It has been two years since Obey The Brave entered the scene, on a mission to smash shit up without, in their own words, “trying to reinvent the wheel”. They certainly nailed that, producing a debut album that didn’t capture the imagination, but wreaked havoc nonetheless. To make it in this day and age, you’re either something different, or you’re just damn good at doing what everyone else is doing. Obey The Brave certainly fit the latter bill, but that’s why they’re allowed back again to dish out seconds with Salvation.
Track for track, Salvation is almost identical to its predecessor, Young Blood. Opener ‘Short Fuse’ slams down the marker in under 2 minutes, as did ‘Lifestyle’ on their debut, and ‘Raise Your Voice’ is very similar in style to ‘It Starts Today’. Alex Erian’s threats are continually backed-up by scorching breakdowns, as you’d expect, but the gang vocal-induced melody is something new to make note of.
The whole record barely takes a breather from start to finish, blasting through cuts like ‘Into The Storm’ and ‘North Strong’ with such an arrogant, bullish attitude that you almost forget to question the lack of innovation throughout. Each assault comes thick and fast, and even the lighter, punk-infused ‘Back In The Day’ still packs a hefty punch. It’s all relatively basic stuff, but it’s all done superbly well.
Obey The Brave know what they want to do, know what they want to achieve, and they’ve stuck to it on Salvation. This level of self-awareness, set out on Young Blood and continued on album number two is as admirable as any hopeful striving to unearth another winning formula. The Canadian’s have added to the collection, not started a new one, and there’s certainly nothing wrong with that approach.
