Yob…Atma Review

For a band putting out doom metal today, history must weigh down like a planetary body. Black Sabbath, Pentagram, Electric Wizard, Sleep, the list of utterly legendary doom metal bands goes on and on. No genre truly evokes the power of the riff like doom does. Think to the first time you ever blasted Iron Man or Dopethrone, those weed smoke hazed days gone by leave an indelible impression on us that usually turns us into a lifelong doom metal fan. With their latest release, Yob have managed to solidify their spot in the American doom metal canon, entering the pantheon of greats that still continue to pummel us into submission with their apocalyptic riffing. Atma is merely five tracks, but weighing in at over fifty five minutes of music, this is a record that demands you sit back, and ready yourself for a meditation on the power of metal. Like their brothers Om, Yob revel in the mystic. Riffs lead us into a state of trance, pummeling us into mindful submission with their monstrous presence. The very album name here is derived from the Buddhist concept of self, the Atma.

With that mind, we plunge headfirst into the opener, “Prepare the Ground”. Opening with a simple, yet driving riff, this track twists and turns before Mike Scheidt’s otherworldly vocals kick in. Mythical lyrics focusing on the expansion of the mind, the exploration of the self set the tone here. Scheidt’s voice sounds fantastic on this album, right up front and confident, his near falsetto providing a vivid contrast to the raw, sludged out driving guitar. The titular “Atma” is next opening with a peaceful field recording of what could be a running river, church bells and frogs singing a chorus of noise as the rest of the band slowly fades in. With a gnarly, raw riff, matched with Scheidt’s vocals, the specter of Neurosis is clearly invoked here. The raw sound here comes to the forefront midway through when a galloping, reverbed out plodding guitar trades off with the rest of the band, slowly building to the appearance of a spoken word segment explaining the concept of Atma to the listener. This raw spirituality is an awesome break, pulling the listener into the philosophy behind this record, while giving them a breather before the mind shattering “Before we Dreamed of Two”, featuring vocals from none other than Neurosis’ Scott Kelly. Opening with an eastern, psychedelic solo layered over the buried samples from “Atma”, this track takes its time building to greatness. A massive, Sleep-esque riff drops in, pulling us along as the track entropically breaks down into guttural howls and feedback. Seven minutes in though and we’re not even there. With an oceanic ambience a plaintive guitar line slowly builds towards something. We don’t know what yet, but there’s a leviathan under the surface here. Before long though Kelly’s soulful voice drops in; a doom metal high point that will be hard to match. Kelly’s ominous lyrics blend with the oceanic guitar, readying us for the drop that comes in at just over ten minutes. Now the heavy guitar returns, a tremendous riff perfectly framing the vocal interplay between Kelly and Scheidt. Kelly takes us out over a wall of distortion, guiding us to the next track “Upon the Sight of the Other Shore”.

It certainly would be nearly impossible to top a song like “Before we Dreamed of Two”, and the next track suffers slightly for it. “Upon the Sight of the Other Shore” is the shortest track on this record, a straightforward song much in the vein of “Prepare the Ground”. With a very traditional solo two minutes in after a plodding riff, there’s something about this track that shows Yob hearkening back to their older works, perhaps all playing into this concept of Atma, the exploration of the self. As it fades out in a flurry of cymbals and howls we’ve reached the last step in our journey, “Adrift in the Ocean”. Clocking in at thirteen minutes, “Adrift in the Ocean” opens up with a mindful, almost country western psychedelic guitar line that meanders through the sunburned desert of the mind for a full three minutes before the drums kick in, building to an absolutely monolithic riff which begins at 4:20 (coincidence?) Vocals don’t even kick in until nearly halfway through, as the song picks up in pace a bit, and charges forward until nine minutes and thirty second in, where everything drops out while the drums pound out a tribal, fervent beat with hushed vocals before an utterly triumphant guitar line kicks in. This is just one of this albums many jaw droppers, but the sense of confidence, the sense of mastery here is utterly inspiring. Closing out on the heaviest, sludgiest riff on the record, Yob have placed the perfect capstone to this work with “Adrift in the Ocean”.

Yob have crafted a meditative doom metal masterwork here. There’s a confidence to the sound that comes with a true sense of knowing; and as the album title seems to hint at, Yob have figured it out. Don’t miss this one.  Atma is out August 16th on Profound Lore.

You can stream the entirety of the album from NPR here.