Thou – Heathen

<a href=”http://thou.bandcamp.com/album/heathen” data-mce-href=”http://thou.bandcamp.com/album/heathen”>Heathen by Thou</a>

“Donny, you’re out of your element.” I generally don’t delve into Metal and its multitude of sub-genres that often, but I gave Thou’s Heathen a cursory listen only to finish the whole 75 minute album. Something about that bed of overdriven guitars is enticing: the molten riffage of “Into the Marshlands” and the washes of distortion on “Free Will’s” first five minutes are monumental. The album is perfectly paced with “Dawn” and “Clarity” brightening the tracklisting only to make the next guitar assault that much more intense. “At the Foot of Mt. Drisskill” dips into post rock guitar heroism, ascending the height of the song’s namesake, before vocalist Bryan Funck returns to earth screaming “we are humbled beneath the shadow of true greatness.” There is a balance here – between the human world and the natural world, between beautiful reverberant electric and acoustic instrumentation and the crushing wall of distortion that follows. Thou is patient, and Heathen is a more rewarding listen because of it. 

The album is currently “pay what you want” on Thou’s bandcamp page.