Yob
Catharsis
Abstract USA
Wowzers! Yob is the kind of band that puts the hallucinations in bright, vivid colors for the fans of this sludgy, stoned out metal. Catharsis finds Yob plowing and plodding away at 15 to 20 BPM, with the guitars tuned lower than low and wah-wah pedals in tow. Get comfortable for this one, as the ride is long, slow and thick as molasses.
The album’s first track, “Aeons,” is a bit too slow and monotonous for my taste, although it sets the evil tone for the album well. “Ether” is the closest thing to a “rocker” that this album has; it’s a mid tempo stomper of a song, with incredibly thick guitar and overdriven bass. The drummer gets really into this song, as well, as he shows what he’s capable of in terms of real metal drumming (sludge drummers are often forgotten completely, as their playing is sparse). This track reminds me of sludgy hardcore bands, such as Maxmillion and The Melvins.
Now, the most amusing thing about this album is that it contains only three songs, but it’s nearly 50 minutes long! The album’s final track, “Catharsis,” is a 23 minute epic, opening with a triumphant, powerful fanfare of a riff that shot my “rock hand” directly into the air and had me bangin’ my head with deliberate fury! There are some crazy, spaced out effects on the heavily overdriven guitars on this song, which will again, tempt the fans of stoner metal, from coast to coast. What can I say? It’s 50 minutes of some really powerful, sludgy, spaced out metal. This is a pretty darn enjoyable record!
Abstract USA PO Box 707 Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462
