We Must Obey
It has been far too long between albums for this band. The California stoner band returns with an angry fuzzed-out guitar tour de force. The drums pound harder and heavier than before, while still mixing classic rock and early eighties punk. It’s less “laid back” than previous discs California Crossing or the passive hard rock drive of King of the Road. We Must Obey is a sonic bomb of sludge metal. Sounding like a punkier version of Black Sabbath, vocalist Scott Hill sears each song sounding like Dave Grohl and Sammy Hagar over-adrenalized.
‘Hung Out to Dry’ has colossal riffs moving in and out like ‘Summertime Blues’ but with more blast, Been hung out to dry/One more time. ‘Shake It Loose’ reverberates like rusted metal banged on a rail and breaks down in a funked up chorus. The guitar is heavy in the left speaker on ‘Land of Giants,’ a slow burning knock to machinery.
‘Moving in Stereo’ is the one track that breaks traditional style, sounding like James Hetfield vocally while covering The Cars 1978 classic. And ‘Sensei vs. Sensei’ opens with slide guitar reminiscent of an old kung fu film. It bounds to life, punching and preaching, Sensei vs Sensei/Tell me who won?
We Must Obey is a musical retort to people being told what to do, an unpretentious blast of anthems and rally cries. It’s a far more aggressive record, pissed off and sheds light on the band’s punk influences.
Musically, it’s an onslaught, primed to burst beams at old clubs. The band strings it out to great effect, heavy like Rollins Band and the softer side of Ozzy. Listening to We Must Obey rekindles the feeling of power a live band is like in a small club or hearing a band play in a rehearsal room. It is in your lap, standing over your shoulder like a brute. It’s California hard rock at its best, energetic, heavy and a dangerous.
- Brian Tucker
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