Thou (USA) - Summit (2010)

Tracklist:
1. By Endurance We Conquer
2. Grissecon
3. Prometheus
4. Another World is Inevitable
5. Summit Revisited
6. Voices In the Wilderness
Total playing time 51:08

"I must escape sentimentality; clear away these dusty, maudlin affections; turn my back on the corpse of the past; learn to accept the death of ideals. Everything has changed. Nothing has changed." - the lyrics that end "Prometheus"

Madly prolific, inimitable, apocalyptically hopeful Louisiana sludge. Summit may not be as heavily catchy as Tyrant, but I'd rather focus on how awesome it still is. Coupled with the lyrics, Thou's sludge might sound like ruby red lava creeping down bleak NOLA streets, cleansing the city of cop, dope, and man all-together; crystal clear progressions erupt into waves of distortion, sprout into monolithic trees spreading rich, emerald green branches - life - stubbornly rooted into asphalt, growing all the same. If I imagined a polar opposite to Thou, I'd think of Orgone, Pittsburgh's masters of tech-death - the latter fast, the first one slow - 'cause both bands let their music flow without elitist restrictions, naturally like blood, sweat, spit, cum, piss. How is it that these bands, showcasing remarkable sophistication in composition and lyricism, manage to bring forth such heartfelt, even raw sound? As in literature, approach has made all the difference, but it's still inseparable from the author's person.

Thou know their shit. (Mediafire)

I'm not sure how I heard about Thou in the first place. Probably from my man, Alex, who also posted some Thou - specifically, Through the Empires of Eternal Void and Tyrant - on his blawg.