Thou are a case study in running a band in a post-label world. They do three essential things for DIY bands today: (1) give music away for free, (2) interact with fans, and (3) tour. All these activities are related. The first maximizes the number of fans; the second maximizes the dedication of fans. Together, they maximize revenues on tour from sales of both shirts and music. If a band is good enough, and good enough to its fans, fans will be good to it.
Here’s how Thou have developed a rabid and rapidly growing following. They have bypassed MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter entirely. (Their MySpace is a giant link to their website.) They have put up almost their entire discography for free download on their website here, with lyrics available to read here. They have interacted and conducted business vigorously with fans via their thread on the Doom Forever Forever Doomed forum. Since April ‘08, the thread has reached over 100 pages and over 1000 posts. During this time, the band has released nine splits with other bands. This is all smart networking; knowing bands and fans ensures bills to play on and floors to sleep on. During this time, the band has played hundreds of shows, and also put out five EP’s and three full-lengths.
(Note: Thou’s way, of course, is only one way. I expressed misgivings regarding bands interacting with fans here.)
The latter is perhaps the most interesting aspect of Thou. In two and a half years, the band has had few breaks between releases. It is almost always putting out an EP or split or compilation. This is probably partly due to the need to have new product to sell while on tour (see comments in this post on long discographies). But, and this is probably unintentional, it also ensures that fans pay attention to each song. If you have nine songs, and you put them out as three three-song EP’s instead of a nine-song full-length, people are more likely to remember all nine songs. (They are also more likely to buy the songs in small installments instead of all at once.) Few people listen to albums from start to finish now, so people’s memories of albums tend to cluster around the first few songs. Thou fans don’t suffer from such partial memories. They request songs with a specificity that veteran bands would envy.
A side effect of constant prolificness is that Thou are essentially learning in public. (I know the feeling – try keeping a daily blog for years.) Instead of the stepwise progression of bands that release albums, they show basically a straight line of improvement. I get the feeling that Thou release everything that they write, and that much of the material on their splits and EP’s wouldn’t make it onto their albums. I downloaded everything available from Thou’s site and listened to their discography in chronological order. The only releases that perked up my ears were the full-lengths and the split with Salome (download here). Everything else was inessential, if enjoyable to various degrees.
But a side benefit of learning in public is that it tempers fan expectations regarding change. Thou are an extremely different band from when their current incarnation with vocalist Bryan Funck began. If they had limited their releases to full-lengths, fans might have been put off by the degree of perceived change. Instead, Thou’s sound has shifted a little with each release, smoothing out the ride for fans. (Imagine if Metallica had put out EP’s that documented some strange, organic progression from …And Justice for All to the Black Album.) Thus, I’ve not seen any Thou fan complain about Summit (Gilead Media, 2010), even though it’s the band’s most adventurous release.
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Summit gatefold CD
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Summit is to Thou as Oceanic is to Isis: a statement of a new identity. The bands sound very different, and have very different aesthetics. But their artistic trajectories have been similar. Both bands began in sludge, a metal subgenre with narrowly defined parameters: downtuned, slow, yelling. Both bands then expanded beyond those parameters. Isis’ sound softened and became more textured, while Summit is melodic and flirts with black metal blastbeats. Oceanic’s main “foreign” element was female vocals, while Summit’s is also feminine: a chamber ensemble interlude composed by Funck’s partner. Thou don’t carry themselves like a typical sludge band – big, bearded, beer-bellied – so perhaps this element will find further expression in the future.
Summit is also the first release of Thou that justifies their hype for me. Their roots are shallow; according to Funck, they sort of stumbled into writing heavy music. (See here.) Unlike 99.9% of sludge bands, their origins don’t come from Eyehategod. (They come from the public process of self-discovery described above.) This is both a boon and a bane. The world is overrun with Eyehategod clones, yet Thou could learn from Eyehategod’s brute force. Thou are intense – YouTube videos prove that in the live context – but their intensity is more punk than metal. Funck’s parched rasp has a range of about two notes, and his bandmates have sounded ramshackle for much of Thou’s discography. It’s taken them a while to achieve any sort of collective force. (Contrast with Eyehategod’s internally connected attack.) My favorite moments in Thou discography’s are when the band isn’t playing: the string interludes on Summit and the Salome split.
