Umbilical

In pushing the reset button on everything THOU have ever stood for or believed in, both sonically and thematically, they’ve stumbled on a late-career masterpiece which will be spoken about long after they lay themselves to rest.

It’s one piece of unadulterated single-minded disappointment, melancholy and rage. Together, again, Thou prove that those most ugly have the potential for the most beauty. And the most noise.

While Umbilical is still a nightmarish depiction of destroyed emotions and blind rage, its combination of production subtleties and light nods to '90s influences peel away just enough intensity to make the album Thou's most coherent and engaging work yet.

The headline takeaway is that Thou art pissed, yea, even more pissed than normal, but they’ve channeled that rage into some excellent music, as usual.

The primal anger at the center of Umbilical remains palpable, making it one of Thou's most memorable efforts to date. Long-time fans will still find the molasses-caked riffs and beefy tones that they'd expect after the band's almost two-decade career, but that tinge of hardcore energy does a lot to revitalize their well-established sound.

While 2014’s Heathen and 2018’s Magus were glacially paced, 70-minute behemoths that took several spins to fully entangle, this sixth album is arguably the most immediate, visceral record Thou have ever released.

Louisiana sludge extremists Thou go back to basics on this sonic assault of a sixth album.

Umbilical is a different beast than their classic Heathen or their top-notch collaborative albums, but it’s Thou through and through, and that’s a great thing.

The Louisiana sludge-metal giants have always professed a fondness for classic grunge; they make good on those influences on a streamlined album that’s also one of their heaviest yet.

With Umbilical, Thou toe the doom-metal line re the inevitability of suffering/the urgent need for defiance while rummaging in an expanded playbook. The band flirt with songs and song structures, writhing, per usual, in a hellish din, Bryan Funck exuding immeasurable discontent.