The journey began back in 1996 when vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Mike Scheidt began composing classic doom metal riffs in the vein of his heroes Sleep, Cathedral, and Black Sabbath. By the turn of the millennium, the band had recorded debut album Elaborations of Carbon, and was rapidly growing from a NW secret, to a highly sought after support act for tour stops by luminaries like High on Fire and Isis.
Yob proved to audiences night after night that it had chops and sonic glory to deliver that exceeded the promise of its albums. Brian Slagel of Metal Blade records took note, and the man who discovered Metallica, Slayer, and Voivod took YOB under his wing. Two fantastic albums were released, 2004’s The Illusion of Motion, and 2005 masterpiece The Unreal Never Lived. By this time, YOB had shed the sound of its early influences, and was in turn creating a new and original doom sound that would in turn inspire others from around the world.
Then YOB went into reclusion as the line-up shifted, and Mike Scheidt took several years to regroup and try his hand at other projects.In 2009, YOB awakened from its slumber, adding bassist Aaron Rieseberg and releasing the surprising and long-awaited The Great Cessation, the reformed band’s debut for Profound Lore Records.
www.myspace.com/yobdoom
www.profoundlorerecords.com
The male / female Florida duo Dark Castle formed in the mid-’00s, first attracting the attention of the doom / sludge metal underground with their 2008 debut album Spirited Migration (At a Loss Recordings). While among the heaviest groups in America, Dark Castle doesn’t achieve this distinction with the elongated, time-stretching tracks of other doom bands—theirs are shorter, denser, more punishing and vitriolic songs that take in a wide variety of influences, from noise, drone, prog and even traditional Eastern music.
Their live shows amaze crowds shocked by how two individuals alone could conjure such colossal, earth-rumbling heaviness. With Surrender to All Life Beyond Form, Dark Castle at last properly captures their live energy on record. The album was produced and recorded by Sanford Parker in Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio studio, and will be recognized not only the band’s most crushing work yet, but as their most experimental and progressive as well.
www.myspace.com/darkcastlemetal
www.profoundlorerecords.com
With soaring leads and thick, depressive bouts of gloom and despair, Kongh plays a particularly misanthropic brand of stoner doom.
Kongh simply know how to make metal sound.
Sometimes they get bluesy just because they can, the have taken one or two stoner-groovy clues from Electric Wizard, occasionally immerse in black metal, while the band never gets so flashy as to sound pretentious, observative listeners can tell these swedes know what they’re doing.
http://kongh.bandcamp.com/
www.kongh.net
Arena Vienna / small hall / adv 12 € doors 15 € / 20.00h
roadtriptoouttaspace.com 