“Grissecon”
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But while Summit is not entirely convincing, it is very, very interesting. The guitars have seemingly given up all attempts at aggression. Instead, they have traded overt heaviness for emotional heaviness. They work through melodies one at a time, with surprisingly subtle interplay between the two guitars, panned left and right for headphone pleasure. Sometimes they support and play off each other; sometimes they converge in stirring unisons. A newfound sense of harmonic sophistication is evident. Suspended chords hang all over the place, and some passages are like Pinback’s finesse gone metal. But the production is dry and the performances are raw, so Thou aren’t about to head down the lush avenues that Isis took.
Instead, they evoke a tension reminiscent of melodic death metal: guitars unfurling melodies while some guy screams on top. His bandmates are exploring a wider emotional range than ever, but Funck is stuck in his two-note rasp. (Maybe voice teacher Claudia Friedlander could offer him some tips.) His vocals are the one thing holding the band back. That’s a shame, as he’s such a powerful force otherwise. He’s responsible for the band’s signature artwork based on woodcuts and appropriated images, and his lyrics smartly blend the personal with the political: “But when I look around at the fiends who would needle away my resolve, who would recreate me in their image, I recognize their insignificance, and so the winds of history disperse the fog of mysticism”. I’m not sure what that means, but I’m sure that it demands a delivery other than an incomprehensible rasp.
Still, Thou have come a long way. I admire their business model more than their music, but that might change an EP or three after Summit. The record positions the band as an open system with great possibilities.
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ORDER, VINYL, STREAM, GIVEAWAY
- Order Summit on CD and t-shirt here from Gilead Media. All orders come with a patch and a button.
- Double vinyl is forthcoming from Southern Lord.
- NPR is streaming Summit in full here until its official release date of August 10.
- Gilead Media is graciously giving away one copy of the tour edition CD of Summit. This was a handmade edition of 200 with alternate packaging (see story here) that sold out quickly. This might be your only chance now to score one (other than eBay). Here’s how: leave an interview question for Bryan Funck in the comments. Whoever submits the best (i.e., most thoughful, interesting, etc.) one wins. Submit only one question (no multi-part deals). This giveaway will close at midnight PST this Sunday, August 8.
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Thou sounds to me like a band that is only just beginning, and that despite a string of releases already. I bought the split with Salome and thought that Salome blew them out of the water. That said, I have listened to ‘Summit’ and hear all sorts of endless potential. They are pushing themselves and greatness may indeed result.
My question: How did you get into woodcut and how does that particular art choice define your aesthetic?
How bizarre. I was currently about halfway through listening to this album when I found my way here this morning.
First impressions are obviously never particularly well-formed, but I think I agree with you that the album sounds quite heavy without necessarily sounding particularly aggressive. I think that’s probably due to a combination of the guitar tone – which is nice and full, but doesn’t have any ragged edges – and the suspended melodic/riffing compositional style.
Interesting stuff, and of course it’s great to see a band playing around with alternative business models in this climate.
I agree with you on Bryan’s vocals. With the exception of the tracks on the Salome split, this is by far Thou’s best work, yet. But I thought there were a few missed opportunities to expand the vocal palette, especially when the tracks were at their most melodic. It doesn’t need to be a female vocalist — some of Summit is actually quite feminine already — just vokill variations pushing the sonics further.
Interesting, sometimes I feel that I like their splits and EPs more than their full-lengths. Smoke Pigs, Rats and Mice and Swarms of Lice, Their Hooves Carve Craters in the Earth and The Bleeding Genitals of Every Rapist Hang Bleeding From These Trees are my favorite Thou songs (and some of my favorite songs titles too.) In fact, that Salome split may have been one of the ones I’ve enjoyed the least.
I agree that more range would be nice but Funck’s vocals is one of the reasons I like the band. Summit could’ve been a bit heavier/more aggressive in my opinion but it’s slowly starting to grow on me.
My question for Bryan Funck:
Cosmo’s IO post about your band’s new album focuses on the success of Thou’s “business model”: how Thou has built a fan base through real interaction with its fans–i.e., interaction of the non-trivial, non-myspace/facebook variety–tireless touring, and a steady stream of releases, many of which are splits with fellow travelers like Salome. To me, all three of these things hearken back to the ethos of hardcore in its 1980s heyday. What we call today “networking” or a “business model,” those bands would have called something else.
