Album Review: Persist - 'The Untold Story'

With the demise of the bigger Sydney hardcore bands over the last few years like No Apologies and Bad Blood, Persist have stepped up as one of the leading contenders to take over the crown. Slowly crafting their brand of melodic hardcore over the last few years, Persist have finally released their debut EP, “The Untold Story”.

Taking heavy influence from the likes of Have Heart and Verse, the EP’s opening track, “Beautiful”, starts off with a blast, wasting no time at all. Front man Pete Jackson’s vocals sound fierce mixing well with the soaring guitars. The following track “The Love. The Joy. The Hope” follows a similar formula, with driven guitar parts giving the vocals room to shine through. The gang vocal part at the end of the song should be catchy enough to translate well into the band’s live performances.

The EP’s third “The Rising Sun” takes more of a slower, melodic approach than the previous songs, and “No Truth” starts off the same before kicking in and moving into a faster pace. The song breaks down into a quiet interlude, where Jackson is able to get his message across. “Voices” features guest vocals by ex-No Apologies front man Pete Abordi. This would be the strongest song on the EP, and Abordi’s vocals give the song a breath of fresh air. The song features the closest thing you will find to a “mosh part” on this release. The dynamics between Abordi’s and Jackson’s vocals close out the song in an enjoyable fashion.

The following track “1788” starts off with the sound of a didgeridoo, before the bass and other instruments join in. Lyrically this is one of the strongest songs on the EP, telling the story of the indigenous people’s past. Closing out the EP is a re-recorded version of “Our Perspective” from the band’s demo. The quality of the recording makes the song sound immensely better. The song is quite a good way to end the EP, although I feel that the songs outro drags on for a fair bit longer than it should.

While it might not be the most original material out there, it is still a solid debut from a band that is still fairly young. I am looking forward to hearing the band’s sound mature and come into their own on their future releases.

1. Beautiful

2. The Love. The Joy. The Hope.

3. The Rising Sun

4. No Truth

5. Voices

6. 1788

7. Our Perspective