1. Thou is a doom/s… Read Full Bio ↴There are at least two bands with the name Thou.
1. Thou is a doom/sludge/drone metal band from Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. Their lyrics deal mostly with social decay, death and general despair. All of their recorded music, after a period of time, is posted for free on Bandcamp or here
Despite having only released five full-lengths — Tyrant, Peasant, Summit, Heathen, and Magus — Thou have an extensive and varied discography. The band have released several EPs, including a collection of Black Sabbath covers Through the Empires of Eternal Void and splits/collaborations with bands such as Kowloon Walled City, Leech, Emma Ruth Rundle, The Body and Hell.
Thou are quite involved in the New Orleans DIY scene, and, as stated above, make all of their music available for free.
2. Another Thou is a Belgian band. Early on, they had an electro sound, but have grown to sound more along the lines of pop rock. It is said that Thou is the most underestimated band in the Belgian music scene because of their already ten year long career and with very little success. They are set to release a bunch of new songs, called "This is Not a Record," available only on the internet (iTunes, eMusic). here
Prometheus
Thou Lyrics
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The lyrics to Thou's "Prometheus" denounce the traditionalist mindset that holds people in chains. The allusions to martyrs and religious devotion evokes a sense of submission, where people are content with what little they are given--work, food, and their religion. This mindset is depicted as one of complacency, where people are blind to the suffering and injustices around them, and are unwilling or unable to challenge their own beliefs or the status quo. The central figure, Prometheus, is associated with fire and the intellectual fire to question and challenge, but the fire is out, and the standard is barren and wasted by complacency.
The singer is calling for a rejection of sentimentality and the past in order to accept the death of ideals to bring about real change. This acceptance requires a recognition that everything has changed while nothing has changed, as long as people remain in chains of their own making. The song advocates for a radical openness to novelty, freedom, and self-determination, and a rejection of dogmas that have lost their power to inspire real change. Overall, "Prometheus" challenges the listener to embrace their own intellectual fire and reject complacency and submission to tradition.
Line by Line Meaning
The exhortations of traditionalism ring hollow: the echoing footsteps of cross-bearing martyrs, the rejection of free will, the inability to meet the challenge of critical thought and individualism.
The pleas for traditional values have no substance, drowned out by the reverberating footsteps of those who died for their faith, the refusal to accept free choice, and the incapacity to handle analytical thinking and personal freedom.
Heads bowed and eyes closed to the joys of today. Three things only do slaves require: work, food, and their religion.
People ignore present happiness and focus only on what they see as necessities – labor, sustenance, and faith – as if slaves rather than free individuals.
Those callous-kneed ringer-kissers.
People who kneel and kiss church bells are insensitive.
The eyes of providence are blinded to the suffering that surrounds.
God's supposed omniscience does not appear to be addressing the hardship all around us.
True compassion is drowned by the baying and shuffle of the flock, bleating through a self-constructed hell.
Authentic sympathy gets overwhelmed and lost in the cacophony of unthinking masses, creating their own misery.
The fire in your heart is out.
Your passion has died.
That once blazing light wreathed in the gloom of depravity, that unwavering standard to rally behind, that intellectual harvest--it's now barren and wasted, strangled by weeds of complacency, frozen and bloodless in passion's tomb.
The once-powerful beacon of hope in a corrupt world, the fixed point of reference, the intellectual achievement – all now lie barren and ruined, suffocated by apathy, frozen and lifeless in death's embrace.
I must escape sentimentality; clear away these dusty, maudlin affections; turn my back on the corpse of the past; learn to accept the death of ideals.
I must reject romantic idealism, reject sentimental feelings, forget the past's failure, and embrace nihilism.
Everything has changed. Nothing has changed.
Although everything may seem different, the fundamental circumstances remain the same.
Contributed by Brooklyn Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.