Thou is an American

sludge metal Sludge metal (also known as sludge doom or simply sludge) is an Extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that combines elements of doom metal and hardcore punk. The genre generally includes slow tempos, down-tuned guitars and nihilis ...

band formed in

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

, in 2005. The current lineup of the band consists of Bryan Funck (vocals), Andy Gibbs (guitar), Matthew Thudium (guitar and vocals), Mitch Wells (bass), KC Stafford (guitar and vocals), and Tyler Coburn (drums).

History

The band was formed by guitarists Andy Gibbs and Matthew Thudium, bassist Mitch Wells, and drummer Terry Gulino. Thou released their first full-length effort, ''Tyrant'', in 2007 after the arrival of the vocalist Bryan Funck. These were followed by their second studio album ''Peasant'' in 2008 and a string of EPs, including ''Malfeasance – Retribution'' (2008), ''The Retaliation of the Immutable Force of Nature'' (2008), ''Through the Empires of the Eternal Void'' (2009) and ''Baton Rouge/You Have Much to Answer For'' (2010). Their third full-length album, ''Summit'' was released in 2010. The band's fourth studio album, '' Heathen'', released in 2014, was met with critical acclaim. This album marked the first time in the band's career that the band had featured cleanly sung vocals from collaborator Emily McWilliams. The album was named the best

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

album of 2014 by music website ''Pitchfork''. Thou has toured with and collaborated frequently with fellow

band The Body, whom they most recently collaborated with on the album entitled, ''You, Whom I Have Always Hated''. On October 30, 2020, they released a collaboration album called '' May Our Chambers Be Full'' with Emma Ruth Rundle, which originated from a live collaboration between the two for the 2019

Roadburn Festival The Roadburn Festival is an annual music festival held each April in Tilburg, Netherlands. It was founded by Walter Hoeijmakers and Jurgen van den Brand in 1999, who ran a stoner rock blog of the same name. The festival has been held at Tilburg ...

Style and artistry

Thou's style has been labeled as "experimental

doom Doom is another name for damnation. Doom may also refer to: People * Doom (professional wrestling), the tag team of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed * Daniel Doom (1934–2020), Belgian cyclist * Debbie Doom (born 1963), American softball pitche ...

stoner metal Stoner rock, also known as stoner metal or stoner doom, is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of doom metal with psychedelic rock and acid rock. The genre emerged during the early 1990s and was pioneered foremost by Kyuss and Slee ...

and

. On the band's style,

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

critic Gregory Heaney stated that "the band's sound blends the shuddering heaviness of doom with the oppressive atmospherics of

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with tr ...

, giving the band a monolithic sound that feels, at times, inescapable." Thou has taken a '

do it yourself "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, wikt:modification, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals ...

' approach to touring which has become a defining characteristic of the band and its aesthetic. Thou's lyrics often espouse

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

views. Thou also has covered artists from various rock music genres, including

Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN (stylized as NIИ), is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1988. Its members are the singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Trent Reznor and his frequent col ...

' " Terrible Lie" (with The Body) and a full album of

Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...

covers titled ''Blessings of the Highest Order''.

Band members

Current members * Bryan Funck – vocals (2007–present) * Andy Gibbs – guitar (2005–present) * Matthew Thudium – guitar (2005–present) * Mitch Wells – bass (2005–present) * Tyler Coburn – drums (2018–present) * KC Stafford – guitar/bass/vocals (2018–present) Former members * Terry Gulino – drums (2005–2010) * Josh Nee – drums (2010–2018)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums *''Tyrant'' (2007, One Eye Records) *''Peasant'' (2008, Level Plane Records) *''Summit'' (2010, Gilead Media) *'' Heathen'' (2014, Gilead Media) *''

Magus Magi (), or magus (), is the term for priests in Zoroastrianism and earlier Iranian religions. The earliest known use of the word ''magi'' is in the trilingual inscription written by Darius the Great, known as the Behistun Inscription. Old Per ...

'' (2018,

Sacred Bones Sacred Bones Records is an American independent record label founded in 2007 and based in Brooklyn, New York. The label has released recordings from artists including Zola Jesus, David Lynch, John Carpenter, Spellling, Blanck Mass, Crystal Sti ...

) *'' Umbilical'' (2024, Sacred Bones) Collaborative releases * ''Released from Love'' (collaborative EP with The Body) (2014) * ''

You, Whom I Have Always Hated ''You, Whom I Have Always Hated'' is a collaborative album by American sludge metal bands the Body and Thou. Released on January 27, 2015 through Thrill Jockey record label, the album was included on the reissue of bands' first collaborative eff ...

