise from an artist who churns out music with such intensely prolific fervor: namely, a noticeable lack of polish. The guitar parts are simple, often playing a single chord for extended periods of time, but the timing of the guitars simply doesn't line up with the drums at all. And while this issue is most pronounced during the song's intro, the timing problems persist throughout, especially as they're compounded with programmed keys, strings, and drums that don't always sound natural. At times, the result is sonic chaos -- one where listeners will need to squint with their ears to imagine what Konradt wanted the song to sound like. And that's a shame, as some of the ideas here are actually quite cool. The drum parts are adventurous, leading the song through exciting time changes and shifts. There are bones here of a very solid song, topped off with one of Konradt's strongest choruses, with well-layered vocals and harmonies which (speaking of "upward trajectories") continue to show off Konradt's growth as a clean singer. The contrast between the well-refined choruses and the messy, disorienting verses is stark, but it makes me believe that "Hope" could've been a seriously good song, had Konradt only taken more time to tighten things up. It would be more than worth his time to make sure he's getting guitar takes that are as locked in as possible, meanwhile, if the "modern metalcore" sound is his goal, then he might want to learn from all the famous -core artists who edit their guitars to line up with the drums perfectly. Either way, I hope he'll resist the urge to rush this next album to completion. I'm rooting for him, and I can confidently say on behalf of his fans that we'd much rather wait longer for a tighter, refined album than to hear a rough-sounding version of it as soon as possible.

- Review date: 9/8/26, written by Chase Tremaine of Jesusfreakhideout.com

Record Label: None
Album length: 1 track: 4 minutes, 6 seconds
Street Date: September 1, 2026
Buy It: Bandcamp

1. Hope for the Weary (4:06)

Listen to the Music on Bandcamp