Yob played 2 Saint Vitus shows (pics & setlists of night 1 with Tombs and King Destroy)

photos by Greg Cristman, words by Rob Sperry-Fromm

Yob / Tombs
YOB
Tombs

Whatever they played, I'm sure I'd have been into it, but having watched them play full-album sets previously for The Great Cessation, 2005's The Unreal Never Lived and 2003's Catharsis, I'm glad to be able to put Clearing the Path to Ascend in that category as well. The four songs, "In Our Blood," the drum-led tempest "Nothing to Win" -- which Foster made look easy, in defiance of both logic and physics -- "Unmask the Spectre" and "Marrow" itself, were a worthy focal point, and the flow of the material was no less palpable live than it is listening to the album. Being faster and more aggressive, "Nothing to Win" got a particularly fervent response (myself included), but I don't think I was the only one appreciating what it meant to be watching "Marrow" and seeing YOB's most progressive moment to date come to life right there on the stage. To call it powerful would be understatement. [The Obelisk]

Oregon doom titans Yob, who released the stellar Clearing the Path to Ascend earlier this year (which has been landing on quite a few year end lists), just played a two-night stand in NYC at Saint Vitus over the weekend (12/12-13). The first night was with local crushers Tombs and Kings Destroy, and the second night was with Occultation and Ecstatic Vision. We caught the first night, and pictures of that one are in this post.

Yob live is a sight to behold. The band brings more musical dexterity to the table than your average doom band, and they're able to move effortlessly between the often-contrasting sections of their epic, generally 10+ minute songs. They played Clearing the Path to Ascend, which is probably their most tonally varied record to date, in full. Meanwhile this was a well-curated bill, with the genre-melding fury of Tombs, who are always worth catching live, and who's Savage Gold is also among the best heavy releases of the year, and the groovy sludge of Kings Destroy providing uncompromising compliments to Yob.

Check out more pictures, along with setlists, below...

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Kings Destroy