Review: Thou - Heathen
[Gilead Media; 2014]
Rating: 7.5/10
By Eric Perzanowski
Key Tracks: “Into the Marshlands,” “Immorality Dictates,” “In Defiance of the Sages”
Thou has released a considerably large amount of material in its relatively short existence as a band. Since 2005, it has released nine EPs, two demos, 11 split albums and four full-length albums with Heathen as the band’s latest work. With time and patience, it is an album that pays off.
The material on Heathen is a mix of sludge and doom metal--one could even throw black metal into the mix, considering vocalist Bryan Funck’s rasp, but that’s beside the point--which many will say are two of the heaviest subgenres that metal has to offer.
That is the case with this album as it features a crushingly heavy guitar tone and monstrous riffs. It isn’t a type of heavy that induces furious headbanging or intense moshing; it’s a type of heavy where the listener sits back and lets the music soak in.
It should be said that patience is required if one isn’t familiar with the genre. Out of the 10 tracks on this album, four are longer than 10 minutes (and one more almost reaches that mark), which is fairly common in the realm of sludge and doom metal.
Altogether, the album spans almost 75 minutes. Albums of that particular length have a tendency to drag on and lose the listener’s attention. While this album isn’t entirely without these moments, the band does a good job at making sure they are few and far between.
The first track “Free Will” backs this point up, as it justifies its near 15-minute length almost seamlessly. The momentum continually grows throughout the track and finishes in a satisfying manner.
Oddly enough, some of the best tracks are the shorter ones. “Into the Marshlands,” which is a personal favorite of this reviewer, has a certain ferocity that makes it stand out among the other tracks. In addition, it has some of the album’s best riffs. They give off an atmosphere of being in a marshland in Thou’s homestate of Louisiana.
“Immorality Dictates” also stands out from the rest of the album in a positive way. The first half of this track is acoustic and features clean vocals. But halfway through, the dynamics change, and the raspy voice of Funck and the heavy guitars return to our ears. The structure of this track reminds one of the song “Further South” by Ahab.
While the length of Heathen and the slow pace of its songs may turn some potential listeners off, it is a rewarding listen with patience.
