Magus

Patient, attentive listeners that take the time to find Magus’s secrets will be justly rewarded, as there’s a lot to be dissected here.

As a release that circumvents straight-up catharsis in favour of inducing full-blown self-exorcism, ‘Magus’ has made a late bid to be crowned as one the year’s most face-searingly emphatic releases.

They've always been a band flirting with perfection and with their fifth full-length album, that is certainly no exception

They continue to be one of the more refreshing and exciting voices in the alternative metal scene, and are uncompromising in their vision. They are consistent and, for all the volume and spectacle, create an inviting world to explore as long as you open yourself to it.

Magus is a successful affirmation of Thou’s place as being amongst the greatest heavy bands on the planet.

While the album seems more consistent than other Thou albums, the band still experiments.

It’s Thou at their finest and most foreboding, but even with that stamp of predictability, Magus maneuvres its songs in such a fashion and that patience and allowance for their gradual build shows their skillset as a group with a revering quality.

The Baton Rouge sludge-metal quintet's fifth proper full-length marks the latest tsunami in the endless storm of defeaning sound, political fury, and overwhelming prolificness that is Thou.

Magus, their first full-length solo album since 2014’s towering Heathen, teases out the tension between melody and abrasion, like a severely narcotized In Utero.

The music itself wonderfully reflects these morphing, warring ideals. What Thou do brilliantly on Magus, and perhaps better than any other metal band, is shift from one melody line or texture into something completely alien, but without a hint of dissonance.

Magus is Thou's best produced album yet and is, like Heathen, admirably ambitious in scope. However, the band's sound still isn't dynamic or enthralling enough to warrant the 75 minute runtime.