Thou

Born in the swampy humidity of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, stoner/sludge metal band Thou are as massive as they are prolific. Thou’s sound blends the shuddering heaviness of doom with the oppressive atmospherics of black metal, giving the band a monolithic sound that feels, at times, inescapable. Thou have maintained a strictly D.I.Y. philosophy, booking their own tours and making their music available with free downloads. Establishing their sound with releases such as 2008′s Peasant, they took more risks on subsequent albums like 2010′s Summit and 2014′s Heathen. They also toured and recorded with kindred spirits the Body, producing Released from Love (2014) and You, Whom I Have Always Hated (2015). The group explored several of their influences on three 2018 EPs, then incorporated them all into their fifth full-length, Magus. Thou have released full-length collaborations with Emma Ruth Rundle (2020′s May Our Chambers Be Full) and Mizmor (2022′s Myopia) and compiled their numerous cover versions on releases like A Primer of Holy Words and the all-Nirvana Blessings of the Highest Order. The hardcore punk-influenced Umbilical arrived in 2024. Thou were formed in 2005 by guitarists Andy Gibbs and Matthew Thudium, bassist Mitch Wells, and drummer Terry Gulino. Following the arrival of vocalist Bryan Funck in 2007, Thou released their first full-length effort, Tyrant. The next year would see the band release a follow-up, Peasant, as well as a string of splits and the EPs Malfeasance Retribution, To Carry a Stone, and The Retaliation of the Immutable Force of Nature. Following a pair of EPs, 2009′s Through the Empires of the Eternal Void and 2010′s Baton Rouge/You Have Much to Answer For, the group’s more experimental third full-length, Summit, arrived in 2010. During the year, drummer Gulino was replaced by Josh Nee. Three EPs, The Archer and the Owle, Big City, and To the Chaos Wizard Youth, followed in 2011. After a slow period that saw the band release only a pair of splits, Thou returned with their fourth full-length album, the epic and heavy Heathen, in 2014. This was the group’s first album to incorporate cleanly sung vocals, as well as acoustic guitars. Shortly after, Thou released Ceremonies of Humiliation, a triple-LP compilation of tracks from their split releases (an expanded double-CD edition followed). That same year, Thou released a collaborative EP made with like-minded doom duo the Body titled Released from Love, which was put out as a limited edition on the Vinyl Rites label. The collaborative effort was repackaged early the next year along with another batch of songs the bands developed together, released by Thrill Jockey as You, Whom I Have Always Hated/Released from Love. Following three years of silence, Thou returned in 2018 with drummer Tyler Coburn replacing Nee, and a bounty of material spread across several different releases. They paid tribute to Nirvana on I Have Become Your Pupil, a split LP with the HIRS Collective. In advance of their fifth full-length, the band released three EPs focusing on a certain style. The House Primordial showcased the group’s noise/drone side, while Inconsolable was a venture into stark, acoustic folk songs, and Rhea Sylvia explored their grunge influences. All of these EPs were later compiled as Ceremonies of Consolidation. Finally, the full-length Magus combined all of these elements. Soon afterward, Thou and Ragana released Let Our Names Be Forgotten, a split EP dedicated to the victims of the 2016 fire at the Oakland, California warehouse Ghost Ship. Ceremonies of Repetition, another compilation of tracks from EPs, also appeared in 2019. Blessings of the Highest Order, a collection of the band’s Nirvana covers, and A Primer of Holy Words, containing covers of other influences like Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains, were both digitally released in 2020. In 2020 Thou teamed up with evocative post-rock artist Emma Ruth Rundle for the doomy post-grunge effort May Our Chambers Be Full. A companion piece to that album was released in January of 2021 in the form of the four-song EP The Helm of Sorrow. In July, the band released Hightower, a digital collection of material previously issued on splits, as well as older songs re-recorded by the current lineup. Thou contributed to the video game soundtrack Norco, which was released in 2022. Additionally, they released Myopia, a collaboration with one-man doom act Mizmor. Howling Mine released They Don’t Love You Like I Love You, an EP of additional covers, and A Primer of Holy Words was physically issued by Sacred Bones the same year. The label gave Blessings of the Highest Order a vinyl release in 2024. Umbilical, the band’s first original full-length in six years, appeared at the end of May, taking inspiration from obscure ’90s hardcore labels like Vermiform and Ebullition. ~ Gregory Heaney & Paul Simpson