| YOB | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Background information | ||
| Origin | Eugene, Oregon, USA | |
| Genres | Doom Metal, Sludge Metal, Progressive Metal | |
| Years active | 1996-2006 2008 - Present | |
| Labels | 12th Records, Abstract Sounds, Metal Blade, Profound Lore, Neurot Recordings, Relapse Records | |
| Associated acts | Middian, H.C. Minds, Lumbar, Vhol, Geistus, Hail, Living Gate, Norska, Felled, Thrombus, Deiphagist, Web The Free Range Human, Shadow of The Torturer, Rye Wolves, Hay Fever, Lightweight and Pamuela, Monkee Torture, The ILLusionists | |
| Website | Yob is Love | |
| Current members | Mike Scheidt Aaron Rieseberg Travis Foster | |
| Past members | Lowell Iles Isamu Sato Greg Ocon Gabe Morley | |
| Band Logo | ||
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Yob (often synonymously written as YOB) are an American doom metal band from Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1996, Yob would quickly catch ground in the American doom metal scene for their distinctive blend of heavy doom, interloping elements of post-metal, sludge and progressive rock, all the while complimented by guitarist Mike Scheidt's distinctive vocals, often compared to the likes of Geddy Lee.[1]
Yob's original run would begin in 1996, releasing four albums in a four-year span before disbanding in 2006. Following the short-lived project Middian,[2] Yob would reunite with a new lineup in 2008, leading up to the band's fifth album The Great Cessation. The newly reformed Yob would release three more albums on various labels in the years to follow, gaining significant critical acclaim.[3]
To date Yob have released eight studio albums alongside an eponymous demo and four live albums, all the while earning a reputation as a marquee performing band at festivals such as Emissions from the Monolith, Stoner Hands of Doom and Roadburn Festival.
History[]
Original Run (1996 - 2006)[]
Before founding YOB, Scheidt had been a bass guitarist with the hardcore bands Chemikill, Dirty Sanchez, and H.C. Minds. Scheidt switched to guitar and vocals and founded YOB in 1996 with bassist Lowell Iles and drummer Greg Ocon. Scheidt wanted to write doom metal inspired by the likes of Cathedral and Sleep, citing the former as taking the genre and turning it on it's heel.[4] The band's self-titled demo was submitted to released and featured Stonerrock.com in 1999. In 2001, YOB recorded its first full-length record for 12th Records in Spokane, Washington. Elaborations of Carbon would see release on 13 May 2002 to positive reviews.[5]By this time, Isamu Sato (of the bands H.C. Minds and Thrombus) had joined on bass and drummer Gabe Morley (of the bands Fingertrap and Lightweight) had joined on drums. Yob would also play small tours by this point, sharing the stage with the likes of High on Fire, Bongzilla, Witch Mountain, Orange Goblin, Alabama Thunderpussy, Witch Mountain, Electric Wizard, Sons of Otis and Unearthly Trance among other bands.[6]
Recording a second studio album the next February and following a headlining appearance at the 2003 edition of Stoner Hands of Doom, YOB would sign with Abstract Sounds to release Catharsis on 14 October 2003 to further positive reviews.[7][8][9] Yob would tour the West Coast to support the album that year and then follow with further dates in 2004 surrounding an appearance at Emissions from the Monolith.[10]
Right before the tour Yob would record a third studio album at Dogwood Studios with new drummer Travis Foster. Parting ways with Abstract Sounds the same month,[11] YOB would sign with Metal Blade Records that August to release The Illusion of Motion on 19 October 2004.[12] Notably at the time it would feature the band's shortest song at the time in "Doom #2" (Clocking in at six minutes) followed by the band's longest song in the title track spanning over twenty-six minutes. The Illusion of Motion would gain positive reception,[13][14][15] with Exclaim! citing the band's growing momentum leading them to become "the most talked-about doom band since Sleep".[16]
