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55,337 posts since 7/17/2002
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Posted on 6/27/2009 at 10:56:46 AM
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YOB - The Great CessationReview by John Pegoraro (StonerRock.com) Profound Lore Records Release date: July 14, 2009 Playing in a band isn't supposed to be pretty or fair, but what happened to Middian was about as dogshit awful as it gets. Mike Scheidt's post-YOB project had every indication of surpassing YOB's already awe-inspiring output (and this, mind you, I base on “Dreamless Eye” alone), and then some do-nothing, go-nowhere band from – well, who the fuck cares, really? - hits them with a cease and desist order due to a trademarked name. If you can barely break even on tour, how are you going to pay for legal fees? The short answer is “You can't,” so Middian hung it up. That would have been a completely disastrous turn of events had Scheidt not resurrected YOB. And, judging by the anguished roar that he lets loose at two minutes and 23 seconds into lead track “Burning the Altar,” he also channeled the rage and pent-up aggression of the Middian experience into The Great Cessation. Doom – be it traditional, crust, funeral, psychedelic, or whatever other sub-sub-genre's out there - is meant to be dour and slow, but here it's also furious. The riffs, the vocals, the deliberate, pummeling rhythm (courtesy of YOB alumni Travis Foster on drums and new bassist Aaron Reiseberg) – the song's a clenched fist. It seethes from start to finish, and as a statement of intent for The Great Cessation, you can't get any better. You can, however, find equally strong songs. “The Lie That Is Sin” has more forward momentum – it's on par with “Dreamless Eye” or The Unreal Never Lived's “Quantum Mystic,” tempo-wise – and offers a strong vocal hook. The way Scheidt lets his clean croon plummet to the death growl, following that with some melodic, psychedelic guitar work, makes for multi-dimensional heaviness. That's sort of textbook YOB – they've got a knack for wresting as many dynamics out of their songs as possible – but it's taken to a new level here. The howls at the beginning of “Silence of Heaven” I'm ambivalent about, but otherwise its minimalistic, almost Sunn0)))-like approach serves as a crushing, effective interlude between “The Lie That Is Sin” and “Breathing from the Shallows,” another wall of doom that slices through you with some incendiary playing. As with the YOB efforts in the past, there's one song where they lay it all out on the table and stretch out for 20-plus minutes. Here it's the title track and it's truly an epic. “The Great Cessation” starts off quietly, almost like a lament, then opens up with a beautiful riff that, if you'll forgive one more bit of grandiose writing, reaches up to the heavens from some darkened pit. It's as hopeful as it is hopeless and ends the album on as strong a note as it started. Listen, any band worth its salt can write a song that elicits an emotional response, but few can craft one that's so complex and multifaceted. That's one of the many reasons YOB's so far ahead of the curve not just in the doom genre, but as musicians in general. Middian's death was unfortunate, but if that band had to cease in order for YOB to be reborn, I can't mourn its passing. The Great Cessation is a masterpiece and sets the bar so ridiculously high, it's not even worth comparing other doom albums to it. Highly recommended.
URL: http://www.myspace.com/yobdoom
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I`m never going to work another day in my life
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11,465 posts since 4/10/2001
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Posted on 6/27/2009 at 11:22:41 AM
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The Prgression from each album is amazing. Though I always have a place for Elaborations, this one surpasses the other releases by far.
I didnt share the love for Middian, unfortunately, it was good..just not on a scale as Yob. Glad to see Mike take back what he built and move way forward with it.
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http://subjectiveheaviness.blogspot.com/
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25,023 posts since 5/8/2000
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Posted on 6/27/2009 at 1:18:25 PM
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Holy Sheeeeeiit! Can i reserve a "fat old Geezer headbangin' on the rail" spot now? The new track on their myspace page is Fuckin' CLASS.
YOB MKII cometh.
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digital vinyl = butthurt meh
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11,465 posts since 4/10/2001
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Posted on 6/27/2009 at 3:16:30 PM
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speak for yourself..fat. old geezer
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http://subjectiveheaviness.blogspot.com/
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25,023 posts since 5/8/2000
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Posted on 6/27/2009 at 5:34:16 PM
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We all well know what the "c" in "c.troutman" stands for by now, don't we?
Lighten up.
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digital vinyl = butthurt meh
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60 posts since 2/8/2009
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Posted on 6/27/2009 at 6:33:07 PM
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YOB will always be in a class of their own.
