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THOU
Umbilical (Sacred Bones)
Umbilical is a raging torrent of an album from Thou. The band’s umpteenth release is heavy in every sense: sonically gut-churning; emotionally flayed raw. The riffs are all low-end menace, muscular and direct. Thou vocalist Bryan Funck’s voice is a scourge, piling on the pain. The drums on Emotional Terrorist land on the listener’s eardrums like a rockfall.
Relief from the intensity of the Baton Rouge bruisers’ most urgent set of songs to date, is rare and brief: Funck’s voice tears through the moment of silence before Lonely Vigil, like sackcloth being ripped ragged; The Promise hints at melody, a fleck of pastel paint on a rusty buzzsaw. Truly, though, Umbilical is not an album that cares to offer levity or let-up. Man alive, it is brilliant.
words HUGH RUSSELL