Thou - Magus (2018) [Hi-Res]

Born out of the swampy humidity of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, stoner/sludge metal band Thou are as massive as they are prolific. Formed in 2005 by guitarists Andy Gibbs and Matthew Thudium, bassist Mitch Wells, and drummer Josh Nee, the band'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. Following the arrival of vocalist Bryan Funcke 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. The next couple years would be relatively quiet for the band, with a pair of EPs, 2009's Through the Empires of the Eternal Void and 2010's Baton Rouge/You Have Much to Answer For, and a full-length, the more experimental Summit, which arrived in 2010. 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. That same year, Thou released a collaborative EP made with like-minded Providence Rhode Island doom duo the Body titled Released from Love, which was released in 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. ~ Gregory Heaney