Yob

The city that sits at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers has a climate very similar to the Australian east coast, and is responsible for indie rock royalty in The Dandy Warhols, seminal chillwave act Washed Out and of course the hit comedy series Portlandia. But it’s not all about the alternative – Portland is also home to some of the most treacherous exponents of metal; in particular, doom metal band Yob, who celebrate their 20th anniversary this year.

Vocalist and guitarist Mike Scheidt understands the perception that Yob have left an indelible imprint on the doom metal scene in his hometown, but he is hesitant to bask in it.

“We have a lot of friends and do a lot of shows with them in Portland, and over the years we have all grown as bands together. When I was younger, Portland was really important to me, and one of those life-changing moments for me was getting to see one of my all-time favourite bands, Wipers.”

Yob were not actually formed in Portland, but in Eugene, a medium-sized city in the middle of Oregon. Scheidt still struggles to describe his band’s influence on its eventual home, Portland. “I have had an affinity for that town since I was pre-teen, and you fast-forward to now and I’m not sure exactly what Yob’s impact has been, but I am certainly glad that we are a part of that scene.”

Unlike many genre-shy artists, Scheidt has never hidden from doom metal as a term to describe the Yob sound. “Doom happens at a much slower pace than regular metal, so there has to be a lot of vibe and feel at that pace, in order for it to feel magic, for it to actually feel heavy – because down-tuning and loud amplifiers doesn’t necessarily make it heavy. It really still comes down to band’s players, and I think that is as true today about doom metal as it was when I first started in the scene back then.”

Scheidt clearly retains a sense of admiration for what inspired the doom scene around him. “Albums that I keep returning to over and over again are Black Sabbath, Master Of Reality; Led Zeppelin I, II, III; Elton John, Greatest Hits; King Crimson; Cathedral; Crippled Lucifer [by Burning Witch]; first four Iron Maiden records; pretty much all the [Judas] Priest records, especially Defenders Of The Faith…” He continues for another two minutes.

In line with many of the legendary metal bands Scheidt mentions, Yob’s own discography is prolific, having amounted to eight albums spanning 2002’s Elaborations Of Carbon to 2014’s Clearing The Path To Ascend.

“I think Elaborations hinted at where we were going to end up, but it did have a lot more of what I would call ‘traditional’ elements to it, meaning you can hear influences like Electric Wizard, Sleep, Sabbath of course, and even Operator Generator and Orange Goblin. But I was also listening to a lot of death and black metal back then and hardcore punk, so I think you can hear all of those influences on that record.

“You fast-forward to Clearing The Path To Ascend and some of those elements are still there, but it is a lot more our sound now. But I think Elaborations did have a spirit of adventure to it – I mean, it wasn’t pure pentagram doom shit.”