A Primer Of Holy Words＜Wavy Gold Vinyl＞

Staunchly independent and staggeringly prolific, Louisianas Thou have released dozens of limited EPs and splits along with their main albums, often featuring covers of songs by their main influences. Theyve frequently compiled non-album material on releases like Ceremonies of Consolidation and Ceremonies of Repetition, and two digital collections from 2020 focused solely on covers. The 16-track Blessings of the Highest Order consisted of Nirvana songs, while A Primer of Holy Words collected songs by grunge, hardcore, and metal bands from Pearl Jam to Minor Threat. For the most part, the covers are largely faithful to the originals, except that theyre extra sludgy and usually contained growled or shrieked vocals. Shellacs vengeful "Prayer to God" turns out to be ideal for this treatment, and Soundgardens already massive "Fourth of July" is turned into an even slower, bleaker behemoth. On this song and Alice in Chains radio hit "No Excuses," Thou juxtapose clean lead vocals with demonic howling, similar to their own homage to 90s grunge and alt-metal, 2018s Rhea Sylvia. The digital version of A Primer of Holy Words included renditions of four Black Sabbath classics ("Into the Void," "Sweet Leaf," "Black Sabbath," and "Lord of This World"), and theyre all as powerful and skull-crushingly loud as one would expect. Additionally, the band find a way to make Neil Youngs "Dont Let It Bring You Down" sound heavy enough to be mistaken for one of the Sabbath tunes. Sacred Bones 2022 vinyl edition omits the Sabbath tracks, and instead features a second Pearl Jam song, a surprising cover of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs "Maps," and a nearly industrial version of "Anarchys Stupid" by obscure New Orleans punk band Ginger Quail. Thou have a fairly consistent approach to covers, so all of the songs on the various editions of A Primer of Holy Words sound recognizably like Thou, and its interesting to hear them interpret their various influences. Maybe not the definitive Thou release, but still enjoyable and worthwhile for the groups fans. ~ Paul Simpson