This is a site where, if I don’t like it, chances are it ain’t getting reviewed. Mostly because I don’t have the time to waste on stuff that doesn’t interest me and, quite frankly, writing about stuff that I don’t like is a whole lot of negative energy that I don’t need to dispel into the world.
Which brings us to now and stuff I like.
Look, I know shit about Yob. I know the name. I know that front man Mike Scheidt hangs out with Tad Doyle in Lumbar occasionally and I also know that he popped up on a track by one of my all-time favorite metal acts earlier this year (On “No Escape”, off Muerte by Will Haven). They’re also one of those bands that, like Baroness and Pallbearer, has earned the respect of their peers as well as fans. One of those band’s band type deals if you will. Our Raw Heart, their eighth studio album, is my first time hearing Yob. And it’s fucking the BEST!
Scheidt holds nothing back on an album that’s equally emotive and ear shattering which “Ablaze” proves from the start of the lumbering behemoth that is Our Raw Heart. Oh, and it goes on for ten plus minutes! With hints of Chris Cornell mixed with the soulful croon of John Garcia to create this truly unique voice, Scheidt overwhelms the senses with his vocal approach as well as with his heavy riffage. There’s a resounding hum reverberating throughout as well when Travis Foster’s drums sashay in and out with unbridled intensity and Aaron Rieseberg’s bass rumble unite.
“The Screen”, meanwhile, bucks that trend building off a solitary riff with Scheidt’s unyielding voice switching from a serene croon one moment and a monstrous yowl the next. “In Reverie” screeches and wails with this perfect cadence from Foster, a solid rhythmic hum thanks in part to Rieseberg, and this inherent groove throughout. Then “Lungs Reach” comes in and, for me, is like “Black Sabbath” in reverse. Built on a Sabbathian-sized mountain of riffs led by Geezer’s bass rather than Iommi’s shreds or maybe the track is more akin to Type O Negative’s rendition of that classic except when Scheidt enters the picture vocally with this visceral growl/scream then “Lungs Reach” turns into a different beast altogether.
“Original Face” is the only one on here that picks up the tempo (And that’s not a knock) with Scheidt’s chameleonic voice adopting this pained rasp that fuels the track before segueing into the title track which is a fourteen+ minute mammoth that is soulful, shimmering, and sludgey and goes out wrapped in this indescribable wall of sound.
Our Raw Heart is out through Relapse Records on June 8th. I fucking love it. You will too. For all of your pre-order needs/options, click here. Yob will also be touring their arses off with a stop at Cambridge’s Middle East on June 30th. For dates and more, head here.