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Drinking Beer, Playing Music, and General Disarray Since Way Back When
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442 posts since 5/30/2002
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Posted on 6/28/2009 at 4:10:57 PM
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By far the most varied YOB album yet.
'Silence of Heaven' is the heaviest and most evil they have ever sounded, it's frightening - i've never thought of Yob that way before. It's even more oppressive than Grasping Air from The Unreal Never Lived.
'Breathing from the Shallows' could almost be a Godflesh track .
'The Burning Altar' is another classic opener we've come to expect from Mike.
'The Lie that is Sin' could already be one of my favourite Yob songs. There is a melodic riff section thrown in half way through that you'd think would sound out of place in a Yob record but it really works!
The whole album is angrier and yet also more emotive - especially the first half of the title track - wow! The Great Cessation is all over the place compared to Yob's back catalogue but it also feels the most complete and the most focused, it's a monster.
The new guitar rig honestly doesn't sound too dissimilar to the Matamp/Orange rig Mike used to wield. These brave new times called for a change. The Marshall setup he now uses is crisper and more scything than the signature low end of the Matamp stable. It sounds more energetic and exciting - I was disappointed after hearing the Matamps got ditched but after hearing this, I just cannot lament their passing. In fact, I might get a couple of Marshalls...
Mike's vocals are a whole lot stronger and varied than on previous releases too. We have the usual split personality croon/roar but he hits further extremes on both sides of his vocal spectrum. 'Silence of Heaven' is doom that will make Greg Anderson cower in fear and he even uses soft, empassioned vocals the at the beginning of the title track.
Mike has definitely channelled and focused the whole Middian experience into one seething juggernaut of colossal DooM. I hope I don't get accused of hyping up The Great Cessation but I think after what they've been through and the obvious effort and soul that goes into every album - it's richly deserved.
All hail the return of YOB! Album of the year anyone?
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You have to be your own policeman...
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14,897 posts since 10/24/2000
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Posted on 6/28/2009 at 4:48:10 PM
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This is indeed an awesome album. I agree that it's varied, it's almost like a culmination of their entire career, with the best parts taken from each album and combined into one colossal beast.
The title track is epic...epic I tell you.
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If you`re hungry, why not try a piece of your friend?
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11 posts since 6/29/2009
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Posted on 6/29/2009 at 8:10:18 AM
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First thing's first.....I am a huge Yob fan. Secondly, I will not praise everything they do just because it's called Yob. I call bullshit on all of these ass kissing reviews. This release is nowhere near as great as The Unreal Never Lived. Even more so if you include the bonus track Essence. Track one is good. Track two is just okay. The "melodic" guitar break in the beginning is boring, and unnessasary. Track 3 goes nowhere and ends with a Jonathan Davis crying session. Track 4 is the standout track that is on par with songs on The Unreal Never Lived. Track 5 starts out good, and then quickly goes downhill. "Epic"? Spare me. The overall production is barely past demo quality. The "Marshall" guitar sound is better? Try again. Middian was never better than Yob until now.
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5,516 posts since 12/9/2004
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Posted on 6/29/2009 at 8:24:46 AM
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i'm not sure that i'd put it over the unreal never lived, but it is definitely good, oh poster-using-an-alias-to-post-the-bullshit-he-tries-to-call-on-others.
this album contains some of the most profoundly ugly yob to date (potentially a good thing), and it's gonna take a few listens for it to really soak in. more later.
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survival of the shittest
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55,337 posts since 7/17/2002
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Posted on 6/29/2009 at 8:42:12 AM
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From my perspective, the additional melody is nothing but a good thing. You want a wall of ugliness, go listen to Buried at Sea. Here, like I said in my ham fisted review, the bits of purty amp everything up – not just those melodic moments, but also when it careens back down into the heavy doom. The third track's my least favorite, and if that was my introduction to the album, I'd wonder what happened to the band, but in the context of the album, I think it works.
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I`m never going to work another day in my life
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11 posts since 6/29/2009
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Posted on 6/29/2009 at 9:40:45 AM
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"poster-using-an-alias" Sorry about that, I didn't realize we are using our real names Mr. Khoomeizhi. Would you like my phone, and social security numbers to help you identify who would dare leave a negative review?
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520 posts since 11/12/2008
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Posted on 6/29/2009 at 9:41:16 AM
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I guess I tend to differ from many YOB fans in that, one, I didn't care for Middian nearly as much as YOB. And two, I'd cite either Catharsis or more likely Elaborations of Carbon as my top pick. It seems many prefer Unreal, although aside from its opener QM I've probably listened to that cd the least out of all four.
