YOB – The Great Cessation

YOB broke up in 2006, having left behind four albums of tectonic doom. When they reformed, I was fucking excited. Now I’ve listened to the product and it strikes me the way that Pelican’s City of Echoes hit me. This is YOB, no doubt. Their sound is the same, and I don’t think this is a bad thing. After all, when a band breaks up and then gets back together, you want to know that they’re going to pick back up right where they left off. But there’s something missing. Is it just the fact that former bassist Isamu Sato is gone? I don’t think so; guitarist/vocalist Mike Scheidt was always the mastermind behind YOB, at least from what I’ve been able to gather. I can’t pick up exactly what it is, but the songs just fall flat in some way. I’m ready to give them all kinds of leeway ’cause after all, YOB is YOB is fucking YOB, but I can’t get into this. Not bad, but not the kind of excellence I was expecting.

Check it: Burning the Altar
Buy it: Amazon
Check them: Myspace / Profound Lore Records