There must be something profoundly horrible lurking in the swamps of Louisiana. Something monstrous and horrifying that shambles through the sweltering bayous by night doing who knows what by the light of the full moon. It's really the only explanation for the inspiration behind most of Thou's music, and their newest album Heathen is no exception. As a band Thou have made a name for themselves for the absolutely insane amount of material the band releases every year - most of which is eventually released for free download on the band's website - and for their fierce commitment to a DIY ethic. Thou are a band who will never prop themselves up with unnecessary frill and pomp, and in a lot of ways this bare-bones attitude makes its way into the band's musical outings.
Heathen, like its predecessors Summit, Peasant, and Tyrant, is an album based in minimalism - dirty, entrancing, bone-crushingly heavy minimalism. The songs grind at a torturous pace, often caving into looming, cavernous ambient breaks that can last whole minutes. It's a trek through waist-deep southern quicksand, and at over an hour, exhausting accurately describes how to feel upon reaching the end of this record. But unlike previous Thou outings, Heathen has the band both expanding and improving on their previous triumphs.
It's been four years since Summit, and although the band have been far from quiet, Heathen nevertheless manages to be a departure both from Summit and from more recent EPs and splits. Quite frankly, this is an album that came out nowhere sound-wise - with the added time allotment Thou have honed - no, perfected - the droning, oppressive passages that made 'Voices in the Wilderness' or 'The Work Ethic Myth' so entrancing. Heathen's opener 'Free Will' is somber but mysterious, eerie but terrifyingly powerful - like the swamp behemoth Thou must be seeing in their backyard. As it builds, gently coaxing the listener through its twilight-stained textures, Bryan Funck's rasped, blackened shriek shatters the near-serenity.
It bears mentioning that Heathen isn't afraid to turn on the more traditionally sludge elements, but in between the strained crunch of the guitars bizarre melodies somehow find their way out of the oppressive heat. This is where Funck's vocals shine the most - when the rage and undeniable ugliness of his voice fiercely combat the thick-but-sorrowful guitar. And as would be expected, of course, Heathen's lyrics are delightfully philosophical-yet-enraged, with Funck intoning 'So falsely are we led into mired existence, entrapped and sinking in the truest bogs and quicksand of urbanity' on 'Into the Marshland'.
What makes Heathen stand out as, debatably Thou's best outing yet, is the contrast the band set up, with enigmatic acoustic sections such as 'Dawn' and a lengthy passage on 'At the Foot of Mt. Driskill' sounding totally out of place before the crushing heaviness returns. The band's vision with this record was to get away from the urban angst of previous outings, instead highlighting the distance that has grown between man and nature thanks to industry.There's a duality that takes hold as Heathen rambles on slowly - with traditional sludge riffing, such as in 'In Defiance of the Sages', and Funck's harsh vocals acting in direct opposition to the beautiful swells and melodies that lazily seem to collapse under the crushing heat of the Louisiana summer. Lyrically, 'Feral Faun' calls sidewalks and urbanization 'an everlasting shrine to submission and death'. It's clear to see which side of the fence the band are on.
Almost every artistic choice made on Heathen works to its credit. The wistful, almost regretful gaze of the eerie album art, the dichotomy set up effortlessly that defines the album to its end, and the eloquence of the band's lyrical delivery all add up to make Heathen an absolute titan of a record. Is it Thou's best? That's likely to become a matter of debate soon, but what Heathen certainly does do is continue the band's tradition for musical excellence.
This is not an album anyone should miss. To say Heathen will be this year's Sunbather wouldn't be too outlandish of a claim.
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