No Sympathy - xPERSISTx | REVIEW
No Sympathy by xPERSISTx
Release: 4/30/2025
Genre: Straight Edge Hardcore
I’ve only been in the Detroit hardcore community for less than a year but these past few months have been absolutely amazing. I’ve been welcomed with open arms, and a bloody nose on one occasion, but that's basically a rite of passage in the hardcore community so that's a battle scar I can be proud of. Anyways, joining the community so late has had me playing catchup when it comes to listening to music from the scene and xPERSISTx is one of the bands I’ve been meaning to check out. Their new LP No Sympathy gives me the perfect opportunity to do that. I’m a fan of the band members and their other projects so going into this I was pretty excited. Also, xPERSISTx is a straight edge band, and being straight edge myself only added to my excitement. After listening to the album, I can say with full confidence that it did not disappoint. It's fast, it's heavy, it's everything I want out of hardcore.
First things first, that guitar tone, chef’s kiss. It was crunchy, brutal, heavy, and tight, basically everything you could want for this kind of music. The guitar took center stage in the mix, rightfully so, but it didn't take away from the other instruments. The drums, bass, and vocals all sounded great. They all stood out and sounded distinct but didn't take away from each other. I could really “feel” the drums and bass, which is something I'm always looking for. The only critique I can give is that at some points across the album the vocals seem to get lost in the mix, but that isn’t a consistent issue and if I wasn’t actively listening for lyrical content I most likely wouldn't have noticed. According to guitar player Andre, this entire LP was entirely written, recorded, mixed, and mastered at his house with the help of Matthew Routt/onsiterecording. Even with bedroom music production being commonplace nowadays this LP still stands out in its production. The use of samples in tracks such as ‘No Sympathy’ and ‘No Justice’ were tastefully done and added some extra ear candy to the album. The mix is solid and consistent throughout the LP and has the perfect amount of polish without being overdone.
The thing that really makes the mix great though is the players behind it, and everyone on this LP simply killed it. I can tell that everyone in the band worked really hard so they could nail their respective parts. There's a sense of confidence I can feel from their playing that comes from each member being comfortable in their role. The guitar, bass, drums, and vocals are all very impressive on this album, and the talent of the individuals involved in making it is apparent.
Now where do I even start about the actual content of this album? Straight edge supremacy, police brutality and injustice, standing up for what's right, drunk driving, and the UnitedHealthcare shooting are some of the topics that make an appearance on this album. Agree or disagree, It's nice to see a group of guys making music about what they believe in. Emphasis on believe. I feel like a lot of politically charged music these days is made for brownie points from one side of the political spectrum or the other and a lot of it doesn’t represent what the artist really believes in. I can tell that these guys really stand for what they're writing about in these songs and that's something I can appreciate. Some of the songs are angry rants and critiques of certain topics, some are hopeful and powerful, almost like Hatebreed. Hardcore is rooted in rebellion and this album does a great job of getting their point across about some of the injustices going on in our world.
The final track ‘Deny Defend Depose’ is the perfect track to cap off the album. It serves as an epic 3-and-a-half-minute finale of killer riffs, brutal vocals, funky fills, and pure unbridled rage. It embodies everything I love about hardcore into one song. It doesn't get much better than this, definitely a must listen for all hardcore fans.
No Sympathy is just a flat out great hardcore album created by a bunch of talented people. While listening to it I can feel the passion pouring into me through the music. I haven't had the chance to see them play live yet but I hope that changes soon. Seeing the members play in their other bands, I have zero doubts that an xPERSISTx show would be anything other than phenomenal. For the meantime though I'll definitely be keeping them in my regular music rotation. I can’t wait to see what more these guys have to offer through both their older music and future releases. Good stuff.
No Sympathy By xPERSISTx
