I've always really wanted to love Yob. Ever since I became a doom freak upon hearing Sunn 0)))'s "White" records for the first time I thought that Buddhism (a philosophy that I am a horrible practitioner of) and the plodding slabs of heaviness roaring out of so many sunn amps went together like bread and butter. Listen to the Gyuto Monks of Tibet (or better yet, the Monks of the Drepung Loseling Monastery) and listen to a top of the line doom album and you will find much in common. They both share a singularity of focus through repition meant to bring about the eventual cessation of the listener's ego as it dissolves into the sound field of the recording. Southern Lord described it best while promoting a Sunn 0))) live aktion in 2009: "It will be a return to...primal origins, an approach respecting a zen concept of shoshin." So when I discovered some years back that Yob drew a whole lot of influence from eastern philosophy I was ready to find a new favorite band. Unfortunately I was somewhat underwhelmed by what I heard from them. I liked it, but I wasn't blown away.A couple of years ago, when I had all but forgotten about the band, I started hearing rumblings again about Yob and their superb 2009 release "The Great Cessation." I eventually gave them another chance and was floored by what I heard. Yob may have had some growing pains, but they have emerged as one of the tightest, heaviest and most effective bands in metal today. "Atma" is their absolute masterpiece that deserves to sit near the top of every "Best Of" list of 2011. Whether it is the razor-sharp riffage of the titular track or the progressive pummeling of "Adrift In The Ocean" the band are at the height of their power, sounding like a far more adventurous and disciplined Sleep.
"Adrift In The Ocean"
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