• Yob “The Unreal Live” 2LP
Metal Blade Records
2021 Pressing! Silver Blue "Corona" Vinyl - ltd. 500 copies
YOB aren't an escape. They're metaphysical doom. Sure, you should be scared of evil. It can tailor-make your destruction in a heartbeat. But struggling with your faith, mind, and reason for being placed on this Earth are slower and much more frightening. Which isn't to say they're waiting around for your muscles to atrophy between snare hits (Khanate) or the bass drone to give your bowels a break (Boris). You could do the reference game with them all day, name checking Sleep, Burning Witch, Neurosis, and High on Fire-- even Electric Wizard, Ufomammut, Isis, Melvins, and Black Sabbath wouldn't be out of line. But YOB's The Unreal Never Lived-- four songs-in-50 minutes-- still stands out on its own as epic downtrodden metal with what sounds like seasoned potsmokers throwing in their High Times for some new age religious tracts.