How do you describe an album that starts with an explosion, ends with Gregorian chants, and has nothing but genius in between the two? That�s the only problem I have with The Unreal Never Lived, the fourth album from Portland, Oregon�s YOB. It�s left me speechless. While the basic DNA of YOB stays the same � epic, dense riffs, otherworldly vocals that can soar to Geddy Lee-like heights and then plummet to a death metal growl, a thunderous rhythm section � what they�ve grown into has become more detailed and impressive. What�s different about The Unreal Never Lived, as compared to their prior releases, is an increase in dynamics and melody. All of these songs are filled with peaks and valleys, as opposed to a constant, full-on distortion assault, and that makes them that much more memorable and involving. You don�t listen to YOB � you live it.

This is the heaviest most amazing doom album I've heard yet. Amazing fucking production, and a complex, rich, mostrously huge atmosphere, both sage and good and somberly sinister.

MASSIVE, EPIC, and CRUSHING.

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