YOB
Special Guests: Cave In + Windchimes
Venue: Spirit Hall, Pittsburgh, PA.
Date: 7th June 2023.
Review & Photos By: Hillary Wisniewski
Windchimes
Windchimes are a Pittsburgh-based band which draws from a variety of styles, including post and death metal. This was my first introduction to them. The band brought a lot of energy to their performance and from a vocal standpoint it was impressive. He was able to bellow out guttural growls and swiftly shift to shrieking screams of agony. As far as the music goes-the band has talent, but it was a bit all over the place for my liking. (3 / 5)
Cave In
Cave In is a personal favourite of mine and was the main motivation for me to attend this show. Really anything Stephen Brodsky does is aces in my book, and I was not disappointed by this show. Most of the tracks were from their latest release, Heavy Pendulum. I was a little bummed not to hear some earlier work, but it didn’t detract from the stellar performance. Brodsky and Adam McGrath (guitar) were absolutely on fire. Nate Newton (bass/vox) was enjoyable to watch; it was like he turned into some sort of low end, snarling beast. Generally, the rhythm section of Newton and drummer JR Conners was tight. Brodsky, as always, was a showman. He is well versed in giving the audience a bit of throw back to flashy guitar heroes of the 80s. The overall energy of the band was amazing, but at times the crowd’s energy was not reciprocal. Usually a Pittsburgh crowd is a good one, but in this case it appeared that many people were there to see YOB and maybe just didn’t feel like worshipping at the altar of Cave In. They are by far one of the best live bands, and you should definitely check them out if you get a chance. (5 / 5)
YOB
YOB is a band that I am familiar with, but I never delved too deeply into their discography. The crowd swelled when YOB hit the stage and was mesmerised; the energy between the band and audience was amazing. This live show has me eager to work through their back catalogue. For 3 dudes, they push some absolutely massive sound. Mike Scheidt (guitar, vox) gave the audience a bit of a heads-up he was dealing with “tour throat”, but it didn’t hold him back by any means. Bouncing back and forth between growls and abrasive higher registered signing, he was definitely a joy to hear. The amount of nasty, sludgy, doomy riffs had me giving some serious stank face. Some bands hold down that low end so well that it jiggles me down to my ovaries; YOB is one of those acts. Props to bassist Aaron Rieseberg and drummer Dave French. In summary-holy shit are they a great live band; just go see them when you get a chance. (5 / 5)