Obey the Brave
Young Blood
Release Date: Aug 28, 2012
Genre(s): Alternative Metal, Punk Metal, Speed/Thrash Metal
Record label: Epitaph
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Album Review: Young Blood by Obey the Brave
Excellent, Based on 2 Critics
Based on rating 8/10
"Not trying to reinvent the wheel/We keep it simple, we keep it real. " Seconds into "Lifestyle," the punishing opening track on Young Blood, the debut album from Canadian metalcore upstarts Obey the Brave, these lyrics beam out with vitriolic fervor, both setting the tone for the record and relaying Obey the Brave's mission statement. The album's 11 tracks grind by relentlessly, brutal Pantera-influenced metal riffs meeting up with melodic hardcore choruses and plenty of mosh-inducing breakdowns and shouted group vocals supporting singer Alex Erian's (former voicebox for Despised Icon) gruff and growling lead vocals.
Opinion: Mediocre
It's a little strange for a group that are so obviously riding the coattails of their former bands' success to have a song called "Self Made." The group in question are Obey the Brave and their tickets to the top? Well, without the accomplishments of Despised Icon, Blind Witness and (less notably) Darkness Rites, an album like Young Blood wouldn't be coming out on multiple labels (Epitaph, Distort), following a stint on the All Stars Tour. That's not to say Young Blood is bad, but mediocrity shouldn't attract attention so fast. Obey the Brave are "metalcore dudes playing pseudo-hardcore," in the vein of the Ghost Inside.
'Young Blood'
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