Thou - Summit CD (Gilead Media)

In March of 2008 Gilead Media released the debut full-length, Tyrant, by Baton Rouge, LA doom band Thou. Over the past two and a half years the band has played over 150 shows, including multiple national tours throughout the entire US. They’ve also managed to release a split, ep, cassette or LP (their catalog now numbering nearly 20 releases) on just about every label worth their weight in a pallet of vinyl... from Southern Lord and Robotic Empire to Halo of Flies, Vendetta and Perpetual Motion Machine, Init, among many, many more. Without a single record falling below their high standard of quality.
I think this is due in part to this basic fact: Thou are a "punk rock" doom band. They’ve somehow combined the ethics of true DIY punk, and the sound of sludging, droning doom to breath life into a creative entity that is completely passionate, they’re entirely dedicated to what they do. They don’t write their music and lyrics to serve any one scene or genre, I don’t even like labeling them as doom, as it isn’t fitting in and of itself. THOU draws so drastically on so many different influences, influences that find their ways through their songs in a myriad of ways.
These are the things that set this band apart in a world where many try to emulate honest heavy music. Their lyrics are politically and ethically charged, their riffs defy simple genre classification, and SUMMIT showcases the band at their most progressive, melodic and diverse. All the while retaining their signature style of apocalyptically crushing metal. In the time since I enthusiastically exchanged my first emails with them in late 2007 Thou has grown from an up and coming band in heavy music, to a band that is now primed to define the future of what slow and heavy music may become. "Summit" contains six songs, and runs 52 minutes