04-21-2004, 02:03 AM
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by Chris Barnes
December 13, 2003
 There's no mistaking YOB when you hear 'em - soul-sucking and trance-inducing negative riffing and that... VOICE! YOB made a huge impact on the heavy music scene with 2001's Elaborations of Carbon release and a constant barrage live shows with diverse audiences. The payoff is that the band have been launched into the major leagues, singing with Candlelight Records group and just releasing the acid doom epic Catharsis. Vocalist/guitarist Mike Scheidt shares his thoughts with Hellride Music.
Hellride Music: There are a couple of things that strike me immediately about YOB. The first is the band moniker - how did that come to fruition anyway? It's strange because most band names are comprised of words with commonly attached meanings that humans can relate to... like "Electric Wizard" or "Nuclear Assault"... even "Budgie", even though it's kinda weird to name your band after a bird. YOB is two vowels and a consonant. Help us understand YOB if you will, Mr. Scheidt.
Mike Scheidt: I got the name YOB from a Looney Tunes cartoon called "Rocket Bye Baby". In it, an earth baby and a Martian baby get sent to the opposite planets by mistake. On Mars, they called the earth baby YOB (boy backwards) - and for some reason it stuck with me. I wanted to come up with a name that was easy to remember and wouldn't paint us in a corner. The greatest bands have taken a name and made it synonymous with what they do, like Rush or SLEEP. We have tried to do that with YOB.
Hellride Music: Believe it or not, that actually makes sense to me. The other fascinating thing about YOB is your sound. There's nothing quite like it... rolling waves of slowly executed negative riffing topped with that....VOICE. Compare for us the sound of YOB in it's embryonic state circa 1996 to YOB in 2003. Where has the band gone in terms of overall sound?
Mike: Our first demo (1999) was firmly rooted in the first Electric Wizard meets [Sleep's] Holy Mountain. All of YOB's members are not only bent DOOM metal fanatics, but we are also into extreme metal and hardcore, period. From IMMOLATION to Krisiun, SLEEP to Burning Witch, Ratos De Porao to Poison Idea to Neurosis and Will Haven. The list goes on and on. I think over time we started including all of these different influences as well as the ones we grew up on (Pink Floyd, Rush, Zepplin, Judas Priest, etc).
Hellride Music: Catharsis is quite a work. Three songs comprising 50 minutes of Acid Doom. Tell us about how those three songs came together (it's either incredibly difficult or incredibly easy to put together a song that lasts 20 minutes...I'm not sure which) , and then tell us what you and the rest of the band think about the record now that it's been out for a bit.
Mike: YOB's songwriting process is so smooth for us. Isamu,Travis and I have such a fantastic musical relationship. I write pretty much all of the riffs and do most of the arranging as well...but when we all get together Trav and Mu magically know what to do for their parts, and we know within a practice or two whether a song is going to stick or not. Writing 12+ minute songs is just simply how we write. We do have some shorter tunes (6 1/2 minutes is the shortest) but we do have some new stuff that clocks in at 25 minutes. For me I write riffs and feel out the song until I know it's done. It's certainly not for everyone - but we don't write these tunes for everyone. I like music that challenges me as a listener - my all time favorite music grew on me after repeated listens, sometimes over years. My favorite music also has subtleties that reveal themselves over repeated listens too. An album like Catharsis is our best stab at writing a record with a number of different vibes and ranges of emotion- a record that a listener can grow into.
Hellride Music: How is the vibe of Catharsis compared to that in your previous album, Elaborations of Carbon in your opinion?
Mike: Elaborations has 3 more songs and is a little more immediate. The build ups are quicker, even on the 18+ minute songs on EOC. It's also not as psychedelic to me as Catharsis. I like both records, though I feel on Catharsis our performances as musicians and writers is more developed. And the production on Catharsis is better too. My hope is that either record will suit a mood for someone, whether they want to smoke-out and go on a journey (Catharsis) or bash out some housework (EOC). I do feel that both records have more in common than they don't.
Hellride Music: I've never experienced YOB live. How does live YOB compare to the recorded YOB? Give us your most extreme crowd reactions to your music.
Mike: YOB is a live band. We all come from the hardcore scene as well as the metal scene, and our live performances reflect our punk roots. We move around quite a bit and really go off - we're not standing still. We are super loud and very rehearsed - there is no room for slop with YOB. Of course we make mistakes (and don't care when we do) but in our rehearsal space our focus is to play as tight as we possibly can.
Hellride Music: I guess asking questions about influences is pretty commonplace, and usually I try to stay away from that but I have to know.... what and who influences you three guys in creating the music you do.
Mike: Our influences as expressed in YOB's music comes from all over the HEAVY spectrum. Neurosis, SLEEP ,Electric Wizard, The Obsessed, Burning Witch, Corrupted, IMMOLATION, Pink Floyd, Sabbath, Cirith Ungol, Cathedral, Will Haven(Carpe Diem era), Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, etc.
Hellride Music: Judas Priest...great segueway to my next question. Mike, I have to address your voice. It's somewhere between Rob Halford and a tortured 11 year old. How did you come across that particular timbre? That's definitely a YOB signature.
Mike: I don't know. I wanted to have a voice that would contrast the heaviness in our riffs-something with a classic singer kind of bent, but otherworldly and alien too. Both my high singing and the death roars,whispers and etc. are my stab at that. I approach singing like it's another instrument in the band. I want the vocals to be as challenging of a listen as the music - up front and extreme. I have sang in a number of different bands doing either clean vox or hardcore/metal vox. I have such a blast doing both in YOB.
Hellride Music: You guys are now getting a pretty good push from the folks affiliated with Candlelight/Abstract. That's quite a jump being on a group associated with some major metal acts. What are your thoughts so far?
Mike: Yeah, it's been a trip for sure. The label(Abstract/Candlelight) are good folks, and they really  dig YOB. We are kind of a different band for them, being that there isn't much DOOM metal on those labels. But what's exciting for us is that YOB has played with so many different kinds of bands - and we have always done quite well on death metal bills, or hardcore/crusty shows. They want to reach not only the stoner/DOOM crowd but also get our stuff out to the metalheads and the hardcore scene too. We have always had a kind of effortless crossover with the punk scene in particular, and aside from the DOOM scene it is the crowd we resonate with the most as people. It's nice to work with people who not only are very hooked into the worldwide underground music community but also to be able to work with people who UNDERSTAND us. They are very enthusiastic about what they see as our potential as a band and have taken the time to get us hooked up with good promotion and support. We couldn't ask for more.
Hellride Music: Nice, that's good to hear. Good treatment from a label seems to be rare these days. Can you hip us as to what's next for the band?
Mike: A US tour in May, A NW tour in January with Biblical Proof Of UFOs from LA, hopefully to record in early spring of 2004 (we have over 100 minutes of unrecorded new material) and lots of good times and decibel abuse with our friends!
Hellride Music: Thanks for the interview! I appreciate the time and effort. Any last words for us?
Mike: THANK YOU for the opportunity to do this interview and THANKS to all of the folks who have supported YOB over the years! The DOOM/stoner scene is fucking amazing - the bands and the fans. I have always put DOOM metal on musical pedestal and it is a great privilege to be a part of this incredible community. DOOM!!! From Mike - slave to YOB!!!
 Purchase Catharsis and Elaborations of Carbon at the Hellride Music Superstore
Read the Hellride Music review of Catharsis
Visit the Yob website at www.yobdoom.com
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