On the other hand, Thou played the Scion Fest, something that a lot of hardcore and underground metal bands from back in the day would have likely rejected as “selling out.” Personally, I think that would be a simplistic perspective: I attended Scion, had an excellent time, and thought that Toyota’s presence was muted enough as to not detract from the experience. Still, I’d be interested to hear a musician’s perspective on this kind of corporate patronage. Is integrating oneself into the “business model” of a brand such as Toyota a necessary part of making a living playing music in the current environment?
Seeing that the business end question has already been put, I have a very simple one:
Thou’s European stints seem to have only been to Great Britain, are any mainland Europe tours planned? If so, please do include Hamburg!
Short and simple:
The cover art for Summit is easily my favorite of the year thus far. What went into creating it and why did you choose this particular piece to be your album art?
There is nothing standing in Thou’s way. They’re unstoppable.
@Jake -
oops!
ummm, hmmm…
http://broad-cloak.blogspot.com/2010/06/thou-summit-cd-tour-edition.html
Hey, Brian. I just wanted to know, what inspired you to use a more black metal style of vocal compared to most sludge/doom bands?
Seeing as a big part of your success seems to stem from the fact that you give so much of your music away online, as well as release so much of your music on vinyl, how do you think Thou would have fared if the state of the music industry was as it was 15-20 years ago, before widespread use of the internet to promote and spread music, and when vinyl was not very popular compared to its recent boom?
Bryan actually used a very similar vocal style in the melodic hardcore band he was in, Dear Diary I Seem To Be Dead. That’s just how he rolls.
My question: Considering on one hand the humble origin of the blastbeat, and on the other the fact that most later bandmates of Chuck Schuldiner in Death were musically-trained prior to their ability to keep up with his guitar flair, do you consider it better for a band such as yours in the long run to be have self-taught musicians or is it better to learn directly from professionals? (in some cases, one can roam in between the two like John Zorn and his jazzgrind business)
I agree 100% with Idolt Threat’s comment. The vocals are one reason I like this band, despite the monotony. His style reminds me a lot of Dan Weyandt, of Zao. Just a monotonous demonic rasp, although Dan went low here and there.
I don’t really get the complaint about Bryan’s vocals…him being “stuck in his two-note rasp” really isn’t all that dissimilar vocally to a lot of things that seem to get more positive praise here, namely almost anything black metal related. Just something I noticed!
Either way, I love these guys and think they’re way more worthwhile than 99% of the post-metal/sludge/doom/whatever genre…a breath of fresh air after being trapped in a musty basement with way too many Cult Of Luna’s and the entire boring roster of Translation Loss records(save the Intronaut record they put out!).
Bryan, the Baton Rouge / NOLA area plays a big part of your music (both the sound and the lyric content). You play the area a lot and seem to have a strong connection there, but also tour extensively. How do you feel your connection to Baton Rouge / NOLA changes the way people react to your music in other towns, and how do people in other towns affect the way you write lyrics and songs?
my question: who art Thou holier than? Bryan’s answer: none
actually it should probably be “who art thou holier than Thou?”
I’m a doofus, I actually don’t have a good question for Bryan but I am looking forward to the interview no matter what you ask. Can’t say enough good things about this band/guys in the band
Here’s my question for Byran:
For a band that incorporates art as well as history from all different time periods as well as commentary on our current period, what do you look towards most for inspiration? I know you’ve talked about going through old books and Andy almost being an English BA, but he’s just a well of information, where do you seem to draw the emotions and the drive from?
Thanks, can’t wait to hear Summit. Expect a lengthy review over at Chainsaw Justice.
-F
First Blood, Over the Top, Rocky IV, or Tango and Cash?
Seriously though, as a band who tours what seems like almost every month, puts out a release almost every two months and seems to be constantly busy how important is this momentum for you guys? Do you see yourselves burning out at all? This seems to be where your punk roots really shine, consistent gigging, how stressful is this in relation to your everyday lives?
Thanks.
The cover art is pretty cool anyway…
I’ve just gotten into this record recently. I find it very interesting. Bryan’s vocals don’t detract anything for me (but I’m a huge Converge fan, and he has a similar role to Jacob). One thing that I’m not sure on is the drums. The lack force and seem almost a little sloppy. While I like that about the guitars on this record, I wish the drums would drive things a little more forcefully.