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   ||  Artist......: Yob                                                ||
   ||  Album.......: The Illusion of Motion                             ||
   ||  Year........: 2004                                               ||
   ||                                                                   ||
   ||  Genre.......: Metal                                              ||
   ||  Label.......: Metal Blade Records                                ||
   ||                                                                   ||
   ||  Source......: WEB (16bit)                                        ||
   ||  Encoder.....: libFLAC                                            ||
   ||  Bitrate.....: 893 kbps avg.                                      ||
   ||  F.Rate......: 44.1kHz                                            ||
   ||                                                                   ||
   ||  Playtime....: 00:56:27 / 375.27MB                                ||
   ||  R.Date......: 2024-09-07                                         ||
   ||  S.Date......: 2004-10-19                                         ||
   ||  Website.....: http://deezer.com/album/12861704                   ||
   ||                                                                   ||
   ||                                                                   ||
   ||  01. Ball of Molten Lead                                11:09     ||
   ||  02. Exorcism of the Host                               12:57     ||
   ||  03. Doom #2                                             6:11     ||
   ||  04. The Illusion of Motion                             26:10     ||
   ||                                                                   ||
   ||                                                                   ||
   ||  YOB's career was short, but amazing. Their impact, though now    ||
   ||  not considerable, in a few years this band will be emulated and  ||
   ||  adored by a plethora of bands to come. They're the Stoner        ||
   ||  version of SunnO))), and "The Illusion of Motion" is their best  ||
   ||  work of the entire catalogue.                                    ||
   ||                                                                   ||
   ||  First of all, I'd just like to preface the actual review by      ||
   ||  saying YOB, Hyatari and Boris are the bands that got me into     ||
   ||  Doom and Stoner Metal. YOB, however, are the main reason,        ||
   ||  solely because of their ethic. Whereas most bands resort to      ||
   ||  droning out a section to ridiculous, and oftentimes ludicrously  ||
   ||  boring lengths, YOB have put all that to rest. The songwriting   ||
   ||  structure of this particular band isn't progressive at all,      ||
   ||  it's just that the passages include so much that in order to     ||
   ||  have a complete repetition, it takes more than ten or twenty     ||
   ||  minutes. YOB's strength is that the songwriting is absolutely    ||
   ||  phenominal, as are the elements that contribute to their         ||
   ||  personality.                                                     ||
   ||                                                                   ||
   ||  Almost immediately, people will tell you that the easiest way    ||
   ||  to distinguish YOB is by the sound of frontman Mike Sheidt's     ||
   ||  voice, which although charastically completely non-Metal, is     ||
   ||  perfect for this album. The nasal, often vo-coded shrill cry of  ||
   ||  his standard clean vocals perfectly contrasts against his        ||
   ||  hard-as-steel growl-scream halfbreed, giving YOB a conservative  ||
   ||  appeal that recalls Black Sabbath in places, and Sleep in        ||
   ||  others.                                                          ||
   ||                                                                   ||
   ||  Another thing setting YOB apart from their contemporaries-and    ||
   ||  especially on this release-is their skill when it comes to       ||
   ||  songwriting savvy. Although YOB's effect arsenal doesn't extend  ||
   ||  beyond a flanger and a wah pedal, the feelings they manage to    ||
   ||  evoke and the completely crushing sound produced creates a very  ||
   ||  distinct and dense heaviness that's hard to come about           ||
   ||  nowadays. Opener "Ball of Molten Lead" trudges along with a      ||
   ||  devouring groove that manages to insert melody after off-kilter  ||
   ||  and psychadelic melody, making it without a doubt the most       ||
   ||  memorable song on the album. "Exorcism of the Host", however,    ||
   ||  breaks the norm for a bit and relies upon a massively heavy and  ||
   ||  destructive riff throughout the initial few minutes of the       ||
   ||  song, along with some hellish growling. As the vocoded           ||
   ||  water-effect vocals make a second appearance, the music begins   ||
   ||  to layer and evolve into something more than just a              ||
   ||  steam-rolling riff.                                              ||
   ||                                                                   ||
   ||  "Doom #2," however, surprised me by adhering to a more liberal   ||
   ||  Stoner ethic, rather than Doom. The tempo is mid-paced to fast,  ||
   ||  though never breaking Thrash boundaries. The vocal work here is  ||
   ||  again nearly perfect, and the riffs sound like a dense wall,     ||
   ||  never breaking momentum or their key sound. "The Illusion of     ||
   ||  Motion" is the beating heart of this album, though, and it's a   ||
   ||  title-track for a good reason. Implicating elements from all     ||
   ||  the earlier songs, it manages to create an incredibly dense and  ||
   ||  psychadelic wall, utilizing some fairly intense sustain and      ||
   ||  crunch, while managing to balance tempo and relate it directly   ||
   ||  to whether or not it's heavy or just plain boring. The           ||
   ||  vocalwork is at it's best on this track, showing Sheidt          ||
   ||  replicating another famous Mike-Mike Patton. Things end on a     ||
   ||  note similar to "Doom #2" with an almost up-beat freak-out of    ||
   ||  effects that sound like a bad acid trip during a thunder storm.  ||
   ||                                                                   ||
   ||  YOB secured their place in the history of Metal with this        ||
   ||  release, and I'm sure when Age is upon us, our asses will be     ||
   ||  kicked again. Amazing album.                                     ||
   ||                                                                   ||
   ||                                                                   ||
   ||                                                                   ||
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