YOB would notably perform a gig with a returning Witch Mountain in early 2005 before beginning work on a new album.[17][18] The Unreal Never Lived would see release on 23 August 2005 to further critical acclaim.[19][20][21][22]
However roughly five months after the album's release Mike Schiedt would reveal both Foster and Sato left the band in July before the album's release and announced that Yob would be broken up on 12 January 2006.[23] YOB would form Middian later that year,[24] releasing Age Eternal with touring behind it. Middian would rename themselves as Age Eternal following a lawsuit and Metal Blade dropping them with the project dissolving not long after.[25][26]
Reformation, The Great Cessation and Atma (2008 - 2012)[]
In 2008 Yob would reform with the lineup of Scheidt, Foster and bassist Aaron Reiseberg, announcing that the band had signed with Profound Lore Records with intents of a fifth album in the works.[27] On 28 February 2009 Yob would host their return gig at The Ash Street Saloon in Portland, Oregon with Iommi Stubbs and Brothers of The Sonic Cloth, followed by recording their fifth album that March with Sanford Parker. In an official statement for Blabbermouth, Mike Schiedt would speak of the reformation and how the fifth album would be shaping at the time:
| “ | "The newest material is such a trip, I don't know how exactly to describe it. We have one song that is maybe the most brutal thing I have written ala 'Grasping Air/Exorcism Of The Host'. But more brutal, and painful. We have another new tune that is very melodic in a weird way, almost poppy, but driving almost like some of the material from that 'other band'. With strangeness that is hard to convey. The final 'epic' song (that is 16 minutes so far and definitely NOT done) is like a mix of the song 'Catharsis' and 'The Unreal Never Lived...' big clean guitar intro, big slow melodic riffs, patient big builds that explode... it's going to be huge. It's also going to be an immense challenge to keep this album in the 60-minute mark. Five songs total. Lots of clean singing. Still lots of screams and death roars too." | ” |
— Mike Scheidt, Blabbermouth[28]
|
The band's first album in four years and featuring a twenty-minute title track,[29] The Great Cessation would see release on 14 July 2009 to critical acclaim.[30][31][32][33] The Obelisk would name The Great Cessation "Album of the Year".[34] Following appearances at marquee showcases such as Planet Caravan[35] and Fall Into Darkness[36] among an appearance at Scion RockFest in 2010, Yob would perform in Europe for the first time surrounding two marquee performances at Roadburn Festival.[37][38][39]
After being forced to cancel a tour of Europe in 2011,[40] Yob would begin work on a sixth album, recording with Jeff Olsen at Dogwood Studios.[41] Featuring guest contributions from Olsen, Dustin Rieseberg and Scott Kelly,[42] Atma would see release on 16 August 2011 to further critical acclaim from the likes of Pitchfork (8.3/10),[43] Metal Injection (8.5/10),[44] Metal Observer (9.5/10)[45] and The Obelisk,[46] the latter being chosen as their album of the year.[47]
Yob would extensively tour North America and Europe to support Atma through 2011. Following a string of Winter shows in 2012 with Tool, Yob would return to Roadburn Festival to perform The Unreal Never Lived (13 April)[48] and Catharsis (15 April) in full.[49] Followed by further touring through North America alongside Corrosion of Conformity and sporadic touring in 2013 (Including a string of New Years Eve shows alongside Neurosis) work would begin on a seventh studio album.
