YOB "Our Raw Heart" (2018)

Its burly, dense and a meaty affair, another lengthy adventure, a Doom Metal crawler that is not quite to my taste but clearly epic in design. Our Raw Heart follows up on the Oregon bands seventh record, Clearing The Path To Ascend, of which the song Marrow remains a timeless classic among some less favorable cuts. That song is the main reason I checked out this record, in the hopes they would deliver something else as special. Unfortunately little of the record sparks any magic for me, however I hold it with a higher regard as objectively interesting music within the lands of Doom which rarely manages drags me all the way in.

Much of the music is focused around the dynamic duality of the bands long serving front man Mike Scheidt, his emotive vocals and sludgy, brooding riffs play off one another as the elasticated and temporal sway of his guitars crash on the shores. Its like a wave and he is surfing it with ranged singing from clean to grizzly and always earthly, rooted and authentically raw. The tempo held down by the drums crashing around him, compliments the musics direction and in its slowest moments they feel like the bare essentials to hold the sluggish lunging guitars into place as Mike rises over the top of his scenic waves with a meaningful energy.

The texture of the distortions are thick, muddy, crusty, a slab of almost tune deaf noise with a rich detail, unfortunately they don't evoke much beyond an interest as the pace and direction of the songs rarely seem to escape themselves with exception to Beauty In Falling Leaves. It has a bleak yet serine build up and sense of scale that unfolds. On the other end of the spectrum The Screen deploys a dirty, gritty, greasy chugging riff into the fold with not an inch of color about it. Its the albums most boring piece as the riff grinds on monotonously, its breaks and variations offering no counteraction to the ugly and repetitious chug.

Bar the one song I don't think its fair to be critical in anyway of music that you just can't connect with. Ive given it a fair try but in the future I probably wont give them more than one spin in the hopes of them having another song that captures my imagination just like Marrow did. It could be mood, or timing that made it hard to find a connection. In the Doom Metal scene this record will likely be praised but it just wasn't my cup of tea.

Rating: 4/10

YOB "Clearing The Path To Ascend" (2014)

I was sent the song "Marrow" by a friend, I was thrilled by this lengthy, brooding, melodic and doom like epic that moves at a snails pace, dragging the listener through 19 minutes of heavy, sludging colorful bliss. I was excited, and got hold of this record immediately, but much to my disappointment the rest of the record, despite following similar principles, was a lot more doom and less melodic for what made Marrow shine. Although not strictly my cup of tea, this record was a decent listen that demonstrated some fantastic musicianship through unique suspense and progression. YOB are a Doom Metal group from Oregon USA, who are receiving a lot of praise for this album which has topped several Metal album of the year lists.

Whats most characteristic of their music is the slow drawn out riffage that utilizes the space between each bellowing strum, creating a monstrous stride that parades to its own cause. These riffs pound and bludgeon there way through sections that last several minutes and are spiced up by off kilt repeats and suspenseful returns. Between the guitar bludgeoning come quieter moments that are quite brittle and abrupt, with the growing mood often building to a moment that simply drops of into a lull. In the climatic moments the band stick to their riffs and accommodate the building atmosphere with additional guitar leads and demonic guttural vocals.

The record is crisp, indulgent, the textural guitar tones and foreshadowing drums mold a dynamic, expressive sound that compliments the musicianship. The clean guitars have a dreary melancholy about them, retaining a colorful melody yet expressing a cold and sorrowful tone that gives Marrow an emotional and moving climax. Its a great sound that works so well with the songs, yet for everything great about this record, for me personally the meandering nature of these songs can fail to hold my attention at times and despite being a terrific record, its one that doesn't quite hit the niche with me.

Favorite Track: Marrow

Rating: 6/10