, demands the tandem attention of mind, body, and soul. The path to ascend is clearly an arduous one, fraught with the peril of mediocrity.
pummels that path however, climbing upward into a realm that sets the band in a heavy metal place that has been and will always remain wholly their own. Recorded at Gung Ho Studio in Eugene alongside longtime collaborator/iconic sound-sage Billy Barnett, and mastered by Brad Boatright (Sleep, Beastmilk, Nails) at Audiosiege Engineering,
In an advance investigation of the record, Last Rites dubs
YOB, “one of the heaviest bands currently walking the third rock from the sun, even if they sometimes sound as if they are transporting their sounds from deep space.” Stereogum concurs, “
YOB are the best doom band in the world today, and
Clearing The Path To Ascend is the best doom album you’ll hear this year. It is, quite possibly, the best metal album you’ll hear this year, maybe the best album of the year, period.” Elsewhere the sentiment echoes. Sludgelord notes, “Heavy, discordant, startling and genuinely touching, this album is a true-blue metal odyssey that rewards every listener who dares to take the journey with them. Headphones on. Eyes closed. Experience
YOB.” Noisey gushes, “In the worlds
YOB make, the music's solidity pulls against its subject's uncertainty. The slow drips of percussion and roars of guitar feel geologically real, while the lyrics and samples hidden in the songs hint that ‘real’ is only a feeling,” while MetalStorm adds, “
YOB have a unique way of creating music that's entirely sheltered in acute directness and yet still manages to deliver undiscovered subtleties on repeated listens. I love their startling ability to sink to new depths of desensitizing heaviness with song designs that are more or less uncomplicated but still can appease the layman's metal music listener.”
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In celebration of its imminent release, now just one week away,
Pitchfork is offering up Clearing The Path To Ascend in its bone-crushing,
soul-cradling entirety via their Advance Series at THIS LOCATION.
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In conjunction with the release,
YOB will spread their purifying riff rituals overseas this Fall on an epic binge of performances slated to commence on September 3rd, 2014 in Utrecht, the Netherlands. The band will be joined by Little Rock’s Pallbearer. See confirmed ceremonies below.
UK/European Tour w/ Pallbearer
9/06/2014 Audio- Glasgow, UK
9/11/2014 Vera - Groningen, NL
9/13/2014 Truckstop Alaska – Gothenburg, SE
9/17/2014 Slakthuset – Stockholm, SE
9/19/2014 Connewitz – Leipzig, DE
9/21/2014 Bi Nuu – Berlin, DE
9/23/2014 Klub 007 – Prague, CZ
9/25/2014 PMK – Innsbruck, AT
09/27/2014 Lo-fi Club - Milan, IT
9/29/2014 Le Romandie – Lausanne, CH
9/30/2014 Jubez - Karlsruhe, DE
10/01/2014 Black Ship - Montpellier, FR
10/02/2014 Razzmatazz3 – Barcelona, ES
10/04/2014 Amplifest – Porto, PT
10/05/2014 ES ESonora – Erandio, ES
10/06/2014 Le Dynamo- Toulouse, FR
10/07/2014 Le Ferrailleur - Nantes, FR
10/08/2014 Glazart - Paris, FR
10/10/2014 Kyttaro Club – Athens, GR
YOB will release
Clearing The Path To Ascend on CD and digitally in North America via Neurot Recordings on September 2nd, and on vinyl via
Relapse Records on September 15th.
Clearing The Path To Ascend preorder bundles are currently available. For CD orders point your browser
HERE. For special T-shirt bundles go
HERE.
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