Never Obey Again – Trust
Release Date: 18th October 2024
Label: Scarlet Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Modern Metal, Alternative Metal.
FFO: Evanescence, Halestorm, Linkin Park, Spiritbox, I Prevail, In This Moment.
Review By: Mark Waight
If you love alternative modern metal served up with a very hearty chunk of attitude as the gutsy main course, alongside huge side servings of passion and power, then Trust, the brand-new album from Never Obey Again, should be a must-have addition to your winter warmer playlist menu over the coming months. Washed down with a large glass of Arcadian claret, Never Obey Again’s much heavier sophomore album, Trust, is the superb follow-up to last year’s debut The End Of An Era and should not only leave you suitably sustained, but immensely satisfied, too.
Never Obey Again is Carolina Bertelengi (vocals), Alessandro Tuvo (guitar), Alex Pedrotti (guitar), Cristiano Trappoli (bass) and Marco Binda (drums).
Opening soirée Animal By Choice is a perfectly honed blend of modern metal and aggressive vocals that hits the sweet spot straight from the off. Following closely behind, G.O.D. (given or denied) slots in seamlessly with a slightly synthesised tilt enhancing the darker, grittier mood.
The genre busting Never Feel, Never Fear has widespread appeal and a long reaching vibe about it that will almost certainly attract people from outside the metal fraternity to check out Never Obey Again and maybe even some other bands in this cool niche for the first time.
Give Me A F*****g Break is a frequently used and renowned phrase coined by many of us in times of great stress and strife. In this case, though, it’s a banging metal tune combining super heavy riffs and aggressive angst infused vocals to great effect.
Slightly slower and a little gentler on the ears Under My Skin, Before Your Eyes is a beautifully composed song where Carolina Bertelengi’s crystal clear vocals are really allowed to shine out. They more than come into their own with aid from a razor sharp guitar solo and a smooth as chocolate piano passage, making the perfect accompanying condiments.
The deeply atmospheric and futuristic sounding Lost… generates a brief interlude as well as serving as an introduction to the hard hitting and bang on point follow-up track Control. This song ticks just about every box on how the perfect modern metal song should sound and will really resonate with the audience.
That same theme then continues with I Wish, where we are treated to another master class in musical craft before the aim of the game is then to Conquer And Divide with a quick injection of dynamic pace and some to die for screaming vocals that linger long on the ears.
The aptly named and immersive Waterfall flows nicely back and forth between stifled and raw emotion as we are taken on an absolute roller coaster of a journey before arriving at our final-destination and the title track Trust. This emotive, atmospheric and gothic sounding tune rounds proceedings off sweetly with grace and poise to a fitting conclusion.
Never Obey Again have indeed excelled themselves this time out, with Trust marking a slight change in direction and a noticeable step forward for them from last year’s debut album. The much harder edge to Trust cuts a little deeper and is certainly more in-vogue with current popular metal culture, so it will undoubtedly attract more followers to the Never Obey Again fold. Very Highly Recommended, check it out!
(4.5 / 5)