Clearing The Path to Ascend (2014 - 2016)[]
Along with announcing a return to Roadburn Festival circa April 2014, it would be announced on 13 February 2014 that Yob had signed with Neurot Recordings for their seventh studio album.[50] Working with producer/engineer Billy Barnett and mastering handled by Brad Boatright, Clearing the Path to Ascend would see release on 4 September 2014.[51] Clearing the Path to Ascend would garner significant critical acclaim in light of it's release.[52][53] Along with attaining an 85/100 score on review hub Metacritic,[54] Clearing the Path to Ascend would be named "metal album of the year" by Rolling Stone[55] (And #50 overall on their "Top 50 Best Albums of 2014 list)[56] and The Obelisk,[57][58] the latter citing album closer "Marrow" as the song of the decade.[59]
Prior to the album's release Yob would perform a string of shows with Tool and return to Roadburn Festival, performing The Great Cessation in it's entirety on 12 April[60] and premiering songs from the new album among other songs on 13 April.[61] Following the release of the album, Yob would tour Europe with Pallbearer (Including an appearance at Desertfest Belgium)[62]. In 2015 Yob would tour through North America alongside Enslaved and Ecstatic Vision followed by appearing at Maryland Deathfest. The band would follow with their first known tour of Australia.[63] Finally in 2016 Yob would perform at Psycho Las Vegas and tour with Black Cobra.[64]
Our Raw Heart (2017 - Present)[]
In 2016 Mike Scheidt would be diagnosed with diverticulitis, an infection or inflammation of pouches that can form in the intestines. Having suffered a major attack in 2016, Scheidt would suffer another major bout of diverticulitis in January 2017, also causing a MRSA staph infection and nearly dying as he went into emergency surgery, having ten inches of large intestine removed and rerouted.[65] A crowdfunding campaign would be hosted to help with his medical bills[66] and several tour dates would be canceled or rescheduled.[67]
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Mike Scheidt would speak at length of his near-death experience and how it inspired the writing process for the eighth Yob album:
| “ | “I had had one major attack before the really big one, so when this one was coming on in January 2017, I knew what it was. I had weathered smaller attacks with diet and rest, so when this started, I just tried to approach it in a similar way. … About halfway through the visit to the grocery store, I had [a] wave of attacks, and it almost put me on the ground. Everything became this mortal sense of urgency. I was at the hospital within an hour. Within another hour, I had deteriorated to the point that the pain just kicked me out of myself. I lost everything. I have done a lot of psychedelics in my life, and this experience was something entirely different, though no less psychedelic. It was just far, far out. I forgot everything. I wasn’t a person or a name or a father or a bandmate. I wasn’t in a room. I wasn’t sick. Everything was gone. It was seas of color and things that are impossible to describe. That was my reality. My pain was totally gone.
They had put an IV in me, and I was writhing all over the table. They started me on doses of antibiotics and gave me Dilaudid, and that brought me back into my body. My pain went from zero to 10. My sigmoid colon had ruptured, and a whole bunch of air bubbles had been traveling throughout my midsection. They kept me on antibiotics with no food or water. The surgeon, who has done a lot of emergency surgeries to deal with diverticulitis, told me what I was up against. If I could wait a couple weeks, he said, I could have a less invasive surgery that would give me a much better chance of having something like a normal life. But if the antibiotics didn’t work and the infection got worse, they would have less intestine to work with, which would mean a permanent colostomy – or dying. They were going to discharge me and have me schedule the less invasive surgery. They gave me some soup to make sure I could eat. When the soup hit where the perforation was, I went into shock and had a seizure. My body temperature went up to 105 degrees in two minutes. They put me into surgery. I was told the surgery was going to take three hours, and it took about three times that long. I was pretty messed up. The antibiotics were killing the infection, but there was so much infection that it was very difficult to clean up. There was damage to some of my organs. They decided to play Yob in the surgery room. Maybe they were worried about me and wanted to keep me there. They