Just heard the new one this weekend ... played the opener through a few times. Killer heavy as usual w/this band. Love that brief Eastern flavored break in it. The rest of it I only heard in the context of it playing in the background while I was doing other things, and it sounded good to me, but no drastic departures - thank god - from their usual. It did seem that whenever I noticed a vox it was the grrrr growly one, and I prefer his clean voice, but whatever. I'll be giving this a more comprehensive listen tonight, although initially it's a no-brainer that it kicks serious ass.
Nevermind the obligatory "This Is Their BEST Record EVER!" crap that invariably gets promoted with just about any and every band's latest release, and simply realize that if you liked what YOB did before, you're still gonna like em with this one. If you're looking for groundbreaking new directions, don't look for it in doom, cause that's not what doom's about.
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442 posts since 5/30/2002
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Posted on 6/29/2009 at 11:31:06 AM
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I didn't say it was their "BEST EVER", I said it as fucking good, which it is. And fuck all that "call it great whatever they put out" stuff too, if they'd made a bad album I'd say, but they haven't. My favourite of theirs is Catharsis and I don't think Cessation is quite as good as that.
Can you not enthuse about a great band putting out a brilliant album anymore without some dour toss rag shitting on anything you say? Obviously not.
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You have to be your own policeman...
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520 posts since 11/12/2008
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Posted on 6/29/2009 at 12:02:44 PM
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Sorry, that wasn't directed toward anyone in particular, so don't take it personally.
It's just comical that whenever a band puts out a new record there's always a deluge of "this is their best yet!" type of praise. Who gives a fuck? I don't need it to be 'better than' in order to like it. YOB could keep putting out pretty much the exact same record over and over, and based on their history, it's never going to disappoint me until it breaks from the mold and no longer represents the doom they're known for.
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55,337 posts since 7/17/2002
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Posted on 6/29/2009 at 12:03:24 PM
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Funny, I never really cottoned to Catharsis. Seemed too sprawling for my "rock before metal" tastes. I thought the last two were genius, as was Age Eternal. As for which one's best of all, it depends on what day you ask me. At the moment, this one is, undeniably.
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I`m never going to work another day in my life
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442 posts since 5/30/2002
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Posted on 6/29/2009 at 1:05:48 PM
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DogStarMan: no worries. I just hate it when someone gives an opinion of something then it's shattered to pieces for no reason other than to be spiteful.
I know what you mean though - Mastodon say "this is our best record yet" before the release of every album and I think they've been getting slowly worse since Remission!
Can't say the same about Yob though, I love every album, including Middian.
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You have to be your own policeman...
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14,897 posts since 10/24/2000
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Posted on 6/29/2009 at 1:08:04 PM
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lol obvious troll is obvious.
Catharsis is probably my favourite overall as well, because of the epic sprawlingness of it. The title track on the new one takes over where Catharsis left of, and brings it into new places and times. Epic indeed.
Overall I find this to be their most "complete" album. Whereas I liked the last two, some tracks stood out to me (Quantum Mystic immediately springs to mind), and others didn't do much. This is the first since Catharsis that I've enjoyed the flow of from beginning to end and have really sank my teeth into. And the production on the CD through my stereo sounds fine, hell even great, to these ears, perhaps if you downloaded from some blog at 128 and are playing it through your computer speakers, it's gonna sound like a demo...Sanford did a top notch job once again, great atmosphere and heavy tones on this one.
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If you`re hungry, why not try a piece of your friend?
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520 posts since 11/12/2008
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Posted on 6/29/2009 at 1:29:43 PM
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DOTRS - yeah I know...and it's somewhat understandable when it comes from the band members, as they're stoked over new material, wanting to get it out and see what fans think, etc Still, it gets ridiculous.
Anyone know if this will be released on vinyl immediately - or at all - or if the cd comes first?
Dinger - great Neil Young sig line. I tend to feel that way throughout a substantial amount of my existence
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55,337 posts since 7/17/2002
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Posted on 6/29/2009 at 1:31:49 PM
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I couldn't tell any major drop in production quality when listening to this through my wicked fancy headphones.
Per one of the "Swing from the nuts" threads in Gen Disc, there will be vinyl. Not through Profound Lore, but there will be. Release date for that is TBA.
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I`m never going to work another day in my life
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