YOB

YOB is a US doom metal trio from Eugene, Oregon, active from 1996 to the present. The group is built around vocalist and guitarist Mike Scheidt, who forms the central creative force behind the band.

Formation and early line-up

Scheidt starts YOB in 1996 after earlier playing drums in hardcore bands Chemakill and Dirty Sanchez and bass in H.C. Minds. The first version of YOB includes Scheidt with bassist Lowell Iles and drummer Greg Ocon. The band’s line-up changes several times in its early years, and by the time it records its first full-length album it includes Scheidt, bassist Isamu Sato and drummer Gabe Morley. Other members associated with the group across its history include Travis Foster, Aaron Rieseberg and Dave French.

Style and influences

YOB’s music is rooted in doom metal but also spans funeral doom metal, post-metal, sludge metal, stoner metal and stoner rock. The band’s sound draws on the heavy, slow-moving approaches associated with acts such as Sleep, Burning Witch, Neurosis, High On Fire and Electric Wizard, while developing a distinct style of its own.

Recordings and releases

The group submits a three-song self-titled demo to Stonerrock.com in 1999, which helps bring it wider attention in the stoner rock and doom scenes. In 2001 YOB records its first album, Elaborations of Carbon, for 12th Records in Spokane, Washington. The release receives strong reviews and establishes the band more firmly in the doom metal circuit.

In 2002 YOB signs to Lunasound/Abstract Sounds, and its next album, Catharsis, appears in 2003. The record is noted for its longer song lengths and stronger production. The band then releases The Illusion of Motion on Metal Blade Records, a label that gives it a wider audience. The album includes “Exorcism of the Host”.

In 2005 YOB releases The Unreal Never Lived, which continues its dense, riff-driven approach while also using more dynamic and expansive structures. Tracks such as “Grasping Air” and “Kosmos” show the band’s interest in both crushing heaviness and gradual progression.

Breakup and return

YOB disbands in 2006 after almost ten years together. Scheidt later works on a new project called AGE, and the follow-up band Middian appears after YOB’s split, releasing one album, Age Eternal, before ending. YOB reforms in 2008 and later releases The Great Cessation in 2009.