YOB

Catharsis (2003)

Jim

Well, I just got done listening to about fifty minutes of music. That's nothing out of the ordinary for me, but this EP compresses that much music into three songs. No one ever accused stoner/doom metal bands of being short and to the point, but three songs in fifty minutes could be quite daunting. Luckily, YOB makes the most of the time and delivers a quality EP.

I'll be honest with you; before I actually listened to this I was nervous. A quick glance at the track listing showed that the shortest song on here clocked in at around seven minutes and made me wonder just what the hell was I getting myself into. But all doubts were cast aside the second I pressed the play button. After an intro that was innocent enough, YOB lets loose a heavy, distorted monster that pummels the listener until they simply give in. While I played Tokyo to this band's Godzilla I began to notice to subtleties of the music and I really started to become impressed. These songs, although being the very definition of heaviness aren't just heavy for the sake of being heavy. The vocalist has great range, as he can hit low, throaty growls, and high notes as well. It's not easy to pick everything out with all the distortion going on here, so this one takes patience but it's worthwhile in the end. The guitar playing on here ranges from heavy-as-fuck doom metal to spacey, psychedelic sounding riffs. These elements blend to create the atmosphere of these tracks.

Not everyone is going to like this one, but if it sounds interesting to you, I'd recommend picking it up. Just remember, this might not immediately strike a chord with you, but if you give it time, I think you'll enjoy it as much as I did. If you like bands like Neurosis or High On Fire, check this out.