thought that might help. [On recovery and writing music afterwards] I had no idea, really, if the band was going to be able to continue – or how it would continue. If I had a permanent colostomy, for example, that would be the end of touring. Not to mention having no idea how my body would spring back from what they had to do to me to get me to live. I had an ileostomy bag, and I was on Dilaudid and pretty heavy antibiotics. I was cut up. I had a long list of things to do and not to do, with some potentially really bad things that could happen if I didn’t do it right. I contracted MRSA in the hospital. I also had shingles, and the MRSA had attached to the shingles, because my immune system was so down. But I also felt manic to write music, so I played as much guitar as I could. About six weeks after my first surgery, I was cleared to be able to pick certain things up, but they couldn’t be over 10 pounds. Brent Monson of Monson Guitars sent me a seven-pound guitar, so I was able to situate it in my bedroom with a little amp and my pedalboard. The most important thing was that I didn’t forget my ideas. The part about the writing that was different than any other album was there was no guarantee that I was going to live long enough to record the album – or maybe even long enough for my bandmates to hear it. I approached each writing session as an arrival. The excitement and joy and inspiration that I felt had to be good enough right then and there; it couldn’t be goal-oriented. I was able to sit down and really play and enjoy myself – not that I hadn’t before, but it was new, different. I was different. I’ve always written from a place that has one foot in mysticism and another foot in where I’m at in my actual life – struggle, the groundlessness and insecurity of life, trying to make some kind of sense of what is being experienced. That that was no less the case in writing Our Raw Heart, but I felt a sense of joy and of being more at home in that groundlessness. I was writing about how my heart and mind get hung up on certain attachments – the ways I would like to see my life go, the way I would like to see the world go, the stress and anxiety that comes from watching the world eat itself, how my own self can do the very same thing. Any number of the things I had struggled with mentally, emotionally, my fears for the world, for my children: If I died on that table, that would have been the end of that struggle for me. I’m trying to then have a step back or beyond, so I have a little bit more zoomed-out perspective. It’s cliché to say your perspective on life changes after a near-death experience, but it’s a cliché for a reason. It really shined a light upon things I need to work on, things about me that aren’t so good – past wounds that either need to be healed or let go. I haven’t always lived a life I’m proud of, so the only thing I have control over is here and now and what kind of choices I make. I wrote from that place.” |
” |
— Mike Scheidt, Rolling Stone[68]
|
Recovering in late 2017 and recording from the end of that year into the next, Yob would release their eighth album Our Raw Heart on 8 June 2018 via Relapse Records. Along with charting on several Billboard charts,[69] Our Raw Heart would attain universal critical acclaim and praise from numerous critics such as Pitchfork (8/10),[70] Metal Injection (9/10),[71] Louder Sound (4.5/5)[72] and many others.[73] Our Raw Heart would also be awarded album of the year accolades by both Consequence of Sound[74] and Decibel Magazine.[75]
Yob would tour North America and Europe through 2018 to support Our Raw Heart, following through the next year touring with Voivod and Amenra through North America and then with Neurosis through Europe. In light of tour cancellations in 2020 due to The CO-VID19 Pandemic, Yob would release a live album entitled Pickathon 2019 - Live from the Galaxy Barn on 3 July 2020.
Discography[]
Studio Albums[]
- Elaborations of Carbon (2002, 12th Records)
- Catharsis (2003, Abstract Sounds)
- The Illusion of Motion (2004, Metal Blade)
- The Unreal Never Lived (2005, Metal Blade)
- The Great Cessation (2009, Profound Lore)
- Atma (2011, Profound Lore)
- Clearing the Path to Ascend (2014, Neurot)
- Our Raw Heart (2018, Relapse)
Demos[]
- YOB (2000, Self-Released; 2009, Raven's Eye)
Live Albums[]
- Live At Roadburn 2010 (2011, Roadburn Records)
- Yob Live (2012, Scion A/V)
- The Unreal Never Lived - Live At Roadburn 2012 (2014, Roadburn Records)
- Pickathon 2019 - Live from the Galaxy Barn (2020, Self-Released)
Members[]
Current Members[]
- Mike Scheidt – Guitar, Vocals (1996 - 2006, 2009 - Present)
