When discussing heavy projects, the word “fun” can be viewed as gauche amongst the true keepers of the eternal flame (or blood fountain … insert whichever brutal imagery works best). But over the past few years, the Louisiana black metal-inspired doom band Thou has been looking towards collaboration with a wide variety of artists to break new ground. And it seems like they’re having a hell of a lot of fun doing it.
After successful team up efforts with The Body, Ragana and Hirs, Thou got together with singer Emma Ruth Rundle (ex-Marriages, Red Sparrows and Nocturnes) for last year’s May Our Chambers Be Full, which was a success in compromises.
While that album certainly reached epic heights, it ran just under 40 minutes with only eight tracks. They may have been subscribing to the “keep them wanting more” philosophy as the band reunited with Rundle for this year’s four-song EP, The Helm of Sorrow.
It’s hard to believe that any of the songs on this new EP were mere selections from the cutting-room floor, as the originals on this set of songs are a perfect continuation of May Our Chambers Be Full. Opening track “Orphan Limbs” finds the fine line between Goth and Doom with Rundle and Thou’s Bryan Funck both offering contributions of sugar and vinegar to the stew.
Next, Thou bursts open the gates of hell with the six-minute relentless breakdown of “Crone Dance” with Funck taking the majority of the vocals with his high-pitched banshee’s wail. The song name checks the previous album as Funck screams , “By our frenzied ecstatic knowledge shall the chambers be full…” The song creates a petrifying effect and your hands barely have enough time to unclench before the assault of the next track, “Recurrence.”
Thou and Rundle save their biggest surprise of all, a crushing cover of “Hollywood” by the Cranberries, as the EP’s closing track. Pop tunes can be tricky for metal bands to reimagine. If Ghost B.C. cared what mortal humans think of them, they may have thought twice before covering ABBA’s “I’m a Marionette.” On “Hollywood,” Rundle’s vocals honor Dolores O’Riordan’s vulnerable delivery while the band brings buckets of sludge to the chorus with Funck screaming behind Rundle’s calls to “run away.”
It’s unknown if Thou will continue releasing music with Rundle. They are a band that is constantly on the move, learning lessons from these exercises to inform their own albums. But with how strong their two EP’s together are, here’s hoping they consider a world where this project is more than a one-off collaboration.
Essential Tracks: “Orphan Limbs,” “Crone Dance” and “Hollywood”
Prerequisites: Thou’s Magus and Emma Ruth Rundle’s On Dark Horses