Album Review :
Clear Convictions - Endure

I had the chance to catch this band live this summer at Audiofeed (my first time seeing them live), and I was completely blown away by their energy and performance. The show was so impactful that it broke this 50-something guy out of mosh retirement. Sure, I paid for it in my body for the next 2-3 weeks, but it was worth it! So when I found out that they were releasing a new album through Resuscitation Records I couldn’t wait to check it out.

I’m a huge fan of traditional hardcore, and its moshworthy offshoots of new school/chugga chugga, ‘tough guy’ hardcore, and so forth. And while I love the style, it’s increasingly difficult to offer anything new in the field. Both because it has been done by hundreds of other bands and also because a big drawing factor of the genre—namely, its simplicity—doesn’t leave a whole lot of room for innovation.

And yet, somehow they’ve done it. In fact, Clear Convictions have blown the lid off of it! Endure was actually released, albeit quietly, in 2024 as an indie, heralding the band’s return after a 10-year hiatus. Resuscitation has picked up the release for vinyl and we have Ryan Leitru (For Today) at the helm for remixing the album, and audio guru Rob Colwell remastering for vinyl. And what a job they have done!

This is one of the heaviest and fullest-sounding hardcore records I’ve heard in a very long time. And they’ve managed to accomplish that without polishing out all the rough areas as is done on so many modern hardcore records. I hate a metal or hardcore record that sounds so polished and squeaky clean that it could pass as having been recorded by robots. This is not the case here.

Right out of the gate the band pummels the listener, round for round, with punishing hardcore riffs, moshworthy breakdowns, 2-step parts, semi-melodic leads, all done in a way that I haven’t heard, at least not quite like this. Lyrically the band are right back to their Spirit-filled roots with songs about repenting and believing the Gospel, walking in freedom, and so forth. It is simultaneously preachy and also positive and uplifting. There’s even a song entirely in their native Spanish, “Soy Libre” (“I am free”).

Endure is sure to please fans of 2000s-era Facedown/Strike First era as well as late 90s/early 00s Solid State stuff. At the same time, this is no throwback record. There’s a whole lot of newness and energy to this record to win over fans new and old alike. Highly recommended.

Order from Resuscitation Records.