YOB — Elaborations of Carbon (review)

YOB — Elaborations of Carbon album cover

Album · 2002 · Stoner Metal

4/5 · 2019-07-18
siLLy puPPy

The chiefly British slang term YOB refers to a rowdy, aggressive or even violent young man but in the musical world of metal it refers to the Eugene, Oregon based band that was founded in 1996 by vocalist / guitarist and band leader Mike Scheidt who would undergo a few lineup changes over the two decade plus career that is still going strong. Crafting a sound that fits perfectly with the bad boy moniker, YOB has been instrumental in creating a unique fusion of the triumvirate of traditional doom, stoner and sludge metal with the extra elements of psychedelic space rock and occasional progressive elements.

After a short eponymous EP released in 2000, the band signed to 12th Records in Spokane, WA and recorded and released this debut ELABORATIONS OF CARBON which finds the trio of Mike Scheidt (vocals, guitar), Lowell Iles (bass) and Gabe Morley (drums) cranking out a stomping slo-mo stampede of metal fury that delivers an abundance of slow plodding doom ridden guitar riffs with all the peachy fuzzies of an entire orchard decked out with an interesting decorative display of creativity in action. The album contains only six tracks that stretch out just over the 70 minute mark with the monstrously long “Revolution” sneaking over the 17 minute mark and the insomnia inducing “Asleep In Samsara” which is just shy of 17. This is a band in no hurry as the members nonchalantly exhibit their miscreancy in high decibalage.

Through this parade of darkened thick doom riffs that plod along in a detuned defiance, YOB creates the ultimate paradox of hypnotic repetition and head banging uproar and includes Black Sabbath darkened doom, Neurosis infused slamming sludge and Sleep inspired stoner steadfastness. Scheidt’s vocals almost sound like a higher version of Ozzy Osbourne’s nasal articulations as well as some of the riffs imitating the great Tony Iommi’s. Between riffing rampages however there are often slower less distorted segments that exhibit an atmosphere setting sometimes with vocals spoken or sung and sometimes just an instrumental interlude with clean echoey guitars to cleanse the palette of the grimy build up of the incessant chug-fest. Sometimes it just gets truly weird in a psychedelic haze.

While YOB is much better known for its more sophisticated albums to come, ELABORATIONS OF CARBON is nevertheless a decent beginning and although it lacks the production value of the Abstract Sounds years, it more than makes up for it in the DIY rawness of a primeval metal band getting its feet muddy in the mucky murky sludge and at this point YOB already had a firm grasp on its evolution and doesn’t sound like the legions of stoner rock / metal bands that exploded onto the scene in the 90s and beyond. YOB is certainly not a technical type of band but rather provides a viscous soundscape as to get lost in even if it at times its brutality is as heavy as hell especially heard on outrageous bombastic tracks such as “Pain of I” which sounds like an early Neurosis having a hissy fit. All in all, an awesome debut that points the band in the right direction!