- Aaron Rieseberg - Bass (2009 – Present)
- Dave French - Drums (2023 - Present)
Former Members[]
- Lowell Iles – Bass (1996 - 2002)
- Greg Ocon – Drums (1996 - 1999)
- Gabe Morley – Drums (1999 - 2002)
- Isamu Sato – Bass (2003 - 2006)
- Travis Foster – Drums (2003 – 2006, 2009 - 2023)
- Rob Shaffer - Live Drums (2011)
List of Known Tours[]
- 2002 Mini-Tours (2002)[76]
- Catharsis West Coast Tour (2003)[77]
- The Illusion of Motion North American Tour (2004)[78]
- The Unreal Never Lived North American Tour (Select Dates with Graves at Sea, The Hidden Hand, Dove) (2005)[79]
- Spring 2010 European Tour (2010)[80]
- Atma Spring European Tour (With Dark Castle; Rescheduled) (2011)[81][82]
- Atma North American Tour (With Dark Castle) (2011)[83]
- Atma European Tour (With Dark Castle, Kongh) (2011)[84][85]
- November 2011 Mini-Tour (With Kyuss Lives!, Black Cobra) (2011)[86]
- Winter 2012 North American Tour (With Tool) (2012)[87][88]
- Spring 2012 Mini-Tours (2012)[89]
- September 2012 North American Tour (With Norska; Select dates with Cormorant) (2012)[90]
- November 2012 North American Tour (Select dates with Corrosion of Conformity, Saviours) (2012)[91]
- February 2013 Mini-Tour (2013)[92]
- December 2013 New Years Eve Shows (With Neurosis, BL'AST!) (2013)[93]
- March 2014 North American Mini-Tour (With Tool) (2014)[94]
- Clearing The Path To Ascend European Tour (With Pallbearer) (2014)[95]
- In Times North American Tour (With Enslaved, Ecstatic Vision) (2015)[96]
- Spring 2015 North American Tour (With Witch Mountain) (2015)[97]
- Clearing The Path To Ascend Australian Tour (2015)[98]
- Fall 2015 North American Tour (With Black Cobra) (2015)[99]
- 2016 European Tour (With Black Cobra) (2016)[100]
- Fall 2016 North American Shows (With Neurosis; Select dates with Sumac, Kowloon Walled City) (2016)[101]
- 2017 Mini-Tours (2017)[102]
- Our Raw Heart North American Tour (With Bell Witch) (2018)[103]
- Our Raw Heart European Tour (With Wiegedood) (2018)[104]
- Spring 2019 North American Tour (With Voivod, Amenra) (2019)[105][106]
- Summer 2019 European Tour (With Neurosis; Select dates with Godflesh, Kowloon Walled City) (2019)[107][108]
- Spring 2020 North American Tour (Canceled) (2020)[109]
- Summer 2020 European Tour (Canceled) (2020)[110]
External Links[]
Official Links[]
Archival Links[]
References[]
- ↑ Pitchfork
- ↑ AllMusic
- ↑ Yob Is Love
- ↑ Pop Matters
- ↑ Lollipop Magazine
- ↑ Yob Rock via Wayback Machine
- ↑ Sea of Tranquility
- ↑ Cosmic Lava
- ↑ Punk News
- ↑ Blabbermouth
- ↑ Blabbermouth
- ↑ Blabbermouth
- ↑ Metal Temple
- ↑ Metal Rules
- ↑ Teeth of the Divine
- ↑ Exclaim!
- ↑ Yob Rock
- ↑ The Obelisk
- ↑ Pitchfork
- ↑ Blabbermouth
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Sea of Tranquility
- ↑ Blabbermouth
- ↑ Blabbermouth
- ↑ Blabbermouth
- ↑ Blabbermouth
- ↑ Blabbermouth
- ↑ BlabbermouthYob Announces Reunion Gig, accessed ?? December 2020
- ↑ Blabbermouth
- ↑ Blabbermouth
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Pitchfork
- ↑ Teeth of The Divine
- ↑ The Obelisk
- ↑ Last.fm
- ↑ Last.fm
- ↑ Last.fm
- ↑ Setlist.fm
- ↑ Setlist.fm
- ↑ Blabbermouth
- ↑ Blabbermouth
- ↑ Blabbrmouth
- ↑ Pitchfork
- ↑ Metal Injection
- ↑ Metal Observer
- ↑ The Obelisk
- ↑ The Obelisk
- ↑ Setlist.fm
- ↑ Setlist.fm
- ↑ Blabbermouth
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Blabbermouth
- ↑ Pitchfork
- ↑ Metacritic
- ↑ Rolling Stone
- ↑ Rolling Stone
- ↑ The Obelisk
- ↑ The Obelisk
- ↑ The Obelisk
- ↑ Setlist.fm
- ↑ Setlist.fm
- ↑ Last.fm
- ↑ Last.fm
- ↑ Last.fm
- ↑ Rolling Stone
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Rolling StoneHarrowing Illness Almost Killed Doom Metal Titans Yob – But Gave Their Work New Life, accessed ?? December 2020
- ↑ Billboard
- ↑ Pitchfork
- ↑ Metal Injection
- ↑ Louder Sound
- ↑ Metacritic
- ↑ Consequence of Sound
- ↑ Decibel Magazine
- ↑ Yob Rock via Wayback Machine
- ↑ Stonerrock.com via Wayback Machine
- ↑ Blabbermouth
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Last.fm
- ↑ Blabbermouth
- ↑ Blabbermouth
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Last.fm
- ↑ Last.fm
- ↑ Last.fm
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Last.fm
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Last.fm
- ↑ Last.fm
- ↑ Last.fm
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Last.fm
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Last.fm
- ↑ Last.fm
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Blabbermouth
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Last.fm
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Lambgoat
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