Review Summary: Its been done before, but hot damn is it good.
Convictions are one of the many ‘Christian’ Metalcore bands that flooded the scene around the mid 2000’s. With three full lengths and 3 EP’s under their belt Convictions seem to be finding their feet and ‘I Won’t Survive’ is a testament to that.
Opening with what may be the best track they have laid down ‘The War That Followed Me Home’. It is an assault of blast beats, riffs and throat shattering screams mixed with an almost RnB influenced chorus, it’s really the perfect example of all facets of the band and really lays out what the band has to offer. Whilst they don’t split from the formula too much, there is more than enough happening to keep you engaged with some nice riffing throughout and some nice production which doesn’t overstay its welcome. ‘Teeth’ being the only track which ditches the cleans altogether.
The lyrics are hard hitting throughout the EP dealing with death, loss, religious doubt and of course– ‘TWTFMH’ telling the story of coming home from War but never really leaving it behind. The standout aspect of the band is Unclean Vocalist Michael Felker. The dude is an absolute BEAST on the mic with some killer lows and some outstanding highs throughout, he really is miles above many other vocalists in the scene. Danyal Suchta the bassist and clean vocalist has some really nice melodies throughout ‘The Wreckage’ and ‘The Price Of Grace’ have really catchy chorus’s and his vocals sure have that RnB ‘feel’ that lots of Metalcore bands seem to be incorporating more. Even the instrumental track ‘Everything I never Told You’ is nice and doesn’t feel out of place – despite it being only a EP.
The craziest thing here is that you can actually hear the bass throughout A LOT and it sounds fantastic. It’s rare that you can pick out the bass parts in a lot of bands who play this style of Metalcore so it was nice to hear it punching through on the regular and not just being lost in the mix.
Overall, Convictions aren’t breaking the mould, they aren’t reinventing the wheel, but they are doing what’s always been done A LOT better than most, and that counts for something.
Standout Tracks:
The War That Followed Me Home
Teeth
