Track listing: Comfort In Knowing
Released May 31, 2024 Relentless Pursuit's "Comfort In Knowing" is one of the most intense singles of the year. Based in Somerset, Kentucky, this passion project spearheaded by Matthew Konradt will blow your fucking mind! Konradt handles it all: instruments, production, vocals, music, and lyrics. And, no, it's not really what you envision when you think of the ol' Bluegrass State. It's pretty much the exact opposite.
To wear my heart on my sleeve is my form of confiding in You. My hollow vessel of a soul. I want it to be made whole.
The drum programming alone is abso-fucking-lutely diabolical. Konradt's vocals are as gutteral and soul-shaking as they come. But it's not just noise and fear-instilling blasts coming at you. There are keyboards (or at least effect-laden guitars) that lend a certain amount of melody to "Comfort In Knowing." Synths in Metalcore? It works here well enough, so why not?
The more I listen to the 'guitar solo' I'm reminded of the backlash when Iron Maiden released Somewhere In Time around the same time Judas Priest released Turbo. They received a helluva critical slam for bringing synth-sounding guitars to the realm of heavy metal. Well, we're in 2024 now and you can do whatever the hell you want, right? Fuck yeah. Whether it's a guitar or a synth, the melodic moments in "Comfort In Knowing" complement the more deathcore elements with an utterly delightful outcome.
The manner with which Konradt blends melody with his intense blackness is what gives Relentless Pursuit its own voice in a genre that, like many, is bursting at the seams with new artists and new music. You've got to do something different to set yourself apart today, and Relentless Pursuit does just that.
They've also released an "Official Visualizer" video on YouTube, which may or may not include actual forests in Kentucky. Find all things Relentless Pursuit at linktr.ee/relentless_pursuit--follow them, share them, and fully submit to the sounds that are about to shake you to your very core.