'' (collaborative album with The Body) (2015) * '' May Our Chambers Be Full'' (collaborative album with Emma Ruth Rundle (2020) * ''The Helm of Sorrow'' (collaborative EP with Emma Ruth Rundle (2021) * ''Myopia'' (collaborative album with Mizmor) (2022) Splits * ''Thrive and Decay'' (Split 7" with Black September) (2008) * ''We Pass Like Night... From Land to Land'' (Split-LP with Leech) (2008) * ''Reincarnation Prayer'' (Split 7" with Haarp) (2009) * ''Our Enemy Civilization'' (Split-LP with Salome) (2009) * ''Degradation of Human Life'' (Split-LP with Mohoram Atta) (2009) * ''Dwell in the Darkness of Thought and Drink the Poison of Life'' (Split EP with The City is the Tower) (2010) * ''Tears That Soak a Callous Heart'') (Split EP with Moloch) (2010) * ''A Faire Quarrell'' (Split 7" with Human Intruder) (2010) * ''War Is the Force That Gives Us Meaning: A Two Part Analysis of Personal and Inter-Personal Conflict'' (Split-LP with Cower) (2011) * ''4th of July'' (Split 7" with Kowloon Walled City) (2012) * ''Resurrection Bay'' (Split 7" with

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location or state in the afterlife in which souls are subjected to punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history sometimes depict hells as eternal destinations, such as Christianity and I ...

) (2012) * ''Wingwalker/Prayer to God'' (Split 7" with Great Falls) (2015) * ''Eyehatethou'' (Split EP with Barghest) (2015) * ''I Have Become Your Pupil'' (Split with The HIRS Collective) (2018) * ''Let Our Names Be Forgotten'' (Split EP with Ragana) (2018) Demos * ''Call No Man Happy Until He Is Dead'' (2005) * ''Demo'' (2007) Singles and EPs * ''Malfeasance-Retribution'' (10") (2008) * ''To Carry a Stone'' (7") (2008) * ''The Retaliation of the Immutable Force of Nature'' (EP) (2008) * ''Through the Empires of Eternal Void'' (2009) * ''Baton Rouge, You Have Much to Answer For'' (EP) (2010) * ''Big City'' (2011) * ''To the Chaos Wizard Youth'' (EP) (2011) * ''The Archer & The Owle'' (EP) (2011) * ''The Sacrifice'' (EP) (2014) * ''Only You Deserve Conceit'' (7") (2015) * ''The House Primordial'' (2018) * ''Inconsolable'' (2018) * '' Rhea Sylvia'' (EP) (2018) Compilation albums * ''Oakland'' (2010) * ''Rendon'' (2010) * ''Ceremonies of Humiliation'' (2014) * ''Algiers'' (2014) * ''Blessings of the Highest Order'' (Nirvana covers) (2020, Robotic Empire) * ''A Primer of Holy Words'' (covers) (2020, Robotic Empire) * ''Hightower'' (2021, Robotic Empire) Compilation contributions *"Well Fed Fuck" (originally by

Born Against Born Against was an American hardcore punk band from New York active between 1989 and 1993. Though Born Against received little media exposure while still together, they have since been described as "legendary" by the ''Chicago Reader'' and the ...

; Compilation "Clone – Play Slow, Die Fast, Vol. II" (2009, Blind Date Records) *"Milk It" (originally by

; tribute album '' In Utero, in Tribute, in Entirety'') (2014, Robotic Empire) *"Endless, Nameless"/"Even In His Youth" (originally by

; tribute album ''

Whatever Nevermind ''Whatever Nevermind'' is a tribute album to Nirvana's 1991 second studio album, ''Nevermind'', by various artists. The album was released by Robotic Empire for Record Store Day on April 18, 2015 in vinyl and digital formats. Robotic Empire previo ...

'') (2015, Robotic Empire) *"Eyehatethou" (Adult Swim Singles 2015) (2015, Adult Swim) *"Floyd the Barber" (originally by

; tribute album '' Doused in Mud, Soaked in Bleach'') (2016, Robotic Empire) *"Don't Let It Bring You Down" (originally by

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...

; Compilation "Many Waters: Baton Rouge Flood Relief 2017" (2017, Thrill Jockey) *"Maps" (originally by

Yeah Yeah Yeahs Yeah Yeah Yeahs are an American indie rock band formed in New York City in 2000. The group is composed of vocalist and pianist Karen O (born Karen Lee Orzolek), guitarist and keyboardist Nick Zinner, and drummer Brian Chase. They are compleme ...

); Compilation "Save

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awar ...

: An 00's Covers Compilation" *"

Them Bones "Them Bones" is a song by American rock band Alice in Chains. It was released as the second single from their second studio album, ''Dirt'' (1992). "Them Bones" peaked at No. 24 on ''Billboard''s Mainstream Rock chart and at No. 30 on the Mod ...

" (originally by

Alice In Chains Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AiC) is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1987. Since 2006, the band's lineup has comprised vocalist/guitarists Jerry Cantrell and William DuVall, bassist Mike Inez, and drummer Sean Kinney. Voca ...

); tribute album "Dirt Redux" (2020, Magnetic Eye Records)

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control American sludge metal musical groups American doom metal musical groups American political music groups Heavy metal musical groups from Louisiana Musical groups established in 2005 2005 establishments in Louisiana American experimental musical groups Musical groups from Baton Rouge, Louisiana Level Plane Records artists