Come with me, if you dare, into the uncharted sonic depths of the dense, murky musical ocean that is Yob. With every new release, Yob grows increasingly dynamic, layered and interesting to delve into. The Unreal Never Lived finds the band at it, dare I say it, most melodic to date. Not that they’re in any danger of being mistaken for Journey or anything, as there is still the bottomless mass of low end tonnage the band is known for. But I do find bits of this album throwing dim shafts of melodic light from its plodding, hulking mass.”Quantum Mystic” is an instant doom metal classic! A strong, grooving tempo, plenty of slow staccato dynamics and a guitar sound like a gurgling tar pit get this album started off on the right, freakishly large, foot. “The Mental Tyrant,” a 21-minute gargantuan track, is like something the size of, say, The Great Wall Of China slowly oozing forward, unknowingly and uncaringly crushing everything in its path.; a monstrously heavy track that builds, epically climaxes and slithers back down again and the absolute highlight of the album.

Vocally, we’re pummeled with everything from unearthly death growls, to piercing shrieks, to somewhat decipherable enunciations all coming at you at any given time. The guitars are insanely heavy and possess a very wide, warm tone. The drums are, to coin an overused metal review cliche, truly like cannons exploding amidst the dirge. The bass? Forget about it – there are no words.

This album will sedate you, crush you and ultimately swallow your flattened, bloodied corpse all at once! Fans of Sleep, Neurosis, Electric Wizard and of course the almighty Black Sabbath drop whatever it is you’re doing right now and go get this album – and don’t say I didn’